Comedy Of Errors are a Glasgow-based progressive rock band formed in January 1984 with Joe Cairney (vocals), Jim Johnston (keyboards), John MacPhee (drums), Mike Barnard (guitars), and Steve Stewart, soon replaced by Mark Spalding (bass).
Their first recording was a demo called Ever Be The Prize, and was recorded at a studio in Blanefield (Scotland) in 1985. They recorded a number of songs with Rog Patterson (of "Twice Bitten" fame) as producer, which were then further refined with the assistance of Mike Bentley and Niall Mathewson (Pallas). These were released as a "mini album" in 1986, strongly influenced by Pallas or Abel Ganz style.
In 1987 when Mike Barnard left the band, Barry Henderson joined the band on bass while Mark Spalding played guitars. This line-up recorded the demo tape called 24 Hours in November 1987 at Evenload Studios in East Kilbride. This was later combined with the mini album to form the band's only CD release under the french MSI label. Unfortunately, the quality of this release is very poor, being a direct transfer from vinyl, rather than master tapes. This is compounded by the fact that "The Student Prince Part One" has been omitted and replaced by an inferior version of a track from earlier on the disc.
A change of direction was heralded in in 1989 with the arrival of new lead vocalist John Cowden, replacing Joe Cairney who went on to join the Fire Brigade. The demo tape Hold On was recorded at Evenload Studios (East Kilbride) in May '89. The band were playing more standard rock songs, which were more suited to the new vocalist. They played regularly around Scotland, and then quietly disappeared from view.
Remarkably though, the story does not end there, and in 2011 Comedy of Errors reformed. As the band's official website succinctly puts it:
"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 these mini-rock symphonies would, at some point in the future, see the light of day and find an appreciative audience. And so it was, thanks to those who kept faith in the music, the new incarnation of Comedy of Errors came to release their debut album Disobey, a difficult birth, a long time in the making, but well worth the wait."
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Comedy of Errors
Comedy of Errors
Comedy of Errors
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Comedy of Errors
Comedy of Errors
August 30, 2025
Drygate Brewery
Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom1. Tachyon
2. Ever Be the Prize
3. The Student Prince, Part 2: And So to Bed
4. The Answer
5. Carousel
6. Prelude, Riff and Fugue
7. Going for a Song
8. The Student Prince, Part 3: Foolcircle
9. Jekyll
10. Threnody for a Dead Queen
11. Disobey
12. House of the Mind
13. The Student Prince, Part 1: When Will I See You Again?
September 7, 2024
Grimsthorpe Castle
Grimsthorpe, England, United Kingdom1. Something She Said
2. Going for a Song
3. Tachyon
4. Threnody for a Dead Queen
5. Jekyll
6. Summer Lies Beyond
7. The Student Prince, Part 1: When Will I See You Again?
April 5, 2024
Neuberinhaus
Reichenbach/Vogtland, Saxony, Germany1. Something She Said
2. Going for a Song
3. The Knight Returns
4. Wonderland
5. Fanfare for the Broken Hearted
6. Threnody for a Dead Queen
end section7. Spirit
8. Summer Lies Beyond
9. The Student Prince, Part 1: When Will I See You Again?
1. Jekyll
May 27, 2023
Ivory Blacks
Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom1. Tachyon
2. Going for a Song
3. The Knight Returns
4. Fanfare for the Broken Hearted
5. The Student Prince, Part 1: When Will I See You Again?
6. The Student Prince, Part 2: And So to Bed
7. The Student Prince, Part 3: Foolcircle
8. Spirit
Single Version9. Wonderland
10. Threnody for a Dead Queen
End section11. Something She Said
12. Time There Was
13. Spirit (Above the Hills)
14. Jekyll
15. Disobey
November 26, 2022
Centre for Contemporary Arts
Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom1. Tachyon
2. Going for a Song
3. The Knight Returns
4. Fanfare for the Broken Hearted
5. The Student Prince, Part 1: When Will I See You Again?
6. The Student Prince, Part 2: And So to Bed
7. The Student Prince, Part 3: Foolcircle
8. The Student Prince, Part 4: Green Light Coda
9. Spirit
10. Wonderland
11. Something She Said
12. Time There Was
March 6, 2022
Civic Hall
Stourport-on-Severn, England, United Kingdom1. Disobey
2. Going for a Song
3. The Student Prince, Part 2: And So to Bed
4. Fanfare for the Broken Hearted
5. Jekyll
6. The Student Prince, Part 1: When Will I See You Again?
7. Spirit (edit)
November 2, 2019
De Uthof
Sigerswâld, Friesland, Netherlands1. The Answer
2. Jekyll
3. Something She Said
4. Fanfare for the Broken Hearted
5. The Student Prince, Part 2: And So to Bed
6. Carousel
7. Song of Wandering Jacomus
8. In a Lifetime
9. Going for a Song
10. Spirit (edit)
11. The Student Prince, Part 1: When Will I See You Again?
1. Disobey
October 5, 2019
The Drill Hall
Chepstow, Wales, United Kingdom1. The Answer
2. Jekyll
3. Something She Said
4. Fanfare for the Broken Hearted
5. The Student Prince, Part 2: And So to Bed
6. Carousel
7. Song of Wandering Jacomus
8. In a Lifetime
9. Going for a Song
10. Spirit
End Piece11. The Student Prince, Part 1: When Will I See You Again?
November 30, 2018
The Musician
Leicester, England, United KingdomSeptember 8, 2018
O2 Academy Islington
London, England, United Kingdom1. Disobey
2. Jekyll
3. The Answer
4. The Student Prince, Part 2: And So to Bed
5. In a Lifetime
6. House of the Mind
7. The Student Prince, Part 1: When Will I See You Again?
December 16, 2017
Drygate Brewery
Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom1. Tachyon
2. Jekyll and Hyde
3. Joke
4. Spirit
5. In a Lifetime
6. The Student Prince, Part 3: Foolcircle
7. House
September 1, 2017
Piazzetta della Musica
Veruno, Piedmont, Italy1. Something She Said
2. Tachyon
3. Spirit
Edit4. The Student Prince, Part 2: And So to Bed
5. The Cause
6. Jekyll
7. House of the Mind
8. The Student Prince, Part 1: When Will I See You Again?
July 15, 2017
Freilichtbühne Loreley
St. Goarshausen, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany1. Disobey
2. Tachyon
3. Going for a Song
4. Something She Said
5. The Answer
6. The Cause
7. The Student Prince, Part 1: When Will I See You Again?
June 16, 2017
Parktheater
Alphen aan den Rijn, South Holland, Netherlands1. Disobey
2. Tachyon
3. Going for a Song
4. Jekyll and Hyde
5. Spirit
single version6. The Student Prince, Part 2: And So to Bed
7. Something She Said
8. The Answer
9. The Cause
10. Spirit
edit1. The Student Prince, Part 1: When Will I See You Again?
May 21, 2017
Centre d'art La Chapelle
Quebec City, Quebec, CanadaMay 8, 2016
Majestic Theater
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, United States1. Intro
2. Disobey
3. Going for a Song
4. Jekyll
5. The Student Prince, Part 1: When Will I See You Again?
6. Spirit
edit7. Spirit
single version8. The Answer
9. Could Have Been Yesterday
10. Something She Said
11. The Cause
1. The Student Prince, Part 1: When Will I See You Again?
April 2, 2016
O2 ABC
Glasgow, Scotland, United KingdomJanuary 22, 2016
King Tut's Wah Wah Hut
Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom1. Time There Was
2. Carousel
3. Spirit
single version4. Something She Said
5. Could Have Been Yesterday
6. Spirit
editFebruary 20, 2015
Classic Grand
Glasgow, Scotland, United KingdomFirst five songs correct, but might be incomplete setlist
1. Going for a Song
2. The Cause
3. The Student Prince, Part 1: When Will I See You Again?
4. The Student Prince, Part 3: Foolcircle
5. The Answer
September 26, 2014
Parktheater
Alphen aan den Rijn, South Holland, Netherlands1. The Cause
2. Disobey
3. Going for a Song
4. In a Lifetime
5. Fanfare for the Broken Hearted
6. Joke
7. Jekyll
8. The Student Prince, Part 1: When Will I See You Again?
9. The Student Prince, Part 2: And So to Bed
10. The Student Prince, Part 3: Foolcircle
11. The Answer
1. Time There Was
Some of Comedy Of Errors's most popular tracks include Fanfare for the Broken Hearted, In a Lifetime, Something She Said, Going for a Song, Merry Dance. Listen to these songs and discover more from their extensive catalog.
Comedy Of Errors are a Glasgow-based progressive rock band formed in January 1984 with Joe Cairney (vocals), Jim Johnston (keyboards), John MacPhee (drums), Mike Barnard (guitars), and Steve Stewart,... Read the full biography on this page.
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