Steve Ellis, who was the lead singer of the English band Love Affair and best known for the band’s 1967 cover of “Everlasting Love,” died on Oct. 30. He was 76.
Ellis’ death was announced on his official Facebook page on Sunday. The post noted that Ellis died “peacefully” on Friday, USA Today reported.
“It’s with a heavy heart that we share the news of Steve’s passing,” the post stated. “After complications from a chronic illness, Steve peacefully left the world on the evening of October 30, 2026, in the presence of his loved ones.”
According to Ellis’ website, he got his start when he was 15, singing in a band called Soul Survivors. The band changed its name to Love Affair and scored a No. 1 hit in the United Kingdom in 1967 with “Everlasting Love,” People reported.
The song was a cover of U.S. singer Robert Knight’s track, also released in 1967, according to USA Today. Ellis was 17 when the song topped the UK charts, famously knocking The Beatles’ song “Hello, Goodbye” off the No. 1 spot.
The most popular version of “Everlasting Love” was performed by Carl Carlton, who took the song to No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1974.
Ellis had formed the band with Rex Brayley, Mick Jackson, Lynton Guest and Maurice Bacon. Their first single, “She Smiled Sweetly” – written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards – did not gain much traction, according to the magazine.
More success would follow, with the band scoring with singles such as “Rainbow Valley,” “A Day Without Love” and “Bringing on Back the Good Times,” all reaching the top 10 in the UK, People reported.
The band did not have the same success in the United States, and Ellis quit the group in 1969 to pursue a solo career, according to USA Today.
“I wasn’t happy. We couldn’t hear what we were playing, and we were a band and making music,” Ellis told UK radio station Hailsham FM during a September interview. “I went to the record label, and I said, ‘I can’t do this anymore.’ I said, ‘It’s not about music.’”
In 1980, Ellis was injured in “an accident with some 2-ton forklift truck blades” and spent about eight years “in and out of hospital to mend (his) mashed feet” while learning to walk again, according to People, which cited the singer’s website.
Ellis told The Strange Brew earlier this year that he stopped touring in 2025 after several farewell shows because he was having an issue with his lungs, People reported.
“It’s a bit like being a carpenter and losing your arm,” he said.