Soft Machine founding member and keyboard player Mike Ratledge has died aged 81, after a short illness, his former bandmate and current Soft Machine guitarist John Etheridge has confirmed.
In a Facebook post earlier today Etheridge wrote, "Incredibly sad news that my great friend and Soft Machine legend passed away two hours ago after a brief illness. Mike was the backbone of Soft Machine in the early years and a man with an absolutely incisive mind - a marvellous composer and keyboardist. A real renaissance man - so talented, cultured, charming - and a wonderful companion. We used to meet every few weeks for over 40 yrs - 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."
With his distinctive hairstyle, moustache and trademark dark glasses, Ratledge was, for many, the most easily identifiable member of Soft Machine, with whom he remained from their 1966 debut album through to 1976's Softs album. "Cool as fuck," is how Prog writer and Canterbury Scene fan Sid Smith paid tribute to Ratledge earlier today. "He had such a distinctive and inventive voice as a soloist. I count myself lucky to have seen him play several times. A brilliant composer."
Ratledge was born in Maidstone in Kent on May 6, 1943. He was schooled in classical music from a young. age, the only music his headmaster father would allow to be played in the family home. He attended the Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys in Canterbury, soon to become a hotbed of burgeoning progressive musical talent, where, through his friend Brian Hopper, he met Robert Wyatt and Hopper's brother Hugh.
In turn, they met Australian poet and musician Daevid Allen in 1961 who turned the young budding musicians on to jazz. By 1963 Ratledge was performing with Allen in the Daevid Allen Trio, however he decided to concentrate on his studies when his friends formed the catalystic The Wilde Flowers, which would also feature the likes of Kevin Ayers as well as Pye Hastings, Richard Coughlan, Dave Sinclair and Richard Sinclair, who would all go on to form Caravan.
Ratledge formed Soft Machine with Ayers, Allen, Wyatt and guitarist Larry Nowlin in 1966. Nowlin soon quit, leaving the band as a quartet who became regulars on the growing London underground scene often playing alongside the likes of Pink Floyd. The quartet recorded some demos, from which came their debut single Love Makes Sweet Music. However by the time they came to record their debut album, Allen was in France launching Gong, having been denied re-entry to the UK.
1968's Soft Machine was recorded as trio, with former road manager Hugh Hopper filling in on bass. The band toured the US with Jimi Hendrix with future Police guitarist Andy Summers, but he and then Ayers both left and Ratledge, Wyatt continued with Hugh Hopper. The trio recorded Volume Two in 1969 and also featured on Syd Barrett's solo debut The Madcap Laughs.
The band were pioneers of both porgressive rock and jazz fusion and operated an almost constantly shifting line-up, with Ratledge as the mainstay. Over the years such notable musicians as Elton Dean, Karl Jenkins, Allan Holdsworth, John Marshall, Roy Babbington and more.
Ratledge left Soft Machine in 1976, following the release of their Softs album. He would work with Mike Oldfield, composer David Bedford, Soft Machine colleague Karl Jenkins, and recorded film soundtracks, including 1977's experimental Riddle Of The Sphinx. Although he kept a relatively low profile regarding his Soft Machine exploits, he was active as a composer and musical producer for commercials and the theatre.
Leonardo Pavkovic of MoonJune Records, who has worked with many members of Soft Machine over the years, paid tribute, saying, " Mike Ratledge was my favourite keyboard player by far, the man who left the live music business almost 5 decades ago, leaving an eternal legacy of a true legend. One of my favourite musicians of all time. And I was really looking forward to seeing him again. The world is a sad and weird place right now, and this adds to the general sadness, and I was curious to know by the man himself, what Mike would think about what is going on in the world. He was one of the most knowledgeable, wise and read people I have ever met."
