Michael Roland Ratledge (born 6 May 1943) is a British musician. A part of the Canterbury scene, he was a founding member of Soft Machine. He was the last founding member to leave the group, doing so in 1976.[1]
At the same time, Ratledge attended music lessons, and was educated by avant-garde musicians Mal Dean and Rab Spall. After his graduation, Ratledge intended to go to a university in the United States, but his application for a scholarship was filed too late.[5]
Career
In 1966, Ratledge's friends were forming a new band, Soft Machine, and asked him to join. The band included Robert Wyatt, Daevid Allen, and Kevin Ayers.[1] There were many personnel changes over the years. Wyatt's departure in 1971 left Ratledge as the only remaining founding member, while the 1973 departure of Hugh Hopper (who joined in 1968) left Ratledge as the only member from the 1960s to still be in the band.[5]
In November 1973, Ratledge participated in a live performance of Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells for the BBC.[6] In 1976, Ratledge decided to leave Soft Machine to build a solo career, leaving the band under Karl Jenkins' leadership. Ratledge built himself a studio and composed a score for the film Riddles of the Sphinx,[1] which utilised a prototype synthesizer which he constructed with his friend Denys Irving.
As Soft Machine's longest-lasting member, Ratledge was a part of the band's changes in musical direction from psychedelic music to jazz-rock. In the 1980s, Ratledge was active as a composer and musical producer for commercials and the theatre.[1] In 1995, Adiemus (Ratledge, Karl Jenkins and Miriam Stockley) released Songs of Sanctuary, which Ratledge co-produced with Karl Jenkins and for which he programmed the electronic percussion.[4]
