Steve Ellis, the Voice of Love Affair's 'Everlasting Love', Dies at 76
Some voices age with you. Some stay frozen at the exact moment they hit. Steve Ellis's voice on "Everlasting Love" is the second kind: forever 17, forever all-in, forever sounding like the most important thing in the world is the person he's singing to. Ellis, the frontman of Love Affair, has died. He was 76. He passed away on 30 October 2026, from complications of a chronic illness, according to reports.
The song that did the impossible
Picture early 1968. The Beatles are at number one in Britain with "Hello, Goodbye". And then a young band called Love Affair, fronted by a teenager, knocks them off.
Their version of "Everlasting Love", first released by American singer Robert Knight in 1967, went to number one in the UK. Ellis, born on 7 April 1950 in Edgware, was still a teenager. That single, those strings, that voice straining with pure feeling. It's been covered again and again since, but every version gets measured against that one.
Love Affair followed it up with three more Top 10 hits. For a couple of years, they were everywhere.
After the screaming stopped
Ellis left the band at the end of the 1960s, and the next chapters were less glossy but honestly more interesting:
Ellis, a band he formed in 1972 with keyboardist Zoot Money, releasing two albums
Widowmaker in 1976, a hard rock outfit that toured with The Who
A serious accident and a long period of recovery that kept him away from music for years
A comeback in the late 2000s, including The Best of Days (2008), featuring Paul Weller and Roger Daltrey
Boom Bang Twang in 2018, proof he still had it
That Weller and Daltrey turned up for him says everything about how musicians saw him. Not as a one-hit teen idol, but as a real soul singer who got there first.
Why it still hits
"Everlasting Love" is one of those songs that refuses to become background music. It shows up at weddings, in films, in your parents' car. It's a promise in song form, sung by a kid who absolutely believed it.
Rest easy, Steve. The song really did turn out to be everlasting.
For more on music's big moments this year, read our piece on Music Director Merlin D'Souza at Jodhpur RIFF 2026.
Frequently asked questions
When did Steve Ellis die?
Steve Ellis died on 30 October 2026, aged 76.
What was Steve Ellis's cause of death?
Reports say he died from complications of a chronic illness.
What was Steve Ellis's biggest hit?
Love Affair's version of 'Everlasting Love', which reached number one in the UK in 1968 and replaced The Beatles' 'Hello, Goodbye' at the top.
Who originally recorded 'Everlasting Love'?
Robert Knight released the original in 1967. Love Affair's cover became the UK number one.
Vishal Waghela is the Co-Founder of AltBollywood and a proud neo-generalist who refuses to pick a lane. Film, music, memes, fashion, AI, internet subcultures: if pop culture touches it, he's already three rabbit holes deep. He writes the way he lives online, loud, emotional, a little chaotic and always honest about why culture makes us feel things. Come argue with him on Instagram at @vishal.waghe1a.
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