Steve Ellis, the singer who fronted British pop-rock band Love Affair, has died at 76. A statement posted on his official Facebook page said he died peacefully on October 30, 2026, after complications from a chronic illness. No specific cause of death was disclosed.
Songwriter and longtime friend David Courtney also confirmed Ellis’ death in a Facebook tribute, expressing his condolences to Ellis’ family.
Ellis became known in the late 1960s as Love Affair’s frontman. The band’s best-known recording was its cover of “Everlasting Love,” which reached No. 1 on the U.K. singles chart in 1968 and spent two weeks at the top. The song was written by Buzz Cason and Mac Gayden and first recorded by Robert Knight. Love Affair also placed “Rainbow Valley,” “A Day Without Love” and “Bring on Back the Good Times” in the U.K. top 10.
Ellis began his professional music career at 15, joining the North London band Soul Survivors in 1966. The group became Love Affair the following year. He left in 1969 and formed the band Ellis in 1972 with keyboardist Zoot Money and other musicians. The group released two albums, “Riding on the Crest of a Slump” and “Why Not?” He later joined rock band Widowmaker, which released a self-titled debut album in the mid-1970s.
After leaving Widowmaker, Ellis stepped away from the music industry and worked at the docks in England. A forklift accident in 1981 severely injured his feet, leading to years of surgeries and recovery.
Love Affair reunited under Ellis in 1991, and he led his touring group, Steve Ellis’ Love Affair, through 1998. He continued to record solo material, releasing “Best of Days” in 2008, with contributions from Roger Daltrey and Paul Weller.
Sources: Billboard.