Listen to YUSUF ISLAM/CAT STEVENS' cover of THE BEATLES' Here Comes The Sun

23 February 2023

Yusuf/Cat Stevens has unveiled a cover of THE BEATLES' Here Comes The Sun.

The recording has been released to celebrate Yusuf's recent signing to Dark Horse Records – the label set up by the song's writer, George Harrison, in 1974 – and to mark the occasion of what would have been Harrison's 80th birthday this Friday.

"George Harrison was beginning to explore Eastern mysticism around the time I was hospitalised with TB, in 1968," explains Yusuf.

"Lying in bed, I had a lot of time on my hands and ended up reading a Buddhist book called The Secret Path. That was the beginning of my own search for the light.

"While most of my generation were just into the music, I was a bit like George, where music became the key to something much higher. Following the rages of the 60s, his consciousness was awakened, and George transcended to levels not many people ever get to experience. You can hear it in his lyrics, and see it in the way he lived and dealt with the material world - looking for a way out.

"George was one of the first to put on a charity concert for the poor, at the time millions of Bangladeshis were fleeing from conflict and becoming refugees. It was a brave thing to do, and against all establishment rules.

"I’m happy to sing one of his songs, especially as it represents the returning of light and hope to a seriously dark and broken world."

The cover art for Here Comes The Sun features an illustration by Yusuf's eight-year-old granddaughter.

Dark Horse Records is run today by David Zonshine and Harrison's son Dhani.