In 1968, Love
Affair were the second biggest-selling group in Britain, pipped only by the
Beatles. We still hear their timeless 1967 hit Everlasting Love on radio, TV
and films.
Singer Steve Ellis
was just 16 when it topped the charts. He was one of the finest vocalists to
emerge from the Sixties Mod scene – which is why Paul Weller has long cited him
as an influence. London-born Ellis was 15 when he started his first band Soul
Survivors in 1966 and they became Love Affair the following year. Their live
set mostly consisted of covers of songs by soul legends such as David Ruffin
and Eddie Floyd.
But they
worshipped the Small Faces and Steve coupled Steve Marriott’s style with
Motown-era soulfulness.
Six of their
most successful singles are here, including top 10 hits A Day Without Love,
Rainbow Valley and Bringing On Back The Good Times.
Everlasting
Love was their sole No 1. It had been a minor hit for US soul star Robert
Knight but Love Affair’s recording transformed it.
The band’s
original version was binned and instead the single featured Steve with session
musicians and a 40-piece orchestra, pulling off a Phil Spector-style
wall-of-sound production.
The gamble
worked. Few pop songs capture the urgency of teenage passion so perfectly.
Their
subsequent hits went for the same heavily orchestrated sound, fuelling
frustrations within the band.
Unable to
crack the USA, Ellis left the band in December 1969 but he never achieved the
same level of success – not even with El Doomo, the haunting ballad he recorded
as the short-lived band Ellis, alongside keyboardist Zoot Money.
His six solo
songs here, including covers of Rainy Night In Georgia and Cry Me A River,
showcase Steve’s vocals.
Such power,
such feeling.
No wonder the Modfather loves him.
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