The teenage voice behind one of Britain’s best-loved No. 1 hits has fallen silent.
Steve Ellis, the frontman of the London group Love Affair and the singer on their chart-topping version of “Everlasting Love,” died at 76 on the evening of Oct. 30, 2026, following complications from a chronic illness, with his loved ones present.
“Dear Friends, It’s with a heavy heart that we share the news of Steve’s passing,” said the statement posted on the singer’s official Facebook page.
The record that made his name was not even his band’s own. Love Affair’s cover of “Everlasting Love,” released in 1967, reached No. 1 in Britain in January 1968 and stayed there for two weeks. Ellis was 17 when he sang it.
He Heard It in Walthamstow
Ellis was born in Edgware, northwest London, and formed his first band, The Clifton Bystanders, as a teenager. He then put together the Soul Survivors, the outfit that became Love Affair after the group came together in London in 1966. Alongside Ellis in the pop and progressive rock band were drummer Maurice Bacon, bassist Mick Jackson, keyboardist Lynton Guest and guitarist Rex Brayley.
Their first single, “She Smiled Sweetly,” arrived in 1967 with a songwriting credit most young bands could only dream of — Rolling Stones writers Mick Jagger and Keith Richards — and it flopped. The follow-up came out of a rehearsal session in Walthamstow, where the group played a copy of a record by the U.S. soul singer Robert Knight.
“I loved it and so we set about putting it down on tape,” Ellis said of hearing it for the first time.
The song, written by Buzz Cason and Mac Gayden, had already given Knight a hit in America, climbing to No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100. A disco remake by Carl Carlton in 1974 went seven places higher, reaching No. 6. In Britain, the version people sang back was the one cut by a teenager from Edgware.
Love Affair added four more U.K. Top 20 hits, among them “A Day Without Love,” “Rainbow Valley” and “Bringing On Back The Good Times,” all of which cracked the Top 10. Ellis walked away in 1969 to pursue a solo career.
The Accident That Cost Him Years
He kept working, joining the bands Widowmaker and Ellis and recording on his own. Then, in 1980, a forklift accident left him with severe foot injuries that required years of hospital visits and rehabilitation before he could walk again.
The music outlasted all of it. Love Affair reunited several times over the years, and Ellis released a string of solo albums, including “Baby Faced Assassin” in 2026. “Everlasting Love” kept finding new audiences on screen, turning up in “Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason” and in Kenneth Branagh’s “Belfast,” where Jamie Dornan sings it.
Everlasting Love for Sure
Among the first to pay tribute was Paul Weller, the guitarist, singer and songwriter who fronted The Jam. “Our dear mate Stevie Ellis passed on last week. God bless ya Stevie safe travels everlasting love for sure,” he wrote on Facebook.
Blues musician Norman Beaker said he had recently played on a track for Ellis’ new album — one of his own compositions, “She Heals My Soul” — and remembered the singer as a friend with a formidable voice who held legendary standing in the mod movement. He said Ellis would be sadly missed.
Record producer David Courtney, who described Ellis as a longtime friend, said his thoughts were with Ellis’ family.
BCM Entertainments Ltd, a Kent-based festival company, said Ellis had been a familiar and much-loved face at its events for years, bringing what it called timeless songs and wonderful performances to its audiences. The promoter sent condolences to his family, friends, fellow musicians and everyone who worked with him, and thanked him for the music and the memories.
Radio paid its respects too. Boom Radio said it was sorry to learn of the death of the legendary Love Affair frontman and praised his voice, noting he was 76. Heritage Chart Radio said it was deeply saddened by the news, calling Ellis one of the great voices of British music and saying his talent, his passion and his contribution to the soundtrack of so many lives would never be forgotten.
The statement on Ellis’ Facebook page invited fans to leave their thoughts, memories and condolences for the family in the comments. It signed off with two words: “Everlasting Love.”