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Kevin Ayers, 1944-2013 (Guest Appreciation by Ross Nichols)

Kevin Ayres
23 February 2013

I was going to write something up on the passing of legendary avant garde musician Kevin Ayers this week, aged 68, but longtime Big Takeover reader Ross Nichols, who has long proposed an article on Ayers in general and his pioneering psychedelic ’60s band Soft Machine in particular, has volunteered to do it. So here is Mr. Nichols:

Lead singer Kevin Ayers of influential 60’s band, Soft Machine, passed away in Montlieu, South of France, February 18, 2013. Ayers was born on August 6, 1944 in Kent, England. Ayers was an accomplished musician and was associated with the Canterbury scene in the ’60s.

Over the course of his long career he played with Syd Barrett, David Gilmour, Brian Eno and Nico and many others. The band was named after a 1961 William Burroughs novel, The Soft Machine. The band’s first single, “Love Makes Sweet Music,” was released in February, 1967, and the band often shared bills with the equally groundbreaking Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd. In England, Chas Chandler, credited with managing Jimi Hendrix, heard Soft Machine and became their manager. This resulted in Soft Machine backing Hendrix on a successful U.S. summer tour in 1968. Ayers left the band shortly after the tour and began a life-long habit of disappearing for extended lengths of time drinking and using drugs. His musical output was sporadic and his final solo album, The Unfairground (his first in 15 years), was released in 2007.

Ayers also gained fame for bedding his wife’s friends, including Virgin tycoon Richard Branson. Along these lines, as legend has it, on June 1, 1974, Ayers headlined a much-publicized concert at the Rainbow in London. The band included former Velvet Underground star John Cale, Nico , Eno, and Mike Oldlfield. Adding to the tension on stage, Cale caught Ayers sleeping with his wife the night previous to the concert.

As for his Soft Machine bandmates, rummer Robert Wyatt and keyboardist Mike Ratledge carried the group on after Ayers’ departure in 1968 with many different musicians, including guitarist Andy Summers of future Police fame a decade later. Wyatt himself left the band in 1971 and subsequently fell from a third-floor window in 1973 resulting in a broken back and the need for a wheelchair. With his drumming career over and being a very accomplished singer, he released solo projects under the name Matching Mole (he remains active at age 68, having released an album as recently as 2010). By 1978, Soft Machine oddly included no original members and they called it quits by 1984, as the last original, Ratledge, went on to his own solo career including several movie soundtracks. And alas, the classic line-up of Wyatt, Ayers and Ratledge (all left from an original 1966 quintet) only did the one album, in 1968, though nine others came after Ayers departure, 1969-1981.

Music has been very special to me for many years, and Soft Machine were a prime reason. I bought the first, selt-titled Soft Machine album in 1969 and still have the vinyl album. With its atmospheric spatial textures and beautifully-crafted songs it remains my favorite album of all time. In this day of lightweight pop stars, Soft Machine achieved something that most musicians strive for but never achieve—a lasting, meaningful and appealing album that sounds as relevant today as it did over 40 years ago. If you have not heard this album I recommend that you get it as soon as possible. It is available in CD form and easily obtainable. The songs are all connected with an organ-drum interlude, serving as a bridge to the next tune. Now open your ears and listen to this extraordinary album.

And thank you, Kevin Ayers, for the music and the difference you made.”
— Ross Nichols

Look for a four-song Ayers tribute selected by our own Bryan Swirsky on an upcoming edition of “The Big Takeover on Breakthruradio.com,” coming next month. It is only fitting and proper that we pay tribute to an artist to whom music remained more art than commerce for his 40 years of releasing idiosyncratic and challenging work.