Steve Ellis - Official Site

December: "Everlasting Love" released. It was written by Buzz Cason and Mac Gayden, and originally recorded by Robert Knight. The Love Affair version was produced by Mike Smith and arranged by Keith Mansfield at CBS.

1968
February 3: "Everlasting Love" at number 1 in the UK charts. Love Affair later achieve lasting notoriety by admitting, live on TV, that they didn't play on the record: apart from Steve's vocals, the producer had used session musicians, a common practice at this time.

April: "Rainbow Valley" released; it subsequently reaches No. 5.

Summer: Love Affair become one of the first bands to embark on a commercially-sponsored tour (with Yardley).

September: "A Day Without Love" released; it reaches No. 6.

October: Love Affair win the title of "Best New Band" at the NME Pollwinners' Concert.

December: "The Everlasting Love Affair" album released. CBS don't appear to have promoted it with any real enthusiasm, despite the fact that the singles were outselling everyone except the Beatles.

1969
February: "One Road" released (to No. 16).

July: "Bringing On Back The Good Times" released (to No. 9). Neil Armstrong walks on the moon.

During this period ('68-'69) the band play on package tours alongside Status Quo, the Paper Dolls, Gene Pitney, Terry Reid, Marmalade, the Tremeloes, Geno Washington, Amen Corner, Herman's Hermits and others.

October: "Baby I Know" released.

December: tired of the frantic touring and citing "personal differences", Steve announces he's leaving Love Affair. However he stays with CBS, on their Epic label. (CBS will have dropped Love Affair by 1971.)

1970
April 10: the Beatles disband.

Steve contributes to the soundtrack of the motion picture "Loot".

Steve guests on the albums of various friends, including Peter Barden's "The Answer" (featuring one Peter Green on guitar).

1971
Steve signs to a new manager, Chas Chandler. Chas was the bass player in the Animals, and had more recently masterminded Jimi Hendrix' career. Steve releases "Take Your Love".

August: "Hold On" released.

1972
Steve assembles a new band, called simply Ellis (later the Ellis Group), with Zoot Money, Nick South, Andy Gee and Dave Lutton. They release their first album, "Riding on the Crest of a Slump", produced by Roger Daltrey.

1973
Ellis release their second LP, "Why Not?", produced by Mike Vernon.

1974-1979
Steve finds himself under pressure from Epic to stay on as a solo act, but to "lose the band". Instead he joins hard rockers Widowmaker alongside Luther Grosvenor (aka Ariel Bender, ex-Spooky Tooth, Mott the Hoople), Huw Lloyd Langton (ex-Hawkwind) and Paul Nichols (ex-Lindisfarne). They sign to Jet, owned by the notorious Don Arden.

Widowmaker tour with the Who, and with ELO in the USA, and release their first eponymous album. Live, the band rocks; backstage, they fight tooth and nail. Meanwhile, punk is happening. Unable to ignore the warning signs, Steve quits.

Steve signs to Ariola, and records a solo album, "The Last Angry Man". The album is shelved after disputes between the producers, but two singles, "Soothe Me" and "Rag and Bone", are released.

Exhausted, Steve moves south to Brighton to take time out from the excesses of rock'n'roll (he's been teetotal since 1978). To get fit he starts work as a docker.

1980-1988
An accident with some 2-ton forklift truck blades leads to eight years in and out of hospital to mend Steve's mashed feet. Learning to walk again takes him until 1988.

1988-1990
Steve co-writes an album for the German band Scarlet, and guests on lead vocals. He also begins to stockpile new songs.

1991-1993
An unrelated band is out on the pub circuit, calling itself Love Affair. (There have been a number of fake Love Affairs over the years.) Partly as a quality-control measure, but mainly in response to demand, Steve forms Steve Ellis' Love Affair. The reformed Love Affair aren't just a sixties retro outfit; they rock! Steve enjoys playing live again for the first time in almost seven years.

The band starts a relentless touring schedule which lasts through to 1998.

1994
Two hours after being asked to do so by an agent, Steve Ellis' Love Affair record a live album in Scotland, and, adding some studio demos, release it as "Plugged In - Live at the Cavendish". It's intended as a budget album.

1995-1996
The band continue gigging throughout the UK, along with the occasional excursion into e.g. Belgium where they play to a stadium on live TV, as part of a sixties convention.

1997
January 26: Steve and the band appear at the first annual Small Faces Convention, organised by John Hellier, Dean Powell, and Steve. All profits go towards Multiple Sclerosis research, from which Ronnie Lane of the Small Faces is suffering. Mike Mann (Love Affair keyboards) insists on playing as usual, despite having been diagnosed as suffering from cancer just a fortnight earlier.

June 1: Mike Mann dies of cancer.

June 4: Ronnie Lane dies, aged 51, after a 20-year battle against Multiple Sclerosis.

September 14: Steve appears again at the Ruskin Arms, this time as a tribute to Ronnie Lane. He also dedicates "Tin Soldier" to Mike Mann, adding "he had balls of steel - I will miss him very much indeed".

Iain Dunnet has taken over as keyboard player.

1998
February: the band release "Step Inside My Love" for the NSPCC. The song was written by Steve and Rex Brayley, the original Love Affair's guitarist, and features Paul Weller on lead guitar.

March 13: Steve makes a cameo appearance on Top of the Pops - alongside the "staff" of Casualty (a UK TV hospital drama series) covering "Everlasting Love"!

April: Record Collector magazine publishes an article on Love Affair and an interview with Steve.

May 9: Steve appears again at the annual Small Faces Convention at the Ruskin Arms with long-time friend PP Arnold.

Summer: Steve is working on a new album entitled "Pavement Arena". It features the band with guests including Nigel Glockler (Saxon, Toyah etc), Rory Cameron, and Sam Smith.

Steve Fairhead has taken over guitar duties from Mick Kane, who's become a father and has his hands full.

November 28: the first version of the Steve Ellis website appears, as a guest site on the Dunnet Wright Music site.

1999
Spring: work continues on the new album. Steve slows down on the touring circuit, partly because of the recording, and partly because of ongoing knee problems which will need another operation.

Summer: the new album is finished!!! Work switches to post-production duties, and sorting out effective distribution etc.

Sony have announced that they plan to release a new compilation of Love Affair tracks in the New Year. The tracklist will include A-sides, B-sides, and some rarities and obscurities.

July/August: "Everlasting Love" is being used in a joint TV ad by McDonalds & Coca Cola.

September 6: the official Steve Ellis domain and website is declared open for business.

2000
Spring: Steve has another operation on his knee. The new CD release continues to be delayed.

Summer: Angel Air Records release a Love Affair CD, "No Strings".

October 10: The online shop is now open.

2001
February: Angel Air Records release "The Last Angry Man", a mere 23 years after it was recorded... The CD is available from our online shop.

April 20: Steve Marriott Memorial Concert: Steve Ellis joins a glittering array of Steve Marriott aficionados for a rocking tribute to the much-missed mod. See the Wapping Wharf write-up for some highlights of the evening.

December 6: Paul Weller invites Steve Ellis and Steve Cradock on stage at the Fairfield Hall for guest appearances culminating in Paul's acoustic version of "Everlasting Love". A great time was had, particularly by Paul and the two Steves, good friends for over a decade. See the Friends & colleagues section of the Gallery for photos from the evening.

2002
January: There has been a veritable plethora of Steve Ellis releases lately:

Edinburgh Live '95 (Angel Air Records)
"Loot" original film soundtrack (RPM Records)
"Best of the Good Times" (Columbia)
More information on these releases on our discography page.

May: A gig at Penningtons, Bradford, is filmed for a DVD release from Angel Air - later named "Last Tango in Bradford".

2003
January: Steve has been voted into a hall of fame and has a plaque in the Brighton Marina "Walk of Fame" alongside other stars with Brighton connections: The Who, Lord Olivier and Norman Cook to name a few... Steve bemused but delighted with the honour.

There's been another batch of Steve Ellis releases:

"Singles A's & B's" (Acadia/Evangeline ACA8031): Love Affair '66 to '71. Includes some early solo stuff by Steve.
"Straight Faced Fighters" Widowmaker 1st album and "Live at the Paris Theatre" 2 CD set (Sanctuary CMDDD586).
"Last Tango in Bradford" DVD (Angel Air Records NJPDVD604). Available from our online shop.
"Mustn't Grumble" (Sanctuary SANCD112): Steve Mariott Tribute Show, April 2001.

2004
April 8: Steve performs with a host of old mates & reprobates at the Ronnie Lane Memorial Concert at the Royal Albert Hall. (See Steve's comments on the Ronnie Lane Memorial Concert page.)

2005
"The Everlasting Love Affair" album released on Repertoire (RES2312). This is in digipack format and can be obtained from Repertoire direct.

New album finally compelted, and scheduled for release. Showcase gig at Concorde 2, Brighton, proved to be a big success. (Click here for photographs).

February: Steve's son taken unexpectedly ill, putting all projects on hold, for two years.

2006
Meanwhile, "Riding on the Crest of a Slump", by Ellis, is released on Acadia (ACA8101). This includes El Doomo, which is apparently much sought after.

2007
"Loot's the Root" / "The Undertaker Song" re-issued on Liquorice Soul Records.

The recent album (delayed from 2005), is ready for release and a suitable label is currently being sought.