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

Mike Ratledge, keyboardist and founding member of Soft Machine, has died. He was 81 years old. The news was confirmed by Ratledge’s former bandmate and current Soft Machine guitarist John Etheridge in a Facebook post.