Producing the next No-Man album proved to be a very slow process. The band's perfectionism and budget constraints played against them, as did Steven's growing commitment to Porcupine Tree.

Now based in Norwich after several years of drifting between London, Cambridge and Manchester, Tim formed Henry Fool (his take on a twenty-first century progressive rock band) with Peter Chilvers and new ally Stephen Bennett. He also continued to contribute to Darkroom sessions, and worked with Peter Chilvers on duo material.

Most importantly, Tim and Peter (along with Noisebox Records boss Pete Morgan) set up the online record label Burning Shed. Over the next few years, Burning Shed was to evolve into the main online distributor for all Bowness and Wilson projects as well as for a growing number of other established bands and musicians.

No-Man's fourth album finally emerged under a new title - 'Returning Jesus' - in February 2001. With the recording loosely based around a quartet of Wilson, Bowness, Porcupine Tree's bass player Colin Edwin and Steve Jansen on drums, the album was the airiest and most natural No-Man had made to date.

Crossing the conflicting streams of 'Wild Opera' and 'Flowermouth', it was a mature work - surprisingly subtle and airy, and boasting a fragrant melodicism. Musical contributions from Ian Carr, David Kosten, Ian Carr and the stray acoustic guitar of balladeer-of-the-moment Ben Christophers quietly coloured its wistful balladry with blended sounds both chillingly electric and warmly acoustic. Exquisite white soul, pensive pain, hopeful resolution and string-drowned vistas of regret and fascination all played their part in the latest step forward for No-Man.

In July, the Burning Shed label released 'Lost Songs: Volume One', a compilation of assorted No-Man studio outtakes from 1991 to 1997, wildly varying in both mood and method. It bore further witness to No-Man's diversity and creativity. Not only did it unearth a few radically different versions of familiar No-Man songs, it revealed some of the other paths the band had explored en route to albums like 'Flowermouth' and 'Wild Opera': from meticulously-structured electro-pop to improvised oddities and fragments, from punk swing to electronic bliss-out; from orchestrated ensemble pieces (with guest appearances from Robert Fripp, Theo Travis, Colin Edwin and Mel Collins) to sparse duo recordings.

2002 saw no No-Man public activity whatsoever. Steven continued to develop Porcupine Tree - by now a very successful modern rock band - and Tim released the bittersweet and haunting 'California, Norfolk' album with his old Samuel Smiles partner Peter Chilvers.

No-Man returned to the public eye in February 2003 with 'All That You Are'. This was a belated EP to accompany 'Returning Jesus', featuring several unheard songs from the album sessions.

A far more varied release than its parent album, 'All That You Are' showed No-Man at their most solid and diverse. The naive grace of the title track and the sophisticated lost-love balladry of 'Chelsea Cap' explored No-Man's pop roots, while the bluesy banjo of 'Until Tomorrow' explored folk paths; and the presence of the eerie, disturbed 'Darkroom" served as a strong reminder of the darker, more surreal No-Man of 'Wild Opera'.

The EP was also No-Man's farewell to the 3rd Stone label, as they moved over to Snapper Music for the next phase of their career.

May 2003 saw the release of No-Man's fifth album, 'Together We're Stranger'. Moving deeper into the slow, mournfully textured zones which the band had previously explored on 'Returning Jesus', the album was a subtly powerful reflection on loss and its aftermath. Longtime No-Man allies Michael Bearpark and Peter Chilvers made contributions, alongside those of fresh collaborators such as ambient-acoustic keyboard player Roger Eno, British jazz clarinettist Ben Castle, Stephen Bennett (from Tim's latest band project Henry Fool) and David Picking of the Birmingham art-rock project Rhinoceros.

Songs like 'All The Blue Changes' and 'Photographs In Black And White' continued to build on the tradition of highly-constructed No-Man epics like 'Angel Gets Caught In The Beauty Trap', while 'Back When You Were Beautiful' and 'The Break-Up For Real' pursued the pithy ballad scenarios Tim had been exploring in his ongoing ambient songwriter-folk albums with Peter Chilvers. The hovering heartbreak of 'Things I Want To Tell You' showed that No-Man could still find new modes of expression - poised on the lip of breakdown, wringing the last drop of significance from inertia and despondency and flushing it with an unearthly beauty.

2004 was another quiet year for No-Man, during which Steven divided his time between Porcupine Tree, Bass Communion and his Blackfield collaboration with Israeli pop singer Aviv Geffen. Tim pursued a new alliance as part of the new trio line-up of Centrozoon (an ambient/avant-rock electronic project) as well as working on collaborations with Rhinoceros, Italian pop balladeer Alice and ex-Soft Machine bassist Hugh Hopper.

The closest that the fans got to new No-Man that year was Steven's surprise reunion with Ben Coleman on 10th September at a Blackfield concert in London. Steven played a solo set to open the evening, and Ben guested on electric violin for three Porcupine Tree songs (Even Less, A Smart Kid and Trains). No No-Man material was played, but the obvious chemistry and dynamism of the two musicians onstage brought back memories of the power of the 1990s trio.

September 2004 also saw the arrival (after years of assorted collaborations) of Tim's debut solo album, 'My Hotel Year'. This was a collection of dark experimental pop songs (released on No-Man's old label One Little Indian) for which Tim's main creative foils were David Picking and Stephen Bennett. There were also appearances by Peter Chilvers and Michael Bearpark, as well as Hugh Hopper, Roger Eno, Centrozoon and Brian Hulse (Tim's onetime 1980s colleague from Plenty).

As for No-Man, an expanded reissue of 'Speak' - revived and reissued for the benefit of those who'd discovered the band from 'Returning Jesus' onwards - kept their profile steady.

2005 was another reissue year. 'Flowermouth' was remastered once again and reissued in a new package, now sporting two Steven ambient remixes from the deleted 'Flowermix' album. Two years after its initial issue, 'Together We're Stranger' was reissued as a deluxe vinyl edition with additional tracks.

As Porcupine Tree continued to go from strength to strength (with Steven consequently spending more time on the road) No-Man's presence seemed entirely reduced to the band's reissue programme.

In February 2006, 'All The Blue Changes' became No-Man's first full career overview, a double album compiling tracks ranging all the way from the 'Speak' years to 'Together We're Stranger'. 'Returning Jesus - The Complete Sessions' made it onto vinyl shortly afterwards, and collected all of the album tracks, related EP tracks and alternate versions of songs into one definitive package.

However, all this was eclipsed - to considerable excitement in the fan community - when it was announced that Tim Bowness, Steven Wilson and Ben Coleman would all be appearing on the same concert bill at the Burning Shed evening in Norwich, UK on 16th July. Although Tim and Steven publicly played down the implications of this (and Ben would ultimately withdraw from the concert), the sense of anticipation on the night was palpable.

No-Man's return to live activity was definitely the evening's worst-kept secret. But return they did - if only for three off-the-cuff songs.

Tim sang, Steven contributed blurry meditative clouds of lead guitar, and the rest of the group was drawn from the Tim Bowness band: Peter Chilvers on piano, Pete Morgan on bass, Andrew Booker on electronic drums, and Michael Bearpark on second guitar. The band played Watching Over Me, Together We're Stranger and (as a trio of Tim, Steven and Peter) Things I Want To Tell You. Rehearsal had been minimal, but the excitement of the event took over for what became a memorable and joyful performance.

The success of the evening kick-started No-Man activity again - but with both Tim and Steven now spending much of their time out of the UK (in New York and Tel Aviv respectively), it was a while before this was fully followed up.

In 2007, 'Together We're Stranger' resurfaced as a two disc CD/DVD-A package with video clips, gallery and extra tracks.

May 2007 saw the band testing the effectiveness of download singles in the shape of 'The Break-Up For Real'. This was a low-key release combining the bittersweet final track from 'Together We're Stranger' with the extra tracks for the vinyl and two-disc issue.

In August 2007 both Steven and Tim were back in No-Man's Land, comparing notes and recording again. Rumours of a new No-Man album began to circulate through the fanbase again, and were greeted with great enthusiasm.

In May 2008, No-Man released their sixth album, 'Schoolyard Ghosts'. Recorded in the UK, France, Sweden and the USA, it made the most of Tim's own increasing production skills and all-round musicianship, plus the benefits of his more recent musical collaborations. Nonetheless, the results were unmistakably No-Man, yet also different and arguably more confident. The band's longing, world-weary ballads were very much in evidence amidst new takes on chamber pop, post-punk restlessness, progressive rock scope and touches of jazz and world music.

Familiar collaborators had joined the party (Theo Travis, Porcupine Tree drummer Gavin Harrison, former Samuel Smiles cellist Marianne De Chastelaine and Bowness Band drummer Andrew Booker) as had new faces (King Crimson's Pat Mastellotto, American Music Club's pedal steel guitarist Bruce Kaphan, Fabrice Lefebvre from Rajna). The album's centrepiece, Truenorth, featured a stirring performance from the London Session Orchestra arranged by Canterbury scene legend Dave Stewart.

No-Man rounded off the year with a full return to live performance, playing a mini-tour with dates in the UK, the Netherlands and Germany. The live band also featured the faithful Michael Bearpark on second guitar, Henry Fool's Stephen Bennett on keyboards, Andrew Booker on electronic drums, Burning Shed stalwart Pete Morgan on bass and brand new recruit Steve Bingham on electric violin. Rapidly growing in confidence over the course of three enthusiastically-received concerts, the live band suggested new directions for No-Man music.

No-Man commenced 2009 with the promise of new material and a live DVD from the 2008 tour.

Operating entirely on their own timescale, No-Man continue to write and record: thrilled by possibilities, and always happiest when working in their own kind of terra incognita. Popular music's most important dictum is not to get bored. With so much to discover and to bring to life, No-Man are a long way from being bored yet.