Thompson: 'My door is open to Yusuf Islam collaboration'

Folk icon Richard Thompson is quietly hoping to collaborate with Yusuf Islam.

Fans are often puzzled why the two musicians and Muslim converts have never hit the studio together - and Thompson insists the music world should never rule out the idea.

Promoting his first Blu-Ray concert movie Live at Celtic Connection, he tells WENN, "I would leave that door open. I would think that would be interesting.

"I'm a big fan of Yusuf's from way back and I really enjoy his music. He's a great writer, a great performer and a lovable human being. People really love him.

"But we rarely see each other. I live over here (in Los Angeles) and he lives over there (in Britain), and he was out of music for a really long time."

Both Yusuf Islam, aka Cat Stevens, and Thompson converted to Islam in the mid-1970s.