Soft Machine founding member and keyboard player Mike Ratledge died 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,

Mike Ratledge — co-founding keyboardist for the influential, proggy psych-rock band from Canterbury, Soft Machine — has died. He was 81.

Soft Machine's longest-serving member Mike Ratledge, who also worked with Syd Barrett and Kevin Ayers, has died after a short illness

Mike was the backbone of Soft Machine in the early years and a man with an absolutely incisive mind,” wrote Soft Machine's John Etheridge.

Soft Machine founding member Mike Ratledge dead at 81 following a brief illness, who formed the group in 1966 before departing in 1976, it is revealed.