T.E. Yates

About T.E. Yates

Unassuming, unusual and enigmatic, T.E. Yates is a multi-disciplinary artist of rare and disarming qualities that must be seen and heard to be believed.

Most musicians boast of exploding onto their local scene in a glittering blaze of media hype and spontaneous applause. T.E. Yates, however, snuck in through an open window.

His name was not on the top line of event posters but rather a discreet artist signature in the bottom corner; his first gig flyers and album covers were ones he designed for other bands not himself. He’s performed in front of huge crowds but always as a hired hand or supporting player, a multi-instrumentalist in the shadows – mandolin, banjo, harmonica, even musical saw – you may have heard him on the tracks of other artists without even knowing it.

But now T.E. Yates has stepped out of the shadows, taking centre-stage with a formidable backing band (both onstage and on record) comprising members of Victorian Dad, The Bedlam Six, Mikey Kenney/Ottersgear, Gorilla Riot and Honeyfeet. Even when performing solo the man doesn’t travel light, his weird and wonderful drawings regularly making an appearance between songs, baffling and delighting audiences in equal measures.

His debut EP Possessed was released on Debt Records in 2013. His first full LP, entitled Silver Coins And White Feathers, was released on Debt Records in May 2017.

All Yates’ studio material to-date, including the forthcoming Strange Weather EP, was produced by WR Audio’s Biff Roxby (Honeyfeet, Bedlam Six, Liz Green, Elbow, 808 State, BC Camplight).

BBC Radio Manchester described Yates' first single as "Nick Drake's 'Hazy Jane' with a touch of Roy Orbison" and he has also received airplay on BBC Radio 6 Music courtesy of Tom Robinson.

Yates' first completed animated work, Evil Cat - a faithful adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's The Black Cat synchronised to the music of the song from debut EP Possessed - was shortlisted for Best Music Video at the 2016 British Animation Awards. Yates' animations have also featured on major music websitesand channels including MTV, Kerrang! and Classic Rock Magazine.

Yates has performed at festivals across Europe, including Glastonbury Festival and Kendal Calling here in the UK. One of Yates' songs made the iTunes Alternative Charts Top 100 in Switzerland. He has opened for Trembling Bells during the tour for their acclaimed album Dungeness and also opened for John Otway, The Blockheads and Merry Hell. In years past, Yates has shared stages with big names and cult heroes alike, ranging from Nick Harper to Vinnie Peculiar. He even performed some of Daniel Johnston's song before the man himself at Manchester's Night & Day.