Peace Train

Now in its third year of touring Australia, there’s clearly much to love about the Peace Train show – and more than just Cat Stevens’ music. We had a chat to Darren Coggan, the man recreating the story.
Hi Darren, thanks for taking the time to chat with Forte Magazine, how are you and what are you up to at the moment?
I’m great thanks, currently in the middle of our national tour of Peace Train. We’re in Queensland at present, next stop Adelaide and then looking forward to our Victorian shows.
It must be quite flattering doing shows again for an encore tour, did you expect it to be as popular as it was the first time around?
This is our third national tour of this show, I’m completely overwhelmed at the response from audiences across Australia and to have this kind of longevity out of a project is incredible. I guess it’s a testament to the great songs of Cat Stevens and his inspirational journey of self-discovery. Our show is a very positive one with an underlying theme that we all have the ability to make changes in our lives should we not be content with where we are or who we are, I think Cat Stevens is a great example of that. At the height of his career in the late ’70s he was very discontent with the excesses of fame and fortune and he did something about it, he turned his back on the trappings of fame and found fulfilment elsewhere.
Obviously Cat Stevens was such a legend, what do you love most about the musician?
As a performer, to have such a deep catalogue of material to present to our audience is a gift. I love how his songs are so accessible and cross generational. Everyone’s experiences and feelings about Cat Stevens songs are individual and different, yet in some strange, even spiritual way, they are the same, because I always feel the audience is unified in its understanding and joy of hearing these songs together once again. The songs say something, ask questions, make statements, they have intelligent, poetic lyrics, and musically, whilst simplistic in presentation, they are very complex and always fun and challenging to perform.
The night is about so much more than just the music too, you actually tell quite a few stories. Was there quite a lot of research involved in finding them out?
Yes I have invested an enormous amount of time and energy in presenting an accurate portrait of Cat Stevens. This was enhanced dramatically when I had the privilege of being invited to London to meet with the great man himself. He was every bit as kind and considered as I expected – even more so. I heard first hand some amazing tales; Yusuf, as he is now known, held me spellbound. I knew when I got home that I just had to share my experience and what I had learnt; to do real justice to Cat’s amazing journey. Peace Train is a night of music and storytelling which will strike a chord deep inside the heart of anyone who longs for something more. A journey back in time, re-creating the sights and sounds, seeking out the man in the music and telling the story behind the songs. We try to take our audience on the same journey of discovery that Cat went on and answer the question as to why, at the height of his career, did Cat Stevens leave the music industry? From his early beginnings in swinging London, through some life changing experiences, the triumphs, the loves in his life, and his eternal spiritual search for fulfilment. Woven around this inspiring narrative are 25 of the most incredible songs of our time. Our audiences obviously come expecting to hear these great songs again, but go away with so much more, a real insight into the personality of this complex human being.
What do you think it would have been like if Cat Stevens continued on with his career?
When Cat Stevens decided to walk away from the music business, at the height of his career in the mid ’70s, I’m sure many of his fans felt as if they had lost a friend. Cat Stevens not only entertained his audience, he reached out to them and sang about them. However, he reached a point where his heart wasn’t in it anymore. Materialistically he had everything, sold 60 million albums, earned enough money to last several lifetimes and enjoyed all the trappings of fame, yet he still didn’t find fulfilment. He reached the top and thought, ‘Is this all there is to life – surely there must be a deeper purpose?’. So I think if he had of continued his music may have become stale and lifeless, perhaps he would have too. The good news for all of us, as his fans is that Yusuf is once again writing, recording and indeed performing his great music. After a 30 year absence he has found a way to reconcile his life as Cat Stevens with the Yusuf he is today. I personally don’t think you can simply switch that kind of artistic genius off.
All tour dates and further info at www.peacetrain.com.au
When & Where: The Palms at Crown, Melbourne – July 3 & GPAC, Geelong – July 4