Soft Machine was a pioneering psychedelic, progressive rock and jazz band f… Read Full Bio ↴Soft Machine was a pioneering psychedelic, progressive rock and jazz band from Canterbury, United Kingdom, named after the book The Soft Machine by William S. Burroughs. They were one of the central bands in the Canterbury Scene.
The band originally consisted of Robert Wyatt, Kevin Ayers, Daevid Allen and Mike Ratledge, most of whom were former members of The Wilde Flowers in 1966. Later members have included Hugh Hopper, Roy Babbington, Elton Dean, John Etheridge, Karl Jenkins, John Marshall, and Allan Holdsworth.
Soft Machine continued on in name, even after all the original founder members moved on; Mike Ratledge was the last to depart in 1976. Numerous offshoots and side projects have included "Soft" in their names: Soft Heap, Soft Head, Soft Works, and the band Matching Mole, a play on words for the French of Soft Machine ('machine molle'). As of 2005, Soft Machine Legacy is a working concern.
Other musicians in the band during the later period were bassists Percy Jones of Brand X and Steve Cook, saxophonists Alan Wakeman and Ray Warleigh, and violinist Ric Sanders. Their 1977 performances and record Alive and Well: Recorded in Paris were among the last for Soft Machine as a working band. The Soft Machine name was used for the 1981 record Land of Cockayne with Jack Bruce and Allan Holdsworth, plus Ray Warleigh and Dick Morrissey on saxes and John Taylor on electric piano, and for a final series of dates at London's Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in the summer of 1984, featuring Jenkins and Marshall leading an ad-hoc line-up of Etheridge, Warleigh, pianist Dave MacRae and bassist Paul Carmichael.
The band originally consisted of Robert Wyatt, Kevin Ayers, Daevid Allen and Mike Ratledge, most of whom were former members of The Wilde Flowers in 1966. Later members have included Hugh Hopper, Roy Babbington, Elton Dean, John Etheridge, Karl Jenkins, John Marshall, and Allan Holdsworth.
Soft Machine continued on in name, even after all the original founder members moved on; Mike Ratledge was the last to depart in 1976. Numerous offshoots and side projects have included "Soft" in their names: Soft Heap, Soft Head, Soft Works, and the band Matching Mole, a play on words for the French of Soft Machine ('machine molle'). As of 2005, Soft Machine Legacy is a working concern.
Other musicians in the band during the later period were bassists Percy Jones of Brand X and Steve Cook, saxophonists Alan Wakeman and Ray Warleigh, and violinist Ric Sanders. Their 1977 performances and record Alive and Well: Recorded in Paris were among the last for Soft Machine as a working band. The Soft Machine name was used for the 1981 record Land of Cockayne with Jack Bruce and Allan Holdsworth, plus Ray Warleigh and Dick Morrissey on saxes and John Taylor on electric piano, and for a final series of dates at London's Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in the summer of 1984, featuring Jenkins and Marshall leading an ad-hoc line-up of Etheridge, Warleigh, pianist Dave MacRae and bassist Paul Carmichael.
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Volume Two
Soft Machine Lyrics
As Long As He Lies Perfectly Still Here's a song for 'clean machine Kevin Majorca' He's found …
Dada Was Here Por qué trabajas tú por allí? Por qué no estas aquí…
Dedicated To You But You Weren't Listening Famous parabolic versions Songs that promise: Beauty, sleep,…
Have You Ever Bean Green? Thank you Noel and Mitch Thank you Jim for our exposure…
Hibou, Anemone and Bear In the spring, I think of sex and means to…
Hulloder If I were black, and I lived here I'd want to…
Pig Suspenders and stockings Look more sexy than the tights girl…
Thank You Pierrot Lunaire In his organ solos, he fills 'round the keyboards Knowing…