Biography
-
Years Active
1986 – present (38 years)
-
Founded In
England, United Kingdom
-
Members
- Ben Coleman (1988 – 1994)
- Steven Wilson (1987 – present)
- Stuart Blagden (1988 – 1989)
- Tim Bowness
No-Man is a British duo formed in 1987 by Tim Bowness and Porcupine Tree's Steven Wilson.
The band has so far produced seven studio albums and a number of singles/outtakes collections (most notably, 2006's career retrospective, All the Blue Changes).
Originally a sample-based proto-Trip hop/Ambient/Electro-Pop styled music, No-Man's sound has become more organic, diverse and band-oriented in subsequent years. The band has been lauded "Conceivably the most important English group since The Smiths" by Melody Maker music newspaper.
The name No-Man was adopted in 1990 and first used on the self-released June 1990 single release, Colours (a cover of the 1960s Donovan song). The single achieved Melody Maker and Sounds (british music paper) "Singles of the Week" accolades and was re-released by Liverpool-based label Probe Plus in October, 1990.
Between 1991 and 1994, No-Man were managed by Talk Talk's manager Keith Aspden. During this period, the band received highly positive UK music media support (including more "Singles of the Week" in Melody Maker, Sounds and Irish music paper, Hot Press), had 2 indie top 20 hits (Days in the Trees and Ocean Song), a Billboard Top 40 dance hit (the US only single, Taking It Like a Man) and had high profile contracts with One Little Indian, Hit & Run Publishing and Epic/Sony.
Subsequently, mirroring the evolution of artists such as Talk Talk, David Sylvian, Radiohead, Scott Walker and Kate Bush, with each successive release, the band has moved further away from its more conventional Pop/Rock roots.
Since the mid-1990s, No-Man has released material via Snapper Music, Third Stone/Adasam and internet label, Burning Shed (www.burningshed.com).
Included amongst the many artists and guest musicians the band has worked with are electronic artists Roger Eno, Faultline, Scanner, Muslimgauze and The Shamen, Jazz musicians Ian Carr and Theo Travis, and the legendary likes of King Crimson personnel, Robert Fripp, Pat Mastelotto and Mel Collins, and ex-Japan members, Steve Jansen, Richard Barbieri and Mick Karn.
Drawing from a diverse mix of Singer-songwriter, Post Rock, Minimalist, Progressive rock, Jazz, and Contemporary Ambient sources for inspiration, No-Man's sound is distinctive, yet difficult to categorise.
As of 2012, No-Man live band members include Steven Bennett (keyboards), Pete Morgan (bass guitar), Michael Bearpark (guitar), Steve Bingham (electric violin), and Andy Booker (electronic drums).
In 2019, the duo released Love You To Bits. there first new record in over a decade.
In 2024, Tim, Steven and Ben released Housekeeping: The OLI Years, a retrospective box set covering the band's material from 1990 to 1994, as well as Swagger: Lost Not Lost Volume One, 1989/1990, which included the original Swagger tape from 1990 and some demos from the time period. All three have expressed interest in making a new No-Man record in the near future.
Artist descriptions on Last.fm are editable by everyone. Feel free to contribute!
All user-contributed text on this page is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply.
