THE BEST OF THE LOVE AFFAIR AND STEVE ELLIS – DEMON (12” VINYL LP)

Blue-eyed UK soulster Steve Ellis has been singing since the tender age of 15, during the original Mod era of the 60s. Initially as the Soul Survivors, with Steve on lead vocals, then later, after a name change to Love Affair, he played live at most of the legendary Mod clubs of the 60s. As Love Affair a series of single chart hits were notched up, including the number one Everlasting Love, along with other top 10 singles, Rainbow Valley, A Day Without Love and Bringing On Back The Good Times. After departing from Love Affair in 1969, Steve worked as a guest vocalist, recorded a solo album and collaborated on the soundtrack for the film Loot. In 1971 he joined forces with original Mod era Zoot Money to form Ellis, an association that peaked with the 1972 album Riding On The Crest Of A Slump, which, incidentally, had several tracks produced by The Who’s Roger Daltrey.

In more recent times, 2018, in his long, productive and prolific career, Steve released his critically acclaimed album Boom ! Bang! Twang! which was recorded at Black Barn studio, with several tracks co-written and co-produced by Paul Weller, who Steve has known since the days of Style Council. Picking a dozen tracks from a recording career that has spanned beyond five decades for a (very) best-of collection must’ve been a tough call to make. Side one consists of numbers from the Love Affair era, with the four previously mentioned top 10 hit singles, along with One Day, a top 20 hit single, plus the previously never issued Love Affair song Time Hasn’t Changed Us. On side two, the first brace of cuts are from the Ellis era, namely El Doomo and Good To Be Alive; both were produced by Roger Daltrey. The remaining four tracks are made up from two numbers lifted from Steve’s ‘lost’ solo album Rolling

With The 69 Crew – Evie and Rainy Night In Georgia – and the closing pair of songs, lifted from his 2018 long player Boom! Bang! Twang! both cowritten and co-produced by the Modfather at Black Barn studio, Lonely No More and Cry Me A River. A dozen gems illustrating the powerful vocal talents of

Steve Ellis, from various points of his illustrious career. Limited edition gold vinyl releases are available from all good outlets from January 22, 2021. Steve Ellis is currently working on new material and intends (Covid allowing) to be touring the UK in autumn 2021.

Sarge