Jeremy Yonkes is a British musician best known for his work as the frontman of the rock band The Shoes.
Throughout the late 60s and 70s, Yonkes was creating the Shoes' first album, Hunky Dory (released in 1977). This decade-long recording process would see the band lose members, gain members, break up, get back together, bicker hard, party even harder, bicker even harder, mostly a lot of fighting, in studios all over the UK. The reason it took so long to produce is that every time they got close to completing the record, Yonkes would purportedly demand all the tapes be scrapped and they start again from nothing. This recording ethic confounded bandmates and producers but captivated the public, kicking off Yonkes' reputation of being just awful to work with. But Hunky Dory eventually did come out, and was a smashing success, and suddenly everyone in the British music industry had to deal with this rancid rock bloke covered insects and sneering at everything.
Yonkes continued making TV appearances, cycling through bandmates, recording more Shoes records, and making scenes all across the globe. He died in 2020.
Yonkes' performing style usually sees him with a considerable space to himself at the front of the stage, making forceful choppy rhythmic gestures such as kicking or stomping the ground, while playing a bass guitar and singing.
Despite a long career of mainstream success and acclaim, Yonkes has never won a Grammy and only once been nominated for one. The reason for this is that he was banned from attending the Grammy Awards after punching Lindsey Buckingham in the nose in 1978.