Known as Cat Stevens or Yusuf, the British singer-songwriter was influenced by George Harrison's spiritual quest as a young man. When he met, however, he was too shy to express his admiration for the former Beatles member, the 74-year-old told the German Press Agency.

In search of a spiritual home

"I met him a couple of times but it was a little too formal," Stevens said. He would have liked to have said to him at the time: "I love you!" The singer continued. But he was far too shy for that and stuck in his own star bubble.

What impressed him about Harrison was his search for a spiritual home, for which the Beatle was one of the first to turn east. Harrison, who died of cancer in 2001, had joined the Hindu tradition. Stevens, on the other hand, found what he was looking for in Islam at the end of the 1970s, converted and called himself Yusuf Islam from then on, meanwhile he operates under the double name Yusuf/Cat Stevens.

New album in June

He was also musically inspired by Harrison for his new album "King of a Land", which is due to be released in June. The guitar playing in some songs is a homage to Harrison and his later collaboration in the supergroup Traveling Wilburys, Yusuf said in a dpa interview. He added: "That was extraordinary and I love it."

Stevens does not regret that he withdrew from the music business for decades after converting to Islam. He compares it to taking a break from eating: "It's like fasting, you don't eat anything during the day, but when you do it again: Wow, that tastes delicious!"