When Ellis left his first band, the Clifton Bystanders, he formed his first band as the lead vocalist, which was called Soul Survivors, formed when he was fifteen.[2] The Soul Survivors formed into Love Affair in 1966, with Rex Brayley, Mick Jackson, Lynton Guest, and Maurice Bacon. A few months later, in early 1967, the band released their first two singles, including "Everlasting Love", a song that knocked The Beatles' "Hello, Goodbye" off the number one spot on British charts. Love Affair would go on to have more commercial success, with songs such as "A Day Without Love", "Rainbow Valley", and "Bringing on Back the Good Times".[3]
In 1967, Ellis and the band were arrested for climbing the statue of Eros at Piccadilly Circus.[4] They were each fined £12 for the crime.[4]
Ellis later felt that Love Affair had run its course, and he left in December 1969 for a solo career: "We never really made it big anywhere but Britain and I think that if we had started to happen in America, I wouldn't have left."[5]
Ellis subsequently had limited chart success with the rock band Widowmaker,[3] releasing the album Widowmaker in 1976. Widowmaker toured the UK with Nazareth, and in June 1976 joined the stadium tour, The Who Put The Boot In opening for leading rock acts such as Little Feat, The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Streetwalkers and the headline act The Who. Ellis left the band after touring with Electric Light Orchestra, and with a new lead singer (John Butler), released their second album, Too Late to Cry in 1977.
Later career
In 1972, he formed the band Ellis,[3] a short lived partnership with keyboardist Zoot Money. Other members included ex-Peter Bardens guitarist Andy Gee; ex-Fat Mattress bassist Jimmy Leverton, later replaced by Nick South; and drummer Dave Lutton. The group released two albums, Riding on the Crest of a Slump in 1972, and Why Not? the following year.[6] In 1976, one of the most popular Serbian and ex-Yugoslav bands, Smak, covered his song "El Doomo" under the title "El dumo", and achieved great success with it.
Ellis was performing briefly with New Amen Corner during 2013 and had an album with appearances by Paul Weller and Roger Daltrey out on Demon Records in 2008, entitled The Best of Days.[3]
Personal life
Ellis’ first band was called The Clifton Bystanders:[7] "My first band were called The Clifton Bystanders which was two Irish brothers from school on catalogue guitars and me on biscuit tins as my dad was having none of it when I asked for a drum kit on H.P. I was thirteen."
Steve currently lives in Brighton, England. Ellis was influenced by the rock and roll of the 1950s, but was mainly inspired by rhythm and blues music.[7]
