Soft Machine

Latest about Soft Machine

Kevin Ayers ruffling his own hair: studio portrait, 1973
The oddball career of Kevin Ayers, quintessential English songwriter

By Max Bell Published

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

Interviews
Jack Hues
Wang Chung’s Jack Hues reinvented himself by revisiting Robert Wyatt, Radiohead and Talk Talk

By Jo Kendall Published

Decades after playing to 80,000 people a night with Wang Chung, the Canterbury artist went wild on Epigonal Quark, with help from Syd Arthur and others

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

By Sid Smith Published

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

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

By Jerry Ewing Published

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

Biographies
Soft Machine – Softs
“These pieces aren’t so much produced as dramatised”: Soft Machine’s Softs vinyl remaster

By Sid Smith Published

John Etheridge’s arrival adds a harder, defined edge to the band’s 1976 album

Albums
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Jazz, socialism and an absurdist slant: Robert Wyatt on his improvised life

By Rob Hughes Published

Fuelled by jazz, socialism and an absurdist slant on the world around him, the retired Canterbury icon’s instincts served him well during a remarkable career

Interviews
Canterbury Scene band Soft Machine posing for a photograph in the late 60s
Inside the weird and wonderful world of The Canterbury Scene

By Paul Moody Published

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

Biographies
Soft Machine
Soft Machine announce Ronnie Scotts date in April

By Jerry Ewing Published

Soft Machine will pay tribute to late drummer John Marshall at one-off Ronnie Scott's headline show

Bands & Artists
Soft Machine
“Playing the second-ever single alongside brand-new compositions brings a degree of eccentricity that’s important to Soft Machine”: The new line-up’s new album Other Doors

By Sid Smith Published

Canterbury mainstays enter a new era without late drummer John Marshall and retired bassist Roy Babbington

Albums
Soft Machine in 1970 and Whitney Houston in 1986
“The interesting thing is that she copies Robert Wyatt’s phrasing exactly”: the weird connection between Whitney Houston and the 60s UK prog scene

By Dave Everley Published

How an obscure 60s prog-jazz cover gave Whitney Houston her big break

Tracks & Singles
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