Ray Coleman

Coleman was the former editor-in-chief of Melody Maker known for his biographies of The Beatles.^[1] Besides Melody Maker, Coleman contributed to music magazines such as Disc, Black Music, and Musicians Only, and a contributor to magazines such as Billboard. An author or co-author of ten books, he was working with Nicky Hopkins on a never-completed biography at the time of Hopkins' death in 1994. Coleman was also near the completion of a Phil Collins biography at the time of his own death in 1996. The book was completed and published in 1997.^[4]

Coleman was the first journalist to be awarded a Gold Badge of Merit by the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors for services to British music.^{[citation needed]}

Ray Coleman died of kidney cancer on 10 September 1996 at his home in Shepperton, near London. He was 59.^[1]

Coleman wrote or co-wrote the biographies of at least a dozen famous musicians.^[4] They include the following:

• Gary Numan: The Authorised Biography (1982)
• Lennon: The Definitive Biography (1985, updated 1993)
• McCartney: Yesterday and Today
• The Carpenters: The Untold Story
• Clapton: The Authorised Biography of Eric Clapton
• Frank Sinatra: A Celebration
• Stone Alone: The Definitive Story of the Rolling Stones (co-written with Bill Wyman)
• Brian Epstein: The Man Who Made The Beatles
• Rod Stewart: The Biography
• I'll Never Walk Alone (co-written with Gerry Marsden)
• Phil Collins: The Definitive Biography