Most of us have heard and danced along to the timeless hit Everlasting Love.
But now, the unmistakable voice behind the song has fallen silent forever.
Steve Ellis, the singer who rose to fame as the frontman of Love Affair, has died at the age of 76.
Became a familiar name
For anyone who grew up in the late ’60s, the summer of 1968 brings back memories of a very different time. The radio was playing in living rooms, cars and dance halls, young people were discovering the sounds of a changing generation, and one song seemed to be everywhere.
Love Affair’s version of Everlasting Love, with Steve Ellis on lead vocals, became a huge hit that year. Originally written by Buzz Cason and Mac Gayden, the song captured the spirit of the era with its infectious rhythm, soaring vocals and irresistible chorus.
The London pop-rock band Love Affair first appeared on the music scene with ”She Smiled Sweetly,” a song written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. However, their debut failed to make much of an impression.
That would soon change. By the late 1960s, the group had become a familiar name on the British music scene, scoring a string of hits, most notably their version of ”Everlasting Love.”
The song had originally been recorded by American singer Robert Knight, and Love Affair’s cover would go on to become one of the defining hits of the era.
Breakthrough came with a controversy
According to Steve Ellis, the song first came to the band’s attention through their managers, David Wedgebury and John Cokell, who had access to imported records through Decca and the Monument label.
”I loved it and so we set about putting it down on tape,” Ellis later said.
Love Affair’s version of Everlasting Love quickly became a major hit, reaching the top of the UK Singles Chart on January 31, 1968, where it stayed at No. 1 for two weeks.
The song also made the Top 20 in several other European countries that year.
But the breakthrough came with a controversy.
According to USA Today, Love Affair later revealed that their record label had brought in an orchestra to play on the recording of ”Everlasting Love.” In fact, Steve Ellis was the only band member who actually performed on the hit record.
Despite the success, Ellis became increasingly frustrated with the direction of the group and the image that had been created around him as a teen idol.
In 1969, he decided to leave and pursue a solo career.
Horrific accident later in life
Looking back on his time with the band, Ellis told UK radio station Hailsham FM in September: ”I wasn’t happy. We couldn’t hear what we were playing, and we were a band and making music,” Ellis shared and added: ”I went to the record label, and I said, ‘I can’t do this anymore.’ I said, ‘It’s not about music.’”
Love Affair briefly carried on with another vocalist before eventually splitting up. Ellis later brought the name back for a time with a revived version of the group, Steve Ellis’s Love Affair.
In 1981, Ellis stepped away from the music business and took a job as a docker. It was a dramatic change of direction, but one he threw himself into.
“It was bloody hard work but I got super-athlete fit. I was slinging hundredweight sacks of potatoes around all day like they were basketballs. Then I got into an argument with a forklift truck and broke both my feet. I spent seven, eight years in and out of hospitals having bone grafts,” he told Geoff Barton in an interview.
Several years later, Ellis found his way back to music. He briefly performed with New Amen Corner in 2013, and in 2008 released the album The Best of Days on Demon Records. The record featured appearances by Paul Weller of The Jam and Roger Daltrey of The Who, showing that his musical journey was far from over.
Steve Ellis cause of death
The news of Ellis’s death was first shared by songwriter David Courtney, who paid tribute to his longtime friend in a post on Facebook.
“Sad to announce the passing of my long time friend Steve Ellis, who left us yesterday,” he wrote on October 30.
The news was later confirmed on Ellis’s official Facebook page in a heartbreaking statement:
“Dear friends, it’s with a heavy heart that we share the news of Steve’s passing,” the statement read. “After complications from a chronic illness, Steve peacefully left the world on the evening of October 30, 2026, in the presence of his loved ones.”
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