“But when it kicked into this sort of mania with the girls, you couldn’t hear anything. That’s when I decided to quit the Love Affair.”
By Ian Woolley
So the rumours in the past about not wanting to stay with the band because they wouldn’t tour the States were fake news. Steve explains more about that later.
With a new album planned for next year, Steve released his 2018 acclaimed album BOOM! BANG! TWANG!. On it, two tracks Lonely No More and Cry Me A River co-written and co-produced by his long-time friend and colleague, Paul Weller.
I asked him how his friendship with the former Jam lead singer started.
“I sent him some tapes back in his Style Council days and went up to London to meet him with my daughter to meet him. I took along my daughter as she was a fan of the Jam. I got on well with him and we’ve been best mates ever since.”
“In the music business, it’s fickle you know but I’ve got some constants you know – Zoot, Paul and a few others. I wouldn’t say he’s a fan but he likes the Love Affair records and we did an album together Boom! Bang! Twang! It did well and the record label was happy with it.”
You have gone on record by some that you decided to leave the band because the band wouldn’t tour the USA. Would that be accurate?
“A load of rubbish and I don’t know why the press put that out. That’s managers again. Managers do what managers do whilst we are all running around playing everywhere. They mentioned that the Love Affair was going to tour the USA blah, blah but nobody ever mentioned it to me at the time.”
“Then there was this thing that I had left because we didn’t tour America. That’s a total fabrication because I left in essence because the music couldn’t be heard. We had turned into this sort of teen band and we were good you know. We played with everybody. The Who, Free, The Moody Blues and Pink Floyd you name them.”
“But when it kicked into this sort of mania with the girls, you couldn’t hear anything. That’s when I decided to quit the Love Affair.”
Would you call yourself a Mod?
“Well, Paul (Weller) say bury me as a mod. I think the whole mod thing has been overcooked, and overdone and it isn’t what it was. It was of its time but in essence, you do carry it with you. Without analysing the whole thing, you were there and you did it with all your pals. Going to all the clubs and going down to see etc, etc and it’s part of the fabric of life and I kind of kept that through the years.”
“I like to look smart on stage but otherwise, I’m incognito really. I don’t walk about like a peacock. People come to see you play and I’ve done all that tee shirt and jean thing when I was in Widowmaker. They were different days you know. The 70’s, Rock & Roll, rock bands whatever.”
Talking of his collaboration with Weller, I asked Steve how did the recent album come about.
“Paul sent me a track to work on a couple of years ago now which is a sort of bluesy thing. I wrote some words for it and changed it about a bit and so forth. I was up at his studio because he had the backing track down and he said why don’t you do it here. He’d offered me to do it three or four times probably but I’d been touring or he had been touring or whatever. So we co-produced with Charles who works there permanently. When Paul was out touring I’d carry on with Charles and mainly, in essence, we had members of Paul’s band. There was a mixture of people all across it and I had a few ideas. A band I really like is Cow and while I was working with Paul on our track I did a bit with Cow. They’ve done a new album and I’m waiting to hear it. It’s all about music and there are no egos being hurled about. I like the way Paul works and if somebody’s got an idea he says yeah just do it. There’s nobody in charge and it’s not organised chaos. If it’s a bad idea then scrap it but at least it was worth trying.”
For all his fans new and old around the world, seems Steve Ellis will be bringing on back the good times again.
Earlier in the year, Steve released a special 10-CD Box Set of his back catalogue. “That was a piece of work I can tell you but I’m doing a new album. I’ve got three down and hopefully, the new album will be out next year.”
January 22, 2021 has seen the release of Steve Ellis’ new album, The Best of the Love Affair and Steve Ellis on Demon Music Group label. This album features 12 classic tracks from The Love Affair, Ellis Band and Steve’s solo career, including the Top-20 UK hits “Rainbow Valley”; “A Day Without Love”; “Bringing On Back The Good Times”; and of course the everlastingly loved greatest hit, “Everlasting Love”! Also included is an unreleased 1969 Love Affair single: ‘Time Hasn’t Changed Us’, written by Phillip Goodhand-Tait. In addition are two Ellis Band tracks with R&B legend Zoot Money, including the much-sought-after “‘El Doomo” and “Good to be Alive”, produced by Roger Daltrey, as well as some treasured lost solo tracks from Steve’s post-Love Affair album with The Keith Mansfield Orchestra, who backed Steve on all The Love Affair hits.
This exclusive first pressing is on 180g gold-coloured vinyl, with an inner sleeve featuring liner notes by Steve, and includes what many fans have requested over the years: A personally signed print! The album is now available for order in the UK, Germany, Netherlands, France, Spain, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Finland, the USA, Canada and Japan. The album has risen to No.14 on the Official Album Charts, selling out quickly, and enjoyed a rave response from both critics and Steve’s many fans worldwide.
Read the full exclusive interview with Steve Ellis in our November issue out now and delivered to your door. See our website for details.
In this candid interview, the mod reveals his thoughts on uploading gigs, why he owes Tony Blackburn and the scourge of streaming music today. No punches were pulled with Steve Ellis as he says it as it is – keeping the faith.
For more information about Steve Ellis. Go to his website at www.steveellis.co.uk