A rock'n'roll roadie to the stars has turned to us at Coxeys to steer him through the choppy waters of taxation.
The client list of professional tour manager Yatta – christened Kevin Boys-Yates in 1952 – reads like a Who's Who of popular music.
The former rock band drummer has worked with artists from Alice Cooper to the Rolling Stones, including Bruce Springsteen, Aerosmith, Rod Stewart, David Bowie and Shirley Bassey.
Not bad for a Black Country boy from Walsall who has lived near Corwen for the past 13 years, when he hasn't been jetting round the globe to organise tours by rock gods – he's currently in Norway with his oldest and dearest client, former Marillion front man Fish.
But UK tax laws have proved a headache and he has called in to see us Coxeys to take the strain.
He said: "I do a lot of work, travelling all over Europe and have done over the years, particularly for Barclay James Harvest who are still massive over there, especially in Germany."
Our Director Anthony Lewis, a music fan himself, came to the rescue and he said: "The tax laws in this country are complex, but we can help make it a lot more understandable and straightforward for Yatta.
"He's a pretty amazing client to have – especially because his own client list is so spectacular and it's such an interesting line of work."
Yatta started off in a showband, the Jet Blacks, as a drummer aged 10 in Walsall where performing was in the family - his mum played keyboards in the clubs, his grandmother was an actress and his great grandfather owned the town music hall.
Led Zeppelin used to practise just a couple of streets away from his home in local pub Three Men In A Boat which was owned by the dad of the legendary rock band's drummer, the late John ‘Bonzo' Bonham.
His own drumming career also featured some highs, he played with Ozzy Osbourne in Blizzard of Oz and backed soul legends Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett and Sam and Dave.
A rock’n’roll roadie to the stars has turned to top North Wales accountants to steer him through the choppy waters of European tax affairs.
The client list of professional tour manager Yatta – christened Kevin Boys-Yates in 1952 – reads like a Who’s Who of popular music.
The former rock band drummer has worked with artists from Alice Cooper to the Rolling Stones, including Bruce Springsteen, Aerosmith, Rod Stewart, David Bowie and Shirley Bassey.
Not bad for a Black Country boy from Walsall who has lived near Corwen for the past 13 years, when he hasn’t been jetting round the globe to organise tours by rock gods – he’s currently in Norway with his oldest and dearest client, former Marillion front man Fish.
But complex tax laws have proved a headache and he has called in Wrexham-based chartered accountants and registered auditors Coxeys to take the strain.
He said: “I do a lot of work, travelling all over Europe and have done over the years, particularly for Barclay James Harvest who are still massive over there, especially in Germany.”
Coxeys Director Anthony Lewis, a music fan himself, came to the rescue by setting Yatta up as a limited company and he said: “The UK tax laws are complex, but this should make it a lot more straightforward for Yatta.
“He’s a pretty amazing client to have – especially because his own client list is so spectacular and it’s such an interesting line of work.
“Now he is a limited company it should make his affairs easier to manage.”
Yatta started off in a showband, the Jet Blacks, as a drummer aged 10 in Walsall where performing was in the family - his mum played keyboards in the clubs, his grandmother was an actress and his great grandfather owned the town music hall.
Led Zeppelin used to practise just a couple of streets away from his home in local pub Three Men In A Boat which was owned by the dad of the legendary rock band’s drummer, the late John ‘Bonzo’ Bonham.
His own drumming career also featured some highs, he played with Ozzy Osbourne in Blizzard of Oz and backed soul legends Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett and Sam and Dave.
He said: “I did audition for another band with Ozzy and also for Badfinger but I didn’t get the jobs, that’s probably why I’m still alive.”
He so nearly wasn’t though when the band he was playing in, Possessed, stepped in at short notice for the Sex Pistols at a gig in Carlisle in 1976 and a terrible crash on the M6 killed three of them on the way home.
Yatta saw plenty of the hard living of the rock scene both as a musician and after he switched to behind the scenes in the early 80s and he’s had metal plates inserted in both shoulders and a knee, a legacy not just of drumming but also of loading equipment.
He said: “It’s a lot easier now with the technology but I’ve done most things on tours, including driving the coach - I’ve got a Class Two HGV licence – and even sorting out the food, I was catering manager for a Bruce Springsteen European tour.
“The Boss is a great guy, if you can get past all the security men, and so was the sax player, Clarence Clemons, and the guitarist, Nils Lofgren, always used to send me Christmas cards.
“I got into the tour management side in about 1982 when a band called Magnum were going on tour and their drummer’s roadie couldn’t go so I stepped in.
“I had been in a band called Dark Star but I really enjoyed the work and never went back to drumming – I got paid for being a roadie, I never seemed to get paid for being a musician.
“It’s been amazing and I’d do it all again in an instant, I’ve seen some fantastic performers and done some amazing things – we once had to carry Shane McGowan of The Pogues onto the stage in the Reeperbahn in Hamburg.
“You never see much of the countries though, it’s all airports and concert venues, you sleep on the coach because the crew are first in and last out so it’s long hours.”
The rock’n’roll lifestyle hasn’t taken a toll of his marriage though – he and Kris are still together after meeting in primary school in Walsall: “She said I used to pull her pigtails”, and the couple have a daughter, now in her 30s.
They live at Ty Mawr, near Corwen, an imposing 200-year-old three-storey house at the junction of the A5 and the A494, which is currently up for sale but which they renovated from a near derelict state 13 years ago.
The loft, reached by a salvaged wrought iron circular staircase is Yatta’s office and is lined with pictures and posters and with shelves of vinyl LPs and racks of CDs. He said: “Kris doesn’t see much of me, I’m either on tour or I’m up here planning the next one.”
His current favourite band are German industrial rockers Rammstein who he says are amazing live, praise indeed from a man who has helped out on a Pink Floyd concert at the Reichstag in Berlin which attracted over 100,000.
He prefers the more intimate venues though: “I love The Cavern, in Liverpool, and I did play the old Cavern, and also The Marquee in London. You want to see the artists and get up close.
“When I worked for Shirley Bassey she was incredible, the sweat was pouring off her, she was giving it everything and that’s what you want to see.”
Some of the bands and artists Yatta has worked with: Aerosmith, Alice Cooper, Budgie, Bros, Europe, Level 42, The Who, Eric Clapton, Diana Ross, Pink Floyd, Luther Vandross, Prince, Scorpions, Rod Stewart, Judas Priest, Dio, Ozzy Osbourne, Black Sabbath, Kiss, Chris Rea, Gary Moore, UB40, David Bowie, Rolling Stones, AC/DC, Metallica, Guns & Roses and Cliff Richard.
