Soft Machine’s Mike Ratledge Dead at 81

With Mike Ratledge raised by a school headmaster, he grew up listening to mostly classical music. To add to his growing love for music, he was also trained on the piano. Although surrounded by classical music, Ratledge went on to carve his own path in the music industry when he helped form the rock band Soft Machine. Besides his time with Soft Machine, Ratledge also explored a solo career. Sadly, on February 5th, Ratledge passed away at 81 years old. 

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The news of Ratledge passing hit headlines when Soft Machine’s guitarist John Etheridge shared the news on Facebook. He 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.”

While Ratledge eventually left Soft Machine, Etheridge continued to stay close with the musician and explained they used to meet up. “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.”

Mike Ratledge Considered A True Legend

Leaving such a mark on the music industry, Leonardo Pavkovic, of MoonJune Records, took a moment to pay tribute to Ratledge. “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.”

Still coming to terms with Ratledge’s passing, Pavkovic admitted to feeling out of place. “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.”

 (Photo by Michael Putland/Getty Images)