Cat Stevens – born Steven Demetre Georgiou and known as Yusuf Islam since becoming a Muslim in the late '70s – is arguably one of the greatest singer-songwriters the UK has produced. By the time he cut Wild World and fourth long player Tea For The Tillerman in 1970, the 21-year-old Stevens had already scored three top 10 UK hits.
Although Wild World was never released as a single in Britain, the song helped establish him as a bona fide star in the US, garnering massive mainstream radio play and reaching No 11 on the Billboard Hot 100. Since Cat first penned the track, it’s been covered and recorded by artists as varied as Jimmy Cliff, Mr Big, Sacha Distel and James Blunt.
