cover image There Are No Spies

There Are No Spies

Bill Granger, Ray Coleman. Warner Books, $9.95 (259pp) ISBN 978-0-446-38049-2

British music journalist Coleman, longtime Melody Maker editor and author of the biography Lennon, has captured the ""life, work and pulse'' of the blues/rock guitarist and songwriter, tracing Clapton's turbulent career with a number of groups (Yardbirds, Cream, Blind Faith, etc.). The musician's life, Coleman notes, ``evokes the ingredients of a novel rather than a biography'': he was raised by his grandparents and had a troubled childhood, was expelled from college and began performing professionally at 18, and kicked both heroin and alcohol addiction. His obsessive pursuit of George Harrison's wife, Pattie, led to a clandestine affair and their 1979 marriage. Coleman tracks the details of Clapton's life with an intensity equal to his subject matter, and his extensive research is evident. In addition to a discography, the book also features pages from Clapton's diary, several song lyrics, a chart of ``career moves'' and more than 70 photographs. (October)