KFI’s Edwards Cancels Press Parley

Suspended KFI-AM talk-show host Geoff Edwards called off a scheduled Wednesday press conference that was designed to defend his decision not to promote fellow KFI personality Tom Leykis’ call for burning Cat Stevens’ records.

“We regret that the scheduled press conference is canceled,” Edwards’ publicist said in a prepared statement. “The parties are in discussion and a joint statement will be issued by the parties by week’s end.”

Stevens, a ‘70s pop recording artist who converted to the Muslim faith in 1979 and changed his name to Yusuf Islam, was reported to have supported the Ayatollah Khomeini’s death decree against British author Salman Rushdie for alleged blasphemy in his novel “The Satanic Verses.” Islam’s reported statement prompted Leykis to ask his listeners last weekend to send him their old Cat Stevens albums for incineration.

Station manager Howard Neal took Edwards off the air when the latter objected to promoting the record-burning plan on his morning program. Leykis was to have announced a time, date and place for the burning by Thursday morning, according to station sources.