The singer who carried “Everlasting Love” to No. 1 in Britain — a cover his band worked up from a U.S. soul record at a rehearsal in Walthamstow, England — has died.
Steve Ellis, the frontman of the London group Love Affair, died at 76 on the evening of Oct. 30, 2026, following complications from a chronic illness, with loved ones present.
A statement posted on the singer’s official Facebook page announced the death. “Dear Friends, It’s with a heavy heart that we share the news of Steve’s passing,” it said.
The Record They Copied in Walthamstow
Love Affair did not write the song that made them. Buzz Cason and Mac Gayden wrote “Everlasting Love,” and the group first heard it at a rehearsal session in Walthamstow, where the band 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 the record for the first time.
The band released its version in 1967 and reached No. 1 in Britain in January 1968, holding the top spot for two weeks. Ellis was 17 when he sang it.
Knight’s own U.S. hit version climbed to No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100. Carl Carlton’s disco remake in 1974 went seven places higher, to No. 6. In Britain, though, the version people sang back was the one cut by a teenager from Edgware.
The song found a second life on screen, turning up in “Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason” and in Kenneth Branagh’s “Belfast,” where Jamie Dornan sang it.
The Flop With a Stones Credit
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.
The group came together in London in 1966 and was described as pop and progressive rock. The lineup alongside Ellis featured drummer Maurice Bacon, bassist Mick Jackson, keyboardist Lynton Guest and guitarist Rex Brayley.
Their first single, “She Smiled Sweetly,” flopped in 1967 even with the Rolling Stones writers Mick Jagger and Keith Richards on the songwriting credit. Four more U.K. Top 20 hits followed, among them “A Day Without Love,” “Rainbow Valley” and “Bringing On Back the Good Times,” all of which cracked the Top 10.
Learning to Walk Again
Ellis left the band in 1969 for a solo career. He later played in Widowmaker and Ellis, and he also recorded on his own.
A forklift accident in 1980 left him with severe foot injuries. The injuries cost him years of hospital visits and rehabilitation before he could walk again.
Love Affair reunited several times over the years, and Ellis kept releasing solo albums, a string of them, including “Baby Faced Assassin” in 2026.
Paul Weller Says Safe Travels
Paul Weller, the guitarist, singer and songwriter who fronted The Jam, was among the first to pay tribute. “Our dear mate Stevie Ellis passed on last week. God bless ya Stevie safe travels everlasting love for sure,” he wrote on Facebook.
Norman Beaker, a blues musician, said he recently played on a track for Ellis’ new album, one of his own compositions, “She Heals My Soul.” He remembered Ellis as a friend with a formidable voice and legendary standing in the mod movement, and said he would be sadly missed.
David Courtney, a record producer, described Ellis as a longtime friend and 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 and had brought what it called timeless songs and wonderful performances to its audiences. The company sent condolences to his family, friends, fellow musicians and everyone who worked with him, and thanked him for the music and the memories.
Boom Radio said it was sorry to learn of the death of the legendary Love Affair frontman, praised his voice and noted he was 76. Heritage Chart Radio said it was deeply saddened and called Ellis one of the great voices of British music, adding that his talent, his passion and his contribution to the soundtrack of so many lives would never be forgotten.
The Facebook statement invited fans to leave their thoughts, memories and condolences for the family in the comments. It closed with the words “Everlasting Love.”