Mike Ratledge, British musician and founding member of Soft Machine, died at 81 on Wednesday, February 5, after a brief illness, according to his former bandmate and guitarist John Etheridge.
“Mike was the backbone of Soft Machine in the early years and a man with an absolutely incisive mind – a marvellous composer and keyboardist,” Etheridge wrote on Facebook. “A real renaissance man – so talented, cultured, charming – and a wonderful companion. We used to meet every few weeks for over 40 years – a treat for me. What a loss to all of us and his sisters and wonderful girlfriend Elena, who were with him at the end.”
He was the last founding member to leave the group, doing so in 1976, born on 6 May 1943, in Maidstone, Kent, the son of a Canterbury secondary modern school headmaster.
As a child, he was educated in classical music, played only in his parents’ home. In 1966, Ratledge’s friends were forming a new band, Soft Machine, and asked him to join. The band included Robert Wyatt, Daevid Allen, and Kevin Ayers.
According to the wiki, As Soft Machine’s longest-lasting member, Ratledge was a part of the band’s changes in musical direction from psychedelic music to jazz-rock. In the 1980s, Ratledge was active as a composer and musical producer for commercials and the theatre.
Mike Ratledge, Co-Founder of Soft Machine, Died at 81
