# Love Affair (band)
Love Affair was a London-based pop, soul, and R&B group formed in 1966, best known for the orchestrated hit single "Everlasting Love", which topped the UK Singles Chart in February 1968[1](https://www.7inchrecords.com/Discography/BeatGroups/LoveAffair/loveaffair.asp). Between January 1968 and July 1969 the band placed five singles in the UK Top 20, and in 1968 only the Beatles sold more records in Britain[2](https://www.steveellis.co.uk/?Action=AboutSteve&Section=LoveAffair). The group is also remembered for the controversy that followed its admission, on live television, that its members had not played on their own hit records[2](https://www.steveellis.co.uk/?Action=AboutSteve&Section=LoveAffair).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Origin | Formed in London in 1966 as the Soul Survivors; renamed Love Affair by their management[1](https://www.7inchrecords.com/Discography/BeatGroups/LoveAffair/loveaffair.asp) • [2](https://www.steveellis.co.uk/?Action=AboutSteve&Section=LoveAffair) |
| Biggest hit | "Everlasting Love" (Buzz Cason, Mac Gayden), No. 1 on the UK chart on 3 February 1968[3](https://www.steveellis.co.uk/?Action=AboutSteve&Section=Timeline) |
| Sales peak | In 1968 the band outsold every British act except the Beatles[4](https://www.loudersound.com/reviews/the-love-affair-steve-ellis-time-hasn-t-changed-us-1967-1971) |
| Hit run | Five Top 20 UK singles between January 1968 and July 1969[2](https://www.steveellis.co.uk/?Action=AboutSteve&Section=LoveAffair) |
| Session controversy | Apart from Steve Ellis's vocal, the hits were played by session musicians; the band admitted this on Jonathan King's TV show and was banned from Top of the Pops[2](https://www.steveellis.co.uk/?Action=AboutSteve&Section=LoveAffair) |
| Key members | Vocalist Steve Ellis, drummer Maurice Bacon, keyboardist Morgan Fisher[2](https://www.steveellis.co.uk/?Action=AboutSteve&Section=LoveAffair) |
| Later history | Ellis left in late 1969; the name passed through several line-ups until 2010, and Ellis has toured as Steve Ellis' Love Affair since the mid-1990s[5](https://www.planetmellotron.com/revl1.htm) • [6](https://www.mottarchive.com/la/biography.html) |
## Formation and early years
The band grew around its drummer, Maurice "Mo" Bacon (born 1952), who came from a family of drummers; his father Sidney, a handbag factory owner in Southgate, formed the group by placing newspaper adverts, bought the equipment, and let the band rehearse in his [Walthamstow](https://www.edgepedia.org/walthamstow) warehouse[2](https://www.steveellis.co.uk/?Action=AboutSteve&Section=LoveAffair). The original 1966 line-up had Steve Ellis on vocals, Morgan Fisher on keyboards, Ian Miller on guitar, Warwick Rose on bass, and Bacon on drums, under the name Soul Survivors[6](https://www.mottarchive.com/la/biography.html).
Ellis (born 1950 in Edgware, London) had joined at about 15, and the young band built a reputation on the London soul club circuit, playing the Marquee, Tiles, the Flamingo, and other venues, with a set drawn from US soul records by Sam and Dave, Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding, and others[2](https://www.steveellis.co.uk/?Action=AboutSteve&Section=LoveAffair) • [7](https://www.steveellis.co.uk/?Action=AboutSteve&Section=Biography&Section=Biography%3FAction%3DAboutSteve). Their heavy mod chops and assertive attitude were honed on this club circuit[4](https://www.loudersound.com/reviews/the-love-affair-steve-ellis-time-hasn-t-changed-us-1967-1971).
Management settled on the new name Love Affair, after rejecting the idea of calling the band Thin Red Line[2](https://www.steveellis.co.uk/?Action=AboutSteve&Section=LoveAffair). A first single, a cover of the Rolling Stones' "She Smiled Sweetly" produced by Mike Vernon for Decca, flopped in early 1967[1](https://www.7inchrecords.com/Discography/BeatGroups/LoveAffair/loveaffair.asp) • [2](https://www.steveellis.co.uk/?Action=AboutSteve&Section=LoveAffair). The band then signed to CBS[7](https://www.steveellis.co.uk/?Action=AboutSteve&Section=Biography&Section=Biography%3FAction%3DAboutSteve).
## "Everlasting Love" and the hit run
The song that made the band was written by Buzz Cason and Mac Gayden and had been a US hit for the Tennessee soul singer Robert Knight in late 1967[2](https://www.steveellis.co.uk/?Action=AboutSteve&Section=LoveAffair). Fearing Knight's version would chart in Britain first, the band's management and label rushed out a rival recording[8](https://www.muhistory.com/an-everlasting-love-affair/). CBS in-house producer Mike Smith and arranger Keith Mansfield recorded Ellis's vocal with a 40-piece orchestra and top session players, including drummer Clem Cattini, aiming for a [Phil Spector](https://www.edgepedia.org/phil-spector)-style orchestrated wall of sound[2](https://www.steveellis.co.uk/?Action=AboutSteve&Section=LoveAffair).
Issued in December 1967, the single entered the chart at No. 36 in early January 1968 and reached No. 1 on 3 February, the week Bacon turned 16[2](https://www.steveellis.co.uk/?Action=AboutSteve&Section=LoveAffair) • [3](https://www.steveellis.co.uk/?Action=AboutSteve&Section=Timeline). The band appeared on [Top of the Pops](https://www.edgepedia.org/top-of-the-pops) five weeks in a row during the climb[2](https://www.steveellis.co.uk/?Action=AboutSteve&Section=LoveAffair).
The follow-ups kept the same formula. "Rainbow Valley", another Robert Knight cover, reached No. 5 after its April 1968 release, and "A Day Without Love", the first of several singles written for the band by Philip Goodhand-Tait, reached [No. 6](https://www.edgepedia.org/no-6) in September 1968[3](https://www.steveellis.co.uk/?Action=AboutSteve&Section=Timeline). In October 1968 the band was voted "Best New Band" at the NME Pollwinners' Concert[3](https://www.steveellis.co.uk/?Action=AboutSteve&Section=Timeline). That summer it had also become one of the first British bands to undertake a commercially sponsored tour, underwritten by the cosmetics firm Yardley[3](https://www.steveellis.co.uk/?Action=AboutSteve&Section=Timeline).
## The session musician controversy
**The band who didn't play on their own records.** The finely orchestrated hits featured only Ellis's voice from the band itself, with the backing played by session musicians, which led to accusations that the group were fakes[4](https://www.loudersound.com/reviews/the-love-affair-steve-ellis-time-hasn-t-changed-us-1967-1971). The practice was common at the time, partly for economic reasons: with hourly studio rates high, it was often cheaper to hire professionals who could capture a song in a few takes than to let an inexperienced group work through it[8](https://www.muhistory.com/an-everlasting-love-affair/). Bacon later explained the arithmetic: with three-hour sessions, [Mansfield](https://www.edgepedia.org/mansfield) would score the whole arrangement and session players such as Cattini and bassist Herbie Flowers would complete the record in two takes, while the band was allowed to play on B-sides and albums[2](https://www.steveellis.co.uk/?Action=AboutSteve&Section=LoveAffair).
The controversy broke when [Jonathan King](https://www.edgepedia.org/jonathan-king) asked the bass player on live television whether the band had played on its record; the answer was no, the story spread through the press, and the band was banned from Top of the Pops after refusing an executive's demand for a gift[2](https://www.steveellis.co.uk/?Action=AboutSteve&Section=LoveAffair). The tag "the band who didn't play on their own records" followed the group permanently[4](https://www.loudersound.com/reviews/the-love-affair-steve-ellis-time-hasn-t-changed-us-1967-1971).
## Later history
Ellis walked out in late 1969, wanting a more soul and blues direction while the rest of the band leaned toward progressive rock; with his departure, the band's 18-month run of success effectively ended[2](https://www.steveellis.co.uk/?Action=AboutSteve&Section=LoveAffair). The remaining members carried on with vocalist August "Gus" Eadon, whose arrival brought a flute-toting, long-winded style that produced commercial flops[4](https://www.loudersound.com/reviews/the-love-affair-steve-ellis-time-hasn-t-changed-us-1967-1971). The second and final album, *A New Day* (1970), was released under the name L.A. in an effort to escape the band's teenybop image[5](https://www.planetmellotron.com/revl1.htm).
Two members built notable careers afterward. Ellis recorded solo material for CBS, then formed the bands Ellis (with Zoot Money) and Widowmaker, and from the mid-1990s toured as Steve Ellis' Love Affair[6](https://www.mottarchive.com/la/biography.html) • [7](https://www.steveellis.co.uk/?Action=AboutSteve&Section=Biography&Section=Biography%3FAction%3DAboutSteve). Morgan Fisher went on to record with his own band Morgan and to play with [Mott the Hoople](https://www.edgepedia.org/mott-the-hoople)/Mott before a long solo career[5](https://www.planetmellotron.com/revl1.htm). The Love Affair name itself continued through a succession of line-ups, documented by the official band website from 1966 until the band called it quits in 2010[6](https://www.mottarchive.com/la/biography.html).
## Legacy
The band's reputation has partly recovered from the session-musician stigma. A 2015 reissue of the complete CBS recordings argued that the group, with or without session players, ranked among late-Sixties British pop's best, pointing to band-recorded album tracks such as a live-in-the-studio version of "Hush" and self-penned songs like "Could I Be Dreaming"[4](https://www.loudersound.com/reviews/the-love-affair-steve-ellis-time-hasn-t-changed-us-1967-1971) • [9](https://thestrangebrew.co.uk/interviews/steve-ellis-time-hasnt-changed-us/). "Everlasting Love" has remained a staple of oldies radio[2](https://www.steveellis.co.uk/?Action=AboutSteve&Section=LoveAffair), and the band's best twelve months on the UK Singles Chart ran from December 1967 to November 1968[10](https://www.chartreign.com/artist/love-affair?chart=uk-singles).
The group also left an unexpected mark on punk: shortly after forming, the [Sex Pistols](https://www.edgepedia.org/sex-pistols) rehearsed a version of the Love Affair's 1968 Top Ten single "A Day Without Love" as part of the pre-hippy material they covered[11](https://theartsdesk.com/new-music/reissue-cds-weekly-love-affair).
## References
1. [Love Affair, 7inchrecords.com discography](https://www.7inchrecords.com/Discography/BeatGroups/LoveAffair/loveaffair.asp)
2. [The Love Affair: "Bringing on back the good times", Steve Ellis official site](https://www.steveellis.co.uk/?Action=AboutSteve&Section=LoveAffair)
3. [Steve Ellis timeline, Steve Ellis official site](https://www.steveellis.co.uk/?Action=AboutSteve&Section=Timeline)
4. [Claudia Elliott, "The Love Affair/Steve Ellis: Time Hasn't Changed Us: 1967-1971", Louder (Classic Rock), 10 July 2015](https://www.loudersound.com/reviews/the-love-affair-steve-ellis-time-hasn-t-changed-us-1967-1971)
5. [L.A. (The Love Affair): A New Day, Planet Mellotron album reviews](https://www.planetmellotron.com/revl1.htm)
6. [The official Love Affair website: biography and line-up index](https://www.mottarchive.com/la/biography.html)
7. [About Steve Ellis, Steve Ellis official site](https://www.steveellis.co.uk/?Action=AboutSteve&Section=Biography&Section=Biography%3FAction%3DAboutSteve)
8. [An Everlasting Love Affair, The Musicians' Union: A History (1893-2013)](https://www.muhistory.com/an-everlasting-love-affair/)
9. [Jason Barnard, "Steve Ellis – Time Hasn't Changed Us", The Strange Brew](https://thestrangebrew.co.uk/interviews/steve-ellis-time-hasnt-changed-us/)
10. [Love Affair, UK Singles Chart profile, ChartReign](https://www.chartreign.com/artist/love-affair?chart=uk-singles)
11. [Kieron Tyler, "Reissue CDs Weekly: The Love Affair", The Arts Desk, 12 July 2015](https://theartsdesk.com/new-music/reissue-cds-weekly-love-affair)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musicians and ensembles › Ensembles and groups › Rock, pop, and metal bands › Rock, indie, and pop groups › National, regional, and scene band clusters*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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