Michael R. (Mike) Ratledge (born Maidstone, april 1943) is a British musician. Ratledge was part of the Canterbury scene, he was a long-time member of Soft Machine. Maidstone (pronounced mādstun) is the county town of Kent, in southeast England, about 30 miles from London. ... 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1943 calendar). ... The Canterbury Scene (or Canterbury Sound) is a term used to loosely describe the group of progressive rock musicians that were based around the city of Canterbury, Kent, England during the late 1960s and early 1970s. ... The Soft Machine were a pioneering British psychedelic, progressive rock and jazz band from Canterbury, Kent, England, named after the book The Soft Machine by William S. Burroughs. ...

Ratledge was born in Maidstone, Kent. As a child he was educated in classical music, the only music style played in his parental home. He learned to play piano, and with his friend Brian Hopper, whom he met at Simon Langton School in Canterbury, he played piano/clarinet pieces of classical composers. Kent is a county in England, south-east of London. ... Canterbury is a cathedral city in east Kent in South East England and is the seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Primate of All England and nominal head of the Anglican Communion. ...

Through Brian Mike also met Hugh Hopper, Brian's older brother, and Robert Wyatt. In 1961 he met Daevid Allen, who got the boys interested in playing jazz-music. Via Cecil Taylor's pianopieces Mike worked his way back to Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis and John Coltrane. Mike and his friends played jazz-music, and in 1963 he played in the Daevid Allen Trio. Hugh Hopper (born 1945, Canterbury, England) is a bass guitarist and composer. ... // Robert Wyatt, born Robert Ellidge, in Bristol on 28 January 1945, is an English musician, and a former member of the influential Canterbury scene band Soft Machine. ... Daevid Allen (born 1938 Melbourne, Australia) is a musician based in Byron Bay, Australia. ... Jazz is an original American musical art form originating around the start of the 20th century in New Orleans, rooted in Western music technique and theory, and is marked by the profound cultural contributions of African Americans. ... Cecil Percival Taylor (born in New York City March 15, 1930) is an American pianist and poet now generally acknowledged to be one of the great innovative sources of free jazz (along with the better known Ornette Coleman). ... Thelonious Monk, as featured on the cover of his 1956 album, Brilliant Corners (1958 reissue cover shown) Thelonious Sphere Monk (October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was a jazz pianist and composer. ... Davis 1959 album Kind of Blue, the best-selling jazz album ever. ... John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. ... 1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (the link is to a full 1963 calendar). ...

Unlike his friends Mike wanted to be educated, and went to the University College of Oxford, where he got a degree in psychology and filosophy. At the same time he attended music-lessons, and was educated by avant-garde musicians like 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. A work similar to Marcel Duchamps Fountain Avant garde (written avant-garde) is a French phrase, one of many French phrases used by English speakers. ...

In 1966 his friends were forming a new band, and asked Ratledge to be a member. This new band, Soft Machine featured among others Robert Wyatt, Daevid Allen and Kevin Ayers. In the years to follow Mike turned out to be the longest-lasting member of Soft Machine. There were many crew-changes, and by 1973 Ratledge was the last founding member of the band. 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1966 calendar). ... The Soft Machine were a pioneering British psychedelic, progressive rock and jazz band from Canterbury, Kent, England, named after the book The Soft Machine by William S. Burroughs. ... // Robert Wyatt, born Robert Ellidge, in Bristol on 28 January 1945, is an English musician, and a former member of the influential Canterbury scene band Soft Machine. ... Daevid Allen (born 1938 Melbourne, Australia) is a musician based in Byron Bay, Australia. ... Kevin Ayers (born August 16, 1944 in Herne Bay, Kent) is an English rock vocalist. ...

In 1976 Ratledge decided to leave Soft Machine, planning to go for a solo-career, and leaving the band to the supervision of Karl Jenkins. He built himself a studio, but a solo-album was never released. Karl Jenkins (born February 17, 1944) is a Welsh musician and composer. ...

In the late eighties Ratledge was active as a composer / producer in music for commercials. Millennia: 1st millennium - 2nd millennium - 3rd millennium Events and trends Computers, technology Bulletin board system popularity Popularization of personal computers, Walkmans, VHS videocassette recorders, and compact disc (CD) players Home video games become enormously popular, most notably Atari until the market crashes in 1983; the rise of Nintendo brings about...

In the Canterbury scene Ratledge had a place apart. He was a long-lasting member of Soft Machine, and evolved with this band from psychedelic music to jazzrock. After leaving Soft Machine he was not very successfull, and wrote music for commercials and theater. In 1995 he stepped forward again bringing the album Songs of Sanctuary, together with Jenkins, naming themselves Adiemus. 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Adiemus (pronounced ) is the title of a series of albums by Welsh composer Karl Jenkins. ...