A hiatus of almost two decades ensued, during which Jim’s muse did not abandon him. His own account of the wilderness years is permeated with his finely honed sense of self-deprecating irony:
It was clear that the band’s time had not yet come. Agonising over the order of songs on a set list to be performed on a wet Tuesday night to four guys and a dog (you didn’t let the dog in for nothing, did you?) eventually took its toll. Capturing the indifference of the wider public, the ERRORS fizzled out like most bands, in a blaze of vaguely unsatisfactory rehearsals. No, it was not yet their time.
One man, however, kept faith in the original concept, dropped out of the prog scene completely, stayed in his room, kept writing new material and revising songs and waited…and waited…His name I don’t recall but that’s not important right now. Suffice to say it was hoped that these mini prog epics would, at some point in the future, see the light of day and find an appreciative audience
In 2007, Joe performed live with Abel Ganz for the first and only time at the legendary King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut. News of his long overdue return to the stage reached Jim, who already had the germ of an idea to resurrect Comedy of Errors. These plans matured over a lengthy conversation during a Pendragon gig at The Ferry in May 2009, which earned Joe and Jim some disapproving glances from fellow patrons, but nothing could put a damper on their enthusiasm.
In the meantime, Joe had joined Hew Montgomery in his Grand Tour studio project, together with Bruce Levick on drums. Hew needed a guitarist for Grand Tour, while Jim needed a drummer for Comedy of Errors, practical necessity at the origin of one of the most fortuitous cross-pollinations in the history of progressive music in Scotland, with Mark Spalding joining Grand Tour and Bruce joining Comedy of Errors.
Recording commenced, with Mark doubling up as bassist and lead guitarist, as well as providing backing vocals. Rob Aubrey at Aubitt Studios wove his mixing and mastering magic, while long-time collaborator Steve Moffitt provided the artwork.
On Friday 20 May 2011, Comedy of Errors appropriately returned to The Ferry for their album launch for Disobey, with Joe (vocals), Jim (keyboards), Mark (guitar), Bruce (drums) and Hew Montgomery (bass), performing together with Abel Ganz and Credo.
The album was warmly received by critics, many of whom were astounded by its quality as a ‘debut’, noting its ‘neo-prog’ credentials.
Writing in 2025, David Meadowcroft summarises the album’s enduring appeal:
Disobey is a remarkable return and a confident artistic statement from Comedy of Errors. It balances complexity with clarity, intellect with emotion, and vintage influences with contemporary perspective. The musicianship is superb, but what truly stands out is the sincerity and conviction in every note
Following a mini tour with Credo and with a surge in demand for Comedy of Errors to play live, Hew could no longer commit to such a busy schedule. Bruce contacted a bass player of his acquaintance, John Fitzgerald, sending him a copy of Disobey. John took it with him on holiday in June before auditioning a month later. The official announcement of John’s arrival revealed that he was truly being thrown in at the deep end:
On the upside the band have managed to secure the services of John Fitzgerald, who has many years of live experience, and brings his excellent musical skills to the bass player post. John mentions Jaco Pastorious as one of his favourites, so the rhythm section are maybe going to get a wee bit funky.
John’s first gig will be Summer’s End – nae pressure…
With his dazzling precision, delicate dextrousness and melodic warmth, John proved the perfect addition and so the band’s definitive line-up was complete.
Jim’s remarkable outpouring of creativity continued unabated, with Fanfare and Fantasy released in March 2013. John contributed backing vocals, while Mark fulfilled bass and guitar duties.
Once again, a positive critical reception awaited the album.
In Sea of Tranquility, Mark Johnson assessed it thus:
Excellent music, filled with emotion and the best keyboard work of the year so far. Every trip back in time with this band is worth the journey. Because like Italy’s ‘The Watch’, it is also a journey to where the music of my youth may have gone, if not interrupted. This band understands the spirit of the music of that time and they know well, how to bring that sound and style into the present and future, with care and understanding, like no other band recording or performing
Eager to pursue new musical avenues, Mark left the band in June 2014, replaced by Sam McCulloch. Like John before him, Sam was confronted with the mammoth task of assimilating all the material and readying himself for a series of live performances. Like John, he proved more than equal to the task.
In September 2014, 27 years after their European debut at the Paradiso in Amsterdam, Comedy of Errors made a triumphant return to The Netherlands, at the 5th Serious Music Event in Alphen aan der Rijn (the audience including some loyal fans who had been present at that first gig which had since become the stuff of legend).
As Henri Strik observes in his review in Background Magazine:
To be honest, I never doubted them to succeed and play their complex music in front of an audience flawlessly
Mark’s absence was brief and he joined Sam on stage at The Classic Grand on 20 February 2015 to support Pallas. The dual guitars went down well with fans and imbued the music with even greater power and dynamism.
In October 2015, the band released Spirit, one of the most profound and unflinching examinations of the agony of bereavement ever composed. Perhaps Jim’s most challenging work musically and thematically, the tracks coalesce into a seamless and sublime whole of over 40 minutes. Concentrating the entire range of emotions from rage against the divine for its arbitrary callousness and indifference towards the frail beings it has created, through the depths of despair and finally to hope of being reunited in the beyond, it is an uncompromising masterpiece and the critics recognised it as such.
Dave Smith gave his verdict in Background Magazine:
This album really does have everything for the discerning prog listener from soft keyboards to riffing guitars, plenty of Mellotron and great tunes. This is by far the best COE album to date and as I said earlier, should be enjoyed as a complete listen instead of dipping in and out. This is sure to be one I will keep coming back to
In 2016, Comedy of Errors ventured even further afield, crossing the Atlantic to Pennsylvania for RoSFest, a memorable performance in front of a packed house at the Majestic Theatre. This was followed in 2017 by appearances at Terra Incognita in Quebec, Night of the Prog XII at Loreley and 2 Days Prog + 1 in Veruno, all of which the band considers among the highlights of their career.
A last-minute stand-in had to be found for Bruce at Loreley, arriving in the shape of Colin Fraser of Pallas, who played the entire set on the basis of a single rehearsal. He rose to the challenge with breathtaking brilliance.
In the meantime, House of the Mind was released in June 2017, an introspective and monumental work, replete with detail, steeped in trademark melancholy and always sumptuously melodic in the best tradition of the band. Opening with Tachyon, referring to a hypothetical particle travelling faster than the speed of light, its subject matter alone constituted a full-blooded statement of prog credentials. It also happens to be one of the catchiest and most addictive tracks penned by Jim, and (unusually for prog with its reputation of being somewhat staid and genteel) eminently danceable. Bonus track Ever Be The Prize gloriously revisited the band’s earliest days with a recording finally worthy of the piece, benefiting from technology they could only have dreamed of in the 1980s and bringing the album to a resounding close.
Alan Weston, writing in DPRP, awarded the title track a perfect score of 10, his overall assessment equally favourable:
This is CoE’s fourth studio album in recent years and I would consider it to be their best. For my money, these guys are up there with the best neo-prog bands in the world. A continuing maturity in composing and musicianship, and an abundance of sheer sonic delights makes this a contender for the best album of 2017
Live performances continued apace, with appearances at the Prog Before Xmas, Resonate Festival, Danfest, Summer’s End, the Northern Prog Festival in Siegerswoude and Fusion (which was Sam’s last with the band, the bravura performance fittingly marked by rapturous applause and a standing ovation).
Jim’s muse never once faltered and September 2022 saw the release of Time Machine. It opens with another nod to the band’s past with The Knight Returns, reworking Behold The Knight, from 1987’s self-titled mini album. Its centrepiece is the darkly acerbic (and prescient) Wonderland, standing alongside The Cause as one of Jim’s most overtly political compositions. The title track is the album’s second epic composition, saturated with yearning and tristesse, a searingly beautiful masterwork incorporating Victor Hugo’s poem Demain dès l’aube sung by Jim with great tenderness. The song epitomises Comedy of Errors’ unique ability to condense and articulate the profound grief occasioned by loss without ever straying into saccharine sentimentality or maudlin banality. That they carry it off so perfectly is testimony to their fearless emotional authenticity.
DPRP’s Jan Buddenberg lavished praise on the album:
Time Machine is a formidable return and a wonderful entertaining album which will/must find its way to fans of Comedy Of Errors and neo-prog enthusiasts in no-time. It most certainly shows that after a short leave of absence, Comedy Of Errors are still a force to be reckoned with and belong to a group of bands that once again Rule Britannia in terms of beautifully created, inventive and artfully arranged neo-progressive rock. Long may they reign!
Live gigs were put on hold, as Jim was buoyed on an unstoppable wave of creativity. Less than a year elapsed between Time Machine and its successor, Threnody for a Dead Queen. As with all of the band’s previous releases, it was radically different to what had gone before. Contrary to the common misconception, Threnody was not written in homage to the late monarch’s passing, having long been completed by then. A meditation on the fleeting and ephemeral nature of human existence, Jim again lays bare his poet’s soul, encapsulated to perfection by Joe’s stunning vocal rendition and Mark’s astounding combination of technical virtuosity and passionate intensity.
Considered by many as Comedy of Errors’ finest work, Richard Swan eloquently argued this case in The Progressive Aspect:
I do not over-exaggerate when I say that that it firmly enters the realms of a prog epic. This is progressive rock as it was always meant to be. Rich in depth and breadth, far more so than their previous (quite excellent and revered) albums, with sophisticated, complex introductions, reassuring rhythm section, guitars as crisp as ever, and vocals packed with emotion. Whilst the long form tracks take centre stage, the short tracks, in particular the instrumentals, are very clever joining pieces that meld it into a concept piece. Joe Cairney’s vocals seem to me to be quite far back in the mix; that is not a criticism and it could easily have been designed as such because it makes the whole album quite mysterious, which fits well with the theme. It really is a lovely package, a must buy if you will, and sets the band even further on their upwards trajectory
Threnody was bestowed with the coveted accolade of The Prog Mill Listeners’ Album of the Year in 2023.
Bruce left the band in July 2025 to focus on Machinary, the band he co-founded with Allan Kerr. Once again, Colin Fraser stepped into the breach ensuring that Comedy of Errors could headline the inaugural Wha’s Like Us Scottish Progfest in August. History had an uncanny habit of repeating itself, as Colin once again blew the audience away after only one rehearsal. He has now been fully integrated into the band.
In November 2025, after a superb set at Danfest, Mark followed in band mate Bruce’s footsteps to devote himself to Machinary.
With work on their seventh album well underway and a series of festival appearances in the pipeline, Comedy of Errors remain at the resplendent height of their powers, truly deserving of their place as Scotland’s pre-eminent progressive band.