Vocalist and lyricist Tim Bowness, born in Warrington, England, first crossed paths with multi-instrumentalist Steven Wilson because both shared an intense curiosity about every conceivable musical style. Their shared work thrives on unexpected hybrids, placing a dance rhythm beside a violin line and an expansive guitar solo inside a single piece. Their listening habits stretch from Arvo Pärt all the way to Talk Talk. Violinist Ben Coleman joined them for several years. Although scattered low-profile recordings appeared throughout the middle and later 1980s, the official No-Man catalogue opened in 1990 with a version of Donovan’s “Colours.” The follow-up single “Days in the Trees,” long out of print, remains among the project’s most distinctive statements. In 1992 the pair began performing live alongside the former Japan members Steve Jansen, Richard Barbieri, and Mick Karn; Karn also contributed to numerous studio tracks starting with the 1993 debut album Loveblows & Lovecries. Their second release, the 1994 album Flowermouth, further benefited from appearances by Robert Fripp, his onetime colleague Mel Collins, and jazz musician Ian Carr. The next year brought the remix collection Flowermix, highlighted by a ten-minute reconstruction of “You Grow More Beautiful” now titled “Faith in You.” Their subsequent record, Wild Opera (1996), ventured deeper into experimental territory, featuring pieces such as “Housewives Hooked on Heroin” and “Infant Phenomenon,” the latter recalling the spirit of David Sylvian and Fripp’s Darshan. Commercial considerations never guided their choices, yet the album still included more accessible moments, most notably the standout track “My Revenge on Seattle.” Wild Opera also produced the related semi-album Dry Cleaning Ray. Both musicians meanwhile maintained outside work—Wilson with Porcupine Tree and Bass Communion, Bowness with Darkroom as well as the albums Flame (with Richard Barbieri) and World of Bright Futures (with Samuel Smiles). Wilson additionally produced material for Fish and for his earlier band Marillion. These commitments repeatedly delayed new No-Man activity, leaving only the 1999 EP Carolina Skeletons and the reissued late-1980s recordings collected as Speak.
