BRITISH folk singer Cat Stevens, who goes by the name Yusuf, has announced a tour of Australia for the 50th anniversary of his first album Matthew & Son.

It's only his third visit to Australia in a musical career that began in the 1960s with hits including The First Cut Is The Deepest and his 1970s multi-platinum album Tea for the Tillerman featuring hits Wild World and Father & Son.

His album Teaser and the Firecat, released in 1971, was Australia's top seller in 1972 with songs Morning Has Broken, Moonshadow and Peace Train spending 15 weeks at the top of the Australian music charts.

After contracting turberculosis in the late 1960s and then nearly drowning in the Pacific Ocean in 1975, Yusuf went on a spiritual journey, left music and focused on philanthropy.

But the 9/11 terrorist attacks spurred him on to return to the world stage where he called for peace and spoke out against fanaticism.

In 2006 he returned to music with the release of An Other Cup with several other albums to follow and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014 after his 14th studio album, Tell 'Em I'm Gone, was released.

In 2012, he premiered his first musical Moonshadow in Melbourne, however it closed four weeks ahead of schedule after mixed reviews.

Yusuf/Cat Stevens tour dates:

November 22 - Perth Arena, Perth

November 25 - Botanic Park, Adelaide

November 27 - Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne

December 2 - Roche Estate, Hunter Valley, NSW

December 4 - Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney

December 9 - Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Brisbane