Love Affair were a London-based pop and

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

group formed in 1966. The group had several

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

Top 10 hits, including the number one success, " Everlasting Love".

History

Love Affair's first single, "She Smiled Sweetly", written by

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...

and

Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943), often referred to during the 1960s and 1970s as "Keith Richard", is an English musician and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the co-founder, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-princi ...

and released on

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...

, flopped, but the band reached the top of the

in January 1968 with " Everlasting Love". By this time the group had relocated to

CBS Records CBS Records may refer to: * CBS Records or CBS/Sony, former name of Sony Music, a global record company * CBS Records International, label for Columbia Records recordings released outside North America from 1962 to 1990 * CBS Records (2006), founde ...

. The song was first recorded by Robert Knight, whose version had reached No. 13 in the ''Billboard'' Hot 100

chart A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent tabu ...

in the autumn of 1967, and it was previously offered to

Marmalade Marmalade is a fruit preserve made from the juice and peel of citrus fruits boiled with sugar and water. The well-known version is made from bitter orange. It is also made from lemons, limes, grapefruits, mandarins, sweet oranges, bergamo ...

, who turned it down. On the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

was a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

of "Gone Are the Songs of Yesterday", which was written by

Phillip Goodhand-Tait Phillip Goodhand-Tait (born 3 January 1945, Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England) is an English singer-songwriter, record producer and keyboard player. Life and career Goodhand-Tait was known as Phil Tait in his school years. His mother was a ...

. After its success, Goodhand-Tait saw an opportunity and signed a contract with Love Affair's managers John Cokell and Sid Bacon. Goodhand-Tait went on to write more songs for Love Affair. Lead vocalist Steve Ellis had a similar vocal style to

Steve Marriott Stephen Peter Marriott (30 January 1947 – 20 April 1991) was an English guitarist, singer and songwriter. He co-founded and played in the rock bands Small Faces and Humble Pie, in a career spanning over two decades. Marriott was inducted pos ...

of the

Small Faces Small Faces were an English rock band from London, founded in 1965. The group originally consisted of Steve Marriott, Ronnie Lane, Kenney Jones and Jimmy Winston, with Ian McLagan replacing Winston as the band's keyboardist in 1966. The ...

, and the production was similar to a

Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...

soul record. Controversy ensued when the group admitted they had not played on the record, but that all the work was done by

session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

s, although such a practice had long since been common. Their first recording of the song, produced by

Muff Winwood Mervyn "Muff" Winwood (born 15 June 1943, Erdington, Birmingham, England) is a British songwriter and record producer, and the older brother of Steve Winwood. Both were members of the Spencer Davis Group in the 1960s, in which Muff Winwood pla ...

, had featured them playing all the

instruments Instrument may refer to: Science and technology * Flight instruments, the devices used to measure the speed, altitude, and pertinent flight angles of various kinds of aircraft * Laboratory equipment, the measuring tools used in a scientific lab ...

. But the record label rejected this version in favour of one produced by Mike Smith, recorded with a recording studio

rhythm section A rhythm section is a group of musicians within a music ensemble or band that provides the underlying rhythm, harmony and pulse of the accompaniment, providing a rhythmic and harmonic reference and "beat" for the rest of the band. The rhythm sec ...

strings String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

brass Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other with ...

flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

s and backing vocalists, arranged by

Keith Mansfield Keith Mansfield (born 1941 in London, England) is a British composer and arranger known for his creation of prominent television theme tunes, including the '' Grandstand'' theme for the BBC. Career Other works include "The Young Scene" (the ...

– and Ellis as the only member of the group to be heard. The backing vocals were provided by four female singers who became well known in their own right:

Kiki Dee Pauline Matthews (born 6 March 1947), better known by her stage name Kiki Dee, is an English singer. Known for her blue-eyed soul vocals, she was the first female singer from the UK to sign with Motown's Tamla Records. Dee is best known for h ...

Madeline Bell Madeline Bell (born July 23, 1942) is an American soul singer, who became famous as a performer in the UK during the 1960s and 1970s with pop group Blue Mink, having arrived from America in the gospel show ''Black Nativity'' in 1962, with the v ...

Lesley Duncan Lesley Cox (née Duncan; 12 August 1943 – 12 March 2010) was an English singer-songwriter, best known for her work during the 1970s. She received much airplay on British radio stations such as BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 2, but never achieved ...

and Kay Garner (as one of the

Ladybirds Coccinellidae () is a widespread family of small beetles ranging in size from . They are commonly known as ladybugs in North America and ladybirds in Great Britain. Some entomologists prefer the names ladybird beetles or lady beetles as they ...

). The bass part was played by Russ Stableford and

Clem Cattini Clemente Anselmo Agustino Cattini (born 20 August 1937) is an English rock and roll drummer of the late 1950s and 60s, who was a member of The Tornados before becoming well known for his work as a session musician. He is one of the most prolifi ...

played drums. Four further Top 20 hits followed, " Rainbow Valley", " A Day Without Love" (both 1968), "One Road" and "

Bringing on Back the Good Times "Bringing on Back the Good Times" is a song by The Love Affair. The song was released internationally in early July 1969. It became a Top 10 hit in the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Israel and was also a minor hit in Canada for 'Fast Eddy' in ...

" (both 1969). At the end of that year, they released the album, '' The Everlasting Love Affair''. The group became frustrated at being treated like teen idols, unable to hear themselves on stage because of the constant screaming and at being pigeonholed as a "pop group". All the A-sides featured heavy orchestral and brass arrangements behind Ellis's vocals, with minimal participation from the others, although they wrote and played on the heavier B-sides themselves. As Ellis wrote in the booklet notes to a later

compilation Compilation may refer to: *In computer programming, the translation of source code into object code by a compiler **Compilation error **Compilation unit *Product bundling, a marketing strategy used to sell multiple products *Compilation thesis M ...

CD, ''Singles A's and B's'', "In an attempt to break the mould we recorded a song far removed from the anthemic-like previous hits." The song was called "Baby I Know". Released at the end of 1969, competing with releases from other big names for a place in the charts over Christmas, it failed completely. Ellis felt the band 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". In fact, the group had issued top ten singles in several European countries, as well as New Zealand, but indeed never made the charts at all in the US or Canada. After Ellis' departure, the rest of the band soldiered on without any further success in Britain, continuing briefly with new vocalist, August Eadon (aka Gus Yeadon). Further releases never charted in Britain, although they did land a #14 hit in New Zealand with "Lincoln County". Love Affair recorded

album in 1971. In 1971 they recorded the song "Wake Me I Am Dreaming", cover of "Mi ritorni in mente", written by

Lucio Battisti Lucio Battisti (5 March 1943 – 9 September 1998) was an influential Italian singer-songwriter and composer. He is widely recognized for songs that defined the late 1960s and 1970s era of Italian songwriting. Battisti released 18 studio albums ...

for music and by Mogol for the original text in Italian. By the end of 1974, The Love Affair was over. The group has since been revived, though sometimes without any original members, for cabaret dates; and Ellis has also performed live with a reconstituted Steve Ellis's Love Affair. Love Affair's first hit song, "Everlasting Love", was used in the film, '' Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason''. However, the CD of the soundtrack contained

Jamie Cullum Jamie Cullum (born 20 August 1979) is an English jazz-pop singer, songwriter and radio presenter. Although primarily a vocalist and pianist, he also accompanies himself on other instruments, including guitar and drums. He has recorded nine stu ...

's cover version, instead of the Love Affair version used in the film. Cullum's version is played over the end credits. In 2021 “Everlasting Love” by Love Affair was featured in the Kenneth Branagh film, ''

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

''. It was also sung in the film by Jamie Dornan.

Personnel

* Rex Brayley (born Rex Charles Brayley, 3 January 1948, London) – guitar (1967–1971) * Maurice Bacon (born 26 January 1952,

Southgate Southgate or South Gate may refer to: Places Australia *Southgate, Sylvania *Southgate Arts and Leisure Precinct, an area within Southbank, Victoria Canada *Southgate, Ontario, a township in Grey County * Southgate, Middlesex County, Ontario Ed ...

, London) – drums (1967–1971) * Mick Jackson (born Michael Jackson, 27 January 1950,

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

, West Riding of Yorkshire) – bass (1967–1971) * Steve Ellis (born Stephen John Ellis, 7 April 1950,

Edgware Edgware () is a suburban town in northern Greater London, mostly in the London Borough of Barnet but with small parts falling in the London Borough of Harrow and in the London Borough of Brent. Edgware is centred north-northwest of Charing Cros ...

, London) – vocals (1967–1970) * Lynton Guest (born 28 November 1951,

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

, Leicestershire) – keyboards (1967–1968) *

Morgan Fisher Stephen Morgan Fisher (born 1 January 1950) is an English keyboard player and composer, and is most known as a member of Mott the Hoople in the early 1970s. However, his career has covered a wide range of musical activities, and he is still ac ...

(born Stephen Morgan Fisher, 1 January 1950,

Mayfair Mayfair is an affluent area in the West End of London towards the eastern edge of Hyde Park, in the City of Westminster, between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane. It is one of the most expensive districts in the world. ...

, London) – keyboards (1968–1971)

Discography

Singles

Albums

* CBS 63416 (December 1968) '' The Everlasting Love Affair'' * CBS 64109 (September 1971) ''New Day'' – credited to "LA"

Compilation CDs

* Columbia 469202 2 (1991) "Everlasting Hits" – 16 tracks recorded by the band in 1968/1969. Released under Sony's "Memory Pop Shop" label. * Columbia 504419 2 (2001) ''The Best of the Good Times'' – includes three new previously unreleased tracks by Ellis * ACA 8031 (2002) ''Singles A's and B's'' – includes six tracks recorded by Ellis as a solo artist (1970–71)

References

External links

Love Affair 'Oldies' website

Steve Ellis website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Love Affair Musical groups established in 1966 Musical groups from London 1966 establishments in England