Look To The Stars News: Yusuf

Yusuf Islam Uses Fan Voices For Peace

Wed, 30 Mar 2011 12:30:00 +0000

Yusuf Islam has released a new peace anthem using the voices of hundreds of fans from across the world.

Yusuf – formerly known as Cat Stevens – invited people to send samples of them singing parts of his new song, My People, and the results have been put together for the final product.

Talking to Spinner.com, Yusuf says that the song was inspired by an Egyptian peace protest: “Most of the things in my career have happened spontaneously, and this is just another one of those things. I had no big plans, but as we were all watching what as going on in Egypt there was this fantastic feeling of support and so we wanted to stretch out a hand to these people who were peacefully asking for change. I was on the guitar and then suddenly this song came out and ‘My People’ had arrived. The mood was simply one of intense admiration for the people who were standing up peacefully.”

Stars Donate Artworks To Celebrity Charity Auction For Willow Foundation

Thu, 18 Nov 2010 15:30:00 +0000

A whole bunch of stars – including Ricky Gervais, Roger Daltrey, Joanna Lumley and Wayne Rooney – have donated signed canvases to a special celebrity charity auction in the UK.

The Willow Foundation and British artist, Julie-Anne Gilburt, have teamed up to create an exhibition of 20×20 cm canvases, each created by a different star. Well known faces from the worlds of sport, art, design, fashion, music and entertainment have drawn on their artistic skills in aid of the charity.

Nobel Peace Laureates Gather In Hiroshima For World Summit

Wed, 17 Nov 2010 15:30:00 +0000

The 11th Edition of the World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates was held in Hiroshima on November 12th-14th, 2010.

The international conference was historic and groundbreaking in that it marked the 65th anniversary of the atomic bombings of two Japanese cities. In light of recent meetings between the United States and the Russian Federation to reduce each nation’s nuclear weapons arsenals and of the results of the recent U.N. Conference of New York, the Summit confronted the issue of nuclear disarmament and propose concrete measures to address this most pressing issue.

Chaired by Mikhail Gorbachev and Walter Veltroni, former Mayor of Rome, the event attracted Nobel Peace Laureates such as His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Fredrik Willem De Klerk, Lech Walesa, José Ramos- Horta, Oscar Arias Sanchez, Mairead Corrigan Maguire, Mohamed ElBaradei, Shirin Ebadi and Jody Williams. Senior representatives of such international organizations as the United Nations (UN), United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), International Labor Organization (ILO), United Nations Children’s Found (UNICEF), International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC), International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW), Pugwash Conferences (PUGWASH), International Peace Bureau (IPB), American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), Doctors Without Borders, Amnesty International (AI) and many others also attended.

Annual Charity Gathering Attracts Rich And Famous

Wed, 11 Mar 2009 12:00:00 +0000

The ‘Fortune Forum Summit’ is an annual charity gathering that brings together heavy hitters from the world of the rich and famous. And earlier this month, the gathering attracted the likes of billionaire philanthropist Ted Turner, singer Joss Stone, designer Dame Vivienne Westwood, actress Milla Jovovich, easyJet founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou, former Rolling Stones member Bill Wyman and Yusuf Islam, formerly Cat Stevens.

Held at the Dorchester hotel in Mayfair, London, the event was a virtual who’s who of giving, and was basically a ‘philanthropy party.’ According to the invitation, it was billed as a “a deep humanitarian experience.”

Ted Turner spoke about his $1B donation to United Nations causes.

Yusuf Islam Records George Harrison Song For Gaza

Tue, 27 Jan 2009 13:00:00 +0000

Singer Yusuf Islam – formerly known as Cat Stevens – has released a charity song originally recorded by one of the Beatles, with all proceeds going to a United Nations agency helping refugees in Gaza.

The Day The World Gets Round is a song written by the late George Harrison, and has be re-recorded by Yusuf and Klaus Voorman, a German artist/musician who befriended the Beatles during their early days in Hamburg.

Yusuf said he hoped the music will “help remind people of the immense legacy of love, peace and happiness we can share when we get round to looking at mankind’s futile wars and prejudices, and start to change our foolish ways.”

Bid On Celebrity Autographs At Heart Ball

Tue, 20 Jan 2009 11:30:00 +0000

Autograph Store, a leading online auction dealer of celebrity signed collectibles and memorabilia, is pleased to sponsor the American Heart Association’s charity auction at the Heart Ball on February 7, 2009.

The Heart Ball will be held at the Oasis Convention Center, Springfield, MO at 6:00 p.m. The theme for this year’s Heart Ball is “Heart & Soul Tour 2009.” In addition to bidding on the unique signed celebrity collectibles in the charity auction, attendees can dance to the music of The Allie Catz, and enjoy a one-of-a-kind “World Tour Buffet” provided by Fire & Ice, Touch, Restaurante’ Gilardi, Kai and Bijan’s with dessert provided by Hiland Dairy.

Yusuf Urges People To Help Children

Thu, 01 Jan 2009 11:42:00 +0000

Yusuf – formerly known as Cat Stevens – has used Bono’s new (RED) Wire music service to call on people to help children in 2009.

The singer took a break from filming a new music video in California to tape the message, dedicated to “the youth of the world.”

“This world needs children to kind of remind us of which way we want this world to go,” he said.

Peace Day Concert 2008 To Rock London

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 12:30:00 +0000

After last year’s sell out show, the annual Peace One Day concert is set to rock the Royal Albert Hall in London.

World Peace Day has been held on September 21 annually since 2001, when the United Nations General Assembly unanimously adopted September 21 as a day of global ceasefire and non-violence. The initiative came from an idea by Jeremy Gilley, who founded his non-profit organization – Peace One Day – in 1999. Since then he has amassed an impressive list of supporters, including Chris Martin, Sir Richard Branson, Angelina Jolie, Alan Rickman, and Michael Douglas.

This year’s concert will see performances from Annie Lennox, Bryan Adams, and a guest appearance from Jude Law. There will also be a gala screening of The Day After Peace, the acclaimed new documentary film made by Jeremy Gilley. The film, which received a great reception at its premiere during the 61st Cannes Film Festival, features Kofi Annan, The Dalai Lama, Angelina Jolie, Jude Law, Annie Lennox and Jonny Lee Miller.

Live Earth Rocks the Planet

Mon, 09 Jul 2007 13:16:25 +0000

They came, they rocked, they conquered. 07/07/07 saw the Live Earth concerts take place on 7 continents, and the event will go down in history and in people’s hearts as one of the greatest spectacles ever staged.

The nine concerts held around the globe attracted hundreds of thousands of music lovers, and another 9 million internet streams – a world record internet audience. Many more are expected to watch replays over the next few weeks.
Concert-goers partied for a total of 22 hours at the events organized by Al Gore to raise awareness of climate change and environmental issues.