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RARE PHOTOS: Mike ratledge - The Real Truth

"The band that knocked me over was the Mahavishnu Orchestra." Prog takes a look inside Bill Oddie's Record Collection

From being wowed by US fusion instrumentalists to being honoured on a Soft Machine album, Bill Oddie's record collection tells some tales...

“The sound universe that Soft Machine opened before me was almost unfathomable. It was a revelation, a musical epiphany”: Meet the Canterbury scene’s international next generation

“The sound universe that Soft Machine opened before me was almost unfathomable. It was a revelation, a musical epiphany”: Meet the Canterbury scene’s international next generation

The seeds of The Wilde Flowers have taken root all around the world. Here are just a handful of 21st-century musicians taking inspiration from the 60s and 70s

“We were playing things like Chuck Berry. I was just horrified, because I’m a choirboy”: How Richard Sinclair helped build the Canterbury scene with Caravan, Hatfield And The North, Camel and more

“We were playing things like Chuck Berry. I was just horrified, because I’m a choirboy”: How Richard Sinclair helped build the Canterbury scene with Caravan, Hatfield And The North, Camel and more

He shares memories of Pye Hastings, Robert Wyatt, Kevin Ayers, Andy Latimer and many other collaborators from his rich heritage, soon to be include with his long, long awaited debut solo album

From analysis to the latest developments in health,
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"I felt out of place. That group didn't have much musical merit and I thought it was crap": The oddball career of Kevin Ayers, quintessential English songwriter

Kevin Ayers co-founded Soft Machine, influenced Bowie, shared acid trips and girlfriends with Hendrix, and knew Syd Barrett better than most

Jethro Tull grace the cover of the new issue of Prog Magazine, which is on sale now!

Plus Kevin Godley, Ghost Of The Machine, Mike Ratledge, Can, Cardiacs, Amplifier, Karmakanic, Envy Of None and more...

Mike Ratledge obituary

Composer and keyboard player who was a driving force behind the experimental prog-rock band Soft Machine

The Guardian - UK

"Behind those dark glasses and unsmiling visage, he presented an inscrutable presence." Soft Machine's Mike Ratledge remembered

Prog writer Sid Smith pays tribute to the former Soft Machine founder and keyboard player Mike Ratledge, who sadly died after a short illness, aged 81

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"He was the backbone of Soft Machine." Founding member and keyboard player Mike Ratledge dead at 81

"He was the backbone of Soft Machine." Founding member and keyboard player Mike Ratledge dead at 81

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

“I’d just fed the gerbils and was practicing how to play the saw when this head popped around the door and asked politely if I would like to join Caravan”: Inside the weird and wonderful world of The Canterbury Scene

“I’d just fed the gerbils and was practicing how to play the saw when this head popped around the door and asked politely if I would like to join Caravan”: Inside the weird and wonderful world of The Canterbury Scene

Soft Machine, Caravan, Gong, Hatfield And The North - how a small town in England changed progressive music forever

“Pop music didn’t offer enough open space for improvisation… there was no way we were going to play a tune the same way twice”: How Soft Machine pioneered the Canterbury scene

“Pop music didn’t offer enough open space for improvisation… there was no way we were going to play a tune the same way twice”: How Soft Machine pioneered the Canterbury scene

By the time debut album The Soft Machine was released in 1968, they’d already split up - but its impact changed everything

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