Steve Ellis, the singer who rose to fame as the frontman of Love Affair, has died aged 76. A social media announcement said he died peacefully on 30 October following complications from a chronic illness.
Ellis provided the lead vocal on “Everlasting Love”, which reached No 1 in the UK in 1968. The song, written by Buzz Cason and Mac Gayden and first recorded by US singer Robert Knight, became one of the decade’s enduring hits and remains a popular choice at wedding ceremonies.
Born in Edgware, north-west London, in 1950, Ellis formed Soul Survivors at the age of 15. The group, influenced by Black American soul and R&B, later evolved into Love Affair in the mid-1960s. After signing with Decca, the band released “She Smiled Sweetly”, but the single was unsuccessful. “Everlasting Love”, recorded by Ellis between shifts on a building site, changed their fortunes and spent two weeks at the top of the UK chart.
Love Affair went on to secure three further UK Top 10 hits over the following two years: “Rainbow Valley”, “A Day Without Love” and “Bringing on Back the Good Times”. Ellis later became disillusioned with the band as its popularity declined, saying that the group wanted to move towards progressive rock while he remained committed to soul music. He also cited the difficulty of performing amid screaming fans.
In 1972, Ellis formed the band Ellis, whose debut album was produced by Roger Daltrey, before joining Widowmaker. He released the solo albums “The Last Angry Man” in 1977 and “Basement Days” in 1983, then returned with “Best of Days” in 2008. The album reunited him with Daltrey and began a lasting working relationship with Paul Weller.
Weller appeared on two tracks from “Best of Days”, including a live acoustic version of “Everlasting Love”. The pair worked together again on 2018’s “Boom! Bang! Twang!”, with Weller co-writing and co-producing parts of the album, and collaborated on the 2022 song “Just to Simplify”. Ellis’s most recent album, “Baby Faced Assassin”, was released in September and included three more songs created with Weller.
Weller paid tribute to Ellis on Instagram, writing: “God bless ya Stevie safe travels everlasting love for sure.”
Sources: The Guardian Music.