When “Everlasting Love” rocketed up the record charts of 1968, its dynamite appeal lay not alone in the song and its blast of an arrangement but by the throaty, mature and soulful vocal fronting it.

This was the voice of a man that had seen the world, perhaps even a little weary of it as a consequence.

Only, the singer in Love Affair was 17 year-old Londoner Steve Ellis and in truth, he was just starting out.

Steve, who died on October 30th 2026 in his home city after a short illness, was a defining voice in British pop and soul.

He began at the age of 15 with London’s Soul Survivors, cutting their teeth playing local gigs before progressing to local venues like The Marquee, The Flamingo and Tiles along with mod and soul clubs further afield.

After a brief spell with Decca Records, a move to CBS shoed in one of the most successful British pop acts of the late `60s, reinvented as Love Affair, recording a string of hit singles in “Everlasting Love”, “Rainbow Valley” and more.

Steve’s first project after leaving the band in 1969 was contributing to the soundtrack of ‘Loot’, the screen adaptation of the play by playwright, Joe Orton.

In 1971, under the management of Chas Chandler, Steve fronted his own band Ellis, releasing two albums for Epic before helming hard rockers Widowmaker: while commercially-successful, poor chemistry within the band led to Steve’s embarking on a solo career.

‘The Last Angry Man’ was recorded in 1977/78 with A-List talent including guitarists, Albert Lee (Heads, Hands & Feet, Emmylou Harris), Brian Robertson (Thin Lizzy) and Henry McCullough (Joe Cocker, Wings) with Family’s Roger Chapman on backing vocals.

When his label Ariola shelved the album, and devastated by the passing in 1978 of close friend Keith Moon, Steve took a break from the music business but after a sustaining serious injury in 1983 returned to the studio to record live-to-tape the intimate ‘Basement Days’.

For the 2008-recorded ‘Best of Days’, he assembled a roll call of musical talent bolstered by guest appearances from pals Roger Daltrey and Paul Weller to craft one of his finest releases. Blue-eyed soul never sounded better.

On fourth solo album, 2011’s ‘Ten Commitments’, Steve brought his voice to a set of some of his favourite songs.  In fine form as ever, his distinctive, soulful voice got complementary support from his backing band The Big City Allstars to craft another set of classic pop/rock/soul.

2018 saw in, ‘Boom Bang Twang’., another expertly-crafted mix of new songs and heartfelt covers with guests and long-time friends Paul Weller, COW, Mike D’Abo, and The Moons along for the ride.

Steve’s back catalogue remained available throughout his long career and his songs and performances are ably-documented in 2022’s 175-track, 10-CD disc box set, ‘Finchley Boy’.

His relationship with the management of Singsong Music, dating back to the 1990s, was rekindled with 2024’s ‘March On’, a compilation of his solo work between 1977 and 2011 all now reissued by the company.

Only a month ago, Singsong Music released what was to be Steve’s curtain-call in ‘Baby-Faced Assassin’ fielding an exceptional cut of new songs including co-writes with Paul Weller.

Steve will be missed. He held up values that made him a joy to work with: straight-talking, loyal and great fun to be in the room with, lighting it with a seemingly-endless string of anecdotes about his life on the road in a business dating back almost 60 years.

That light has been extinguished.

Steve Ellis, remembered with everlasting love…