International musician Cat Stevens, AKA Yusuf Islam, born in London as Steven Demetre Georgiou, the youngest child of a Greek Cypriot father and a Swedish mother, “has postponed the North American leg of his book tour due to unspecified visa issues, the singer announced on social media Monday,” September 29 according to the Associate Press.
“The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame member was set to tour in support of his book, ‘Cat on the Road to Findout’, which will release in the U.S. on Oct. 7 and was made available in the U.K. earlier this month,” AP reported.
Stevens, who converted to Islam in 1977, says the book release won’t be impacted, noting that “books don’t need visas!”
“Stevens is the latest in a string of international musicians and athletes impacted by visa issues, as fees have increased in the past year and processing times have slowed” AP noted, adding that “Stevens wrote that his team waited months for visa approvals, but ‘at this point, the production logistics necessary for my show cannot be arranged in time.’”
“I am really upset!” Stevens wrote on social media. “Not least for my fans who have bought tickets and made travel plans to see me perform.”
Representatives of Stevens did not immediately respond to The Associated Press’ request for comment.
The tour was to start October 2 in Philadelphia and had stops scheduled across the U.S. for the rest of the month. His Oct. 8 stop in Toronto was also postponed.
(Material from the Associated Press was used in this report)
