ben coleman electric & acoustic violins (full band member, 1988-1993)

Born in Manchester but raised in Israel, Ben was recruited to No-Man in 1988 to provide violin parts to the songs which would later be released on the 'Speak' collection.

Ben spent five years with the band, playing on all of the albums and singles released between 1989 and 1994. He can also be heard on most of the No-Man collections compiling music from the same period.

Since parting company with No-Man at the end of 1993, Ben has played with Italian art-pop star Alice (in a touring band which included Mick Karn and Steve Jansen), and performed on the Steve Jansen/Yukihiro Takahashi mini-album 'Pulse'.

More recently, he appeared on the soundtrack to the Bernardo Bertolucci film 'The Dreamers' - performing electric violin versions of the original Jimi Hendrix guitar parts on an orchestral cover of Third Stone From The Sun.

Ben also joined Trashmonk (the band led by former Dream Academy leader Nick Laird-Clowes, mixing acoustic songwriting and heavily produced psychedelic songscapes). Ben performed on four tracks on Trashmonk's debut album 'Mona Lisa Overdrive'.

Ten years after leaving No-Man, Ben made a guest appearance during Steven Wilson's acoustic solo set at the Blackfield concert in London on 10th September 2004. He added electric violin to three versions of Porcupine Tree songs - Even Less, A Smart Kid and Trains.

Ben subsequently played electric violin on Porcupine Tree’s 2007 mini-album ‘Nil Recurring’ (on the song What Happens Now?).

Below is a list of Ben's guest appearances on other people's releases. Click on the cover art to find out more about the artists.

2007
	PORCUPINE TREE - 'Nil Recurring' Peaceville Records mini-album, CDVILEF235 Porcupine Tree mini-album to accompany 'Fear Of A Blank Planet' - also features Robert Fripp. Ben plays electric violin on What Happens Now?
2004
	VARIOUS ARTISTS - 'The Dreamers' (OST) Nettwerk Label album, B00019JQDM Soundtrack for Bernardo Bertolucci's 2004 film - also features Edith Piaf, George Trenet, Steve Miller Band, Francoise Hardy, Michael Pitt & The Twins of Evil, Antoine Duhame, Martial Solal, The Doors, Michel Polnareff, The Grateful Dead and Jean Constantin. Ben plays electric violin on Third Stone From The Sun.
1999
	TRASHMONK - 'Mona Lisa Overdrive' Poptones, CD album, (catalogue number unknown) or Creation Records, CD album, CRECD 212 Debut album by psychedelic/acoustic/sampler-pop project led by Nick Laird-Clowes (ex-Dream Academy) - also features Talvin Singh. Ben plays electric violin on Polygamy, All Change, N.W.O and Dying Day.
	VARIOUS ARTISTS - 'Medium Label Sampler' Medium Productions Ltd., CD album, MPCD11 Compilation of tracks from the Medium Productions catalogue and archive - features Steven Wilson, Steve Jansen, Richard Barbieri, Mick Karn and others. Ben plays electric violin on Life's Like That.
1998
	STEVE JANSEN / YUKIHIRO TAKEHASHI - 'Pulse' Medium Productions Ltd., CD mini-album, MPCD7 Mini-album of "pop songs with minor deviations" from the former drummers for Japan and Yellow Magic Orchestra - also features Sonia Mehta, Zoe Niblett, Theo Travis and Aziz Ibrahim. Ben plays electric violin on Life's Like That.