I was thinking about him again yesterday. It actually was a result of listening to a different band than Soft Machine. I have the Nucleus BBC sessions (with musicians who joined Soft Machine) loaded up in my car and've been enjoying that lately, and I was thinking about how much it sounded like SM mixed with Miles' electric 70s era. Anyway, he was a major part of my life growing up. Always, the recluse. Sometimes showing up for special projects, but, unfortunately, rarely.
"He was the backbone of Soft Machine."