![\"Cat](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Cat-Stevens-2025-Hyde-Park-Raph-Pour-Hashemi-Far-Out-Magazine-2-1140x855.jpg\")
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(Credits: Raph Pour-Hashemi)<\/p>\n
Thu 5 March 2026 9:00, UK <\/p>\n
Who is to say where inspiration comes from? Questlove<\/a> once called Prince one of the greatest musicians of all time, but was surprised to learn where \u2018The Purple One\u2019 found his ideas.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Roots drummer admitted that when he was growing up, he was so enamoured with Prince that he began copying basically everything that the musician did, which meant listening to the music that Prince recommended, dressing the way that he did, and even fancying the same women \u2013 the star took over Questlove\u2019s life. <\/p>\n You can only imagine how excited the drummer was then when, later in life, he and Prince became good friends. They played together, worked together, and as a result, Questlove got a look behind the curtain and saw what Prince\u2019s creative process was like. It turns out that in order to feel inspired, the musician immersed himself in two very specific movies. <\/p>\n \u201cHere\u2019s the deal. Since 1997, Soul Train has been my aquarium<\/a>. That\u2019s a Prince term,\u201d said Questlove when talking about the creative process. \u201cWhen he was alive, whenever you\u2019d go to Prince\u2019s house, two things were always on TV: [the 2003 animated film] Finding Nemo and Black Orpheus, this beautiful Brazilian film from 1959. He would have those on a constant loop: \u2018Yeah, it\u2019s my aquarium.\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n That might sound somewhat peculiar, but Prince wasn\u2019t the only one who let very specific movies become a pivotal part of his career. Cat Stevens wasn\u2019t born with that name, his birth name is Steven Georgiou, but when he started making music, he decided to take on a new name that sounded a bit catchier. A number of factors helped him decide on \u201cCat\u201d, and two of them were popular movies at the time. <\/p>\n In 1965, when he first started to make a name for himself, two movies that were quite popular both featured the word \u201cCat\u201d; these were Cat Ballou and What\u2019s New Pussycat? On top of that, Norma Tanega had a hit song with \u2018Walkin\u2019 My Cat Named Dog\u2019. All three of these releases inspired the name; however, perhaps the biggest influence was Cat Stevens\u2019 girlfriend at the time. <\/p>\n Steven\u2019s love was a woman called Christine, with whom he found himself completely enamoured. When speaking to her one day, she commented on the fact that he looked a bit like a cat. That comment, paired with the hit movies and songs which were released at the time, all pointed towards one name, which he decided to adopt as a stage persona. \u201cAll I did was add \u2018Cat\u2019 to my first name, shifting Steven from head to tail,\u201d said Cat Stevens when discussing landing on his name, \u201cHey-ho! \u2018Cat Stevens\u2019 was born.\u201d <\/p>\n Christine didn\u2019t just inspire Stevens\u2019s name, though, she was also the inspiration behind one of the first big hits that he wrote. It seems that when things grew tumultuous between the two, Christine became the muse for his track \u2018The First Cut Is the Deepest\u2019, which was originally performed by PP Arnold<\/a>. <\/p>\n This song was an insight into how much of a great songwriter Stevens was, because while he was writing from a place which was entirely personal, Arnold was able to resonate with the song on a deep level. She felt as though the song touched something deep within her soul, which is always the sign of a great writer. Suffice to say, this was the start of a pretty good career. <\/p>\n \u201cIt encapsulated everything that I was at the time,\u201d said Arnold when discussing the track, concluding, \u201cHaving the courage to get out of that [abusive relationship] and create a life for me and my kids\u2026 What a blessing.\u201d<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"(Credits: Raph Pour-Hashemi) Thu 5 March 2026 9:00, UK Who is to say where inspiration comes from? 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