Soft Machine founding member and keyboard player Mike Ratledge has died aged 81, after a short illness. The news was confirmed by his former bandmate and current Soft Machine guitarist John Etheridge.
In a Facebook post, 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.
