Love Affair singer Steve Ellis dies at 76 after complications linked to a chronic illness, his family has announced. He died peacefully on the evening of October 30, 2026, surrounded by loved ones.
A statement posted on Ellis’s Facebook page did not name the illness or announce funeral arrangements. It invited friends and fans to share memories and ended, appropriately, with the title of the song that followed him throughout his life: “Everlasting Love.”
The Strange Brew reported that Ellis’s longtime friend David Courtney announced the death after speaking with the singer’s wife, Val. No credible reports have disputed the family’s account of the date or circumstances.
How “Everlasting Love” made Ellis famous
Ellis became the lead singer of London pop group Love Affair while still a teenager. His commanding vocal on “Everlasting Love” took the song to No. 1 in the UK in February 1968, where it remained for two weeks. It spent 12 weeks in the Top 40.
Love Affair went on to secure five Top 20 singles between 1968 and 1970. The polished records came with one slightly awkward detail: Ellis was the only member of the group who performed on the hit recordings, with session musicians handling the instruments. The arrangement caused controversy once it became public, although there was never much confusion about whose voice drove the songs.
Ellis left Love Affair in 1969 and later fronted the band Ellis before joining the hard-rock group Widowmaker.
A serious accident nearly ended his career
In 1981, Ellis suffered severe injuries to his feet in a dockside accident involving forklift blades. He underwent eight years of treatment and had to learn to walk again.
He eventually returned to touring in the early 1990s, rebuilding a live career around the songs associated with Love Affair and his later work. “Everlasting Love” remained the unavoidable centrepiece, but Ellis appeared to make peace with that. In an interview with Jason Barnard, he said the track had accompanied “a lot of weddings and funerals.”
Barnard remembered him as “warm, amiable,” a description rather less complicated than the history of British pop bands and session musicians.
Ellis was still releasing music in 2026
His death came during a period of renewed activity. The Bellboys released “Brighton’s Calling,” featuring Ellis, on March 16, 2026. By April, it had reached No. 8 on Mike Read’s Heritage Chart.
Ellis also released the album Baby Faced Assassin on September 25, just over a month before his death. It included three songs co-written with Paul Weller and Caroline Knott.
Musician Norman Beaker, who performed his song “She Heals My Soul” on the album, described Ellis as “a good friend and a great voice.” He also called him “a legend with the mod movement” and “a great character.”
BCM Entertainments, which had booked Ellis for festival appearances over many years, said his “incredible voice, timeless songs and wonderful performances” always brought something special to its events. The company offered condolences to his family, friends and fellow musicians, adding: “Thank you for the music, the memories and the wonderful moments you shared with us.”
