Amen Corner

Biography

Amen Corner were a Welsh rock group formed in Cardiff. They are best known for their hits "Bend Me, Shape Me×Bend Me, Shape Me1968 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksABend Me Shape Me2:36BSatisnek The Job's Worth" (1968), "High in the Sky×High in the Sky1986 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1Hello Susie2:402The Weight5:463Sanitation2:464So Fine (live)2:435Our Love Is in the Pocket (live)2:456High in the Sky (live)2:567Ginhouse (live)3:558Welcome to the Club3:089Things Ain't What They Used to Be2:0710Proud Mary3:03" (1968) and the chart-topper "(If Paradise Is) Half as Nice×(If Paradise Is) Half As NiceFebruary 1969 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksA(If Paradise Is) Half As Nice2:50BHey Hey Girl3:05" (1969).

Career

The band, formed in late 1966, was named after The Amen Corner, a weekly disc spin at the Victoria Ballroom (later to become The Scene Club) in Cardiff, Wales, where every Sunday night Dr. Rock would play soul music from the United States.
Initially they specialised in a blues and jazz-oriented style, but were steered by their record labels towards a more commercial sound. Their first hit was a rendition of "Gin House Blues". Their first singles and album appeared on Decca's subsidiary label, Deram, but they left at the end of 1968 to join Immediate,
for which they had a No. 1, "(If Paradise Is) Half as Nice×(If Paradise Is) Half As NiceFebruary 1969 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksA(If Paradise Is) Half As Nice2:50BHey Hey Girl3:05" in early 1969, followed by another Top 5 entry with the Roy Wood composition, "Hello Susie".
After recording a final studio album, Farewell to the Real Magnificent Seven×Farewell to the Real Magnificent Seven1969 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 14 tracks1Lady Riga3:202Hello Susie2:563Proud Mary3:064At Last I've Found Someone to Love3:485Scream and Scream Again3:366Sanitation2:487Mr. Nonchalant3:328The Weight5:479(If Paradise Is) Half as Nice3:0410Welcome to the Club3:0311Recess2:3112When We Make Love2:5113Things Ain't What They Used to Be2:0914Get Back2:49, they put out a single with a cover version of the Beatles' "Get Back" as their swansong. They disbanded by the end of 1969. The band also appeared as themselves in the 1969 horror film, Scream and Scream Again, singing the film's eponymous theme song.
Whilst saxophone player Allan Jones went on to form Judas Jump, guitarist and vocalist Andy Fairweather Low led Dennis Bryon (drums), Blue Weaver (organ), Clive Taylor (bass) and Neil Jones (guitar) into a new band, Fair Weather. The band scored a UK No. 6 hit with "Natural Sinner" in 1970 and recorded one album before disbanding after Weaver left to join The Strawbs a year later.
Fairweather Low went on to a successful solo career in the 1970s, notably with the Top 10 hit "Wide Eyed and Legless" (1975); he became a regular player with Eric Clapton, George Harrison and Roger Waters. Weaver joined The Strawbs as Rick Wakeman's replacement and after a successful 1974 tour with Mott the Hoople, went on to join the Bee Gees, where Dennis Bryon was now the drummer. Weaver also played keyboards for many artists as a session player and later Fairlight programmer.
Saxophonist player Allan Jones went on to manage L.A. Guns from 1986 to 1991.
Amen Corner's Decca back catalogue has been re-issued as part of the "Collection" series, and their Immediate work (including their singles, live album and material recorded for an unreleased studio album) has been released on If Paradise Was Half as Nice: The Immediate Anthology×If Paradise Was Half as Nice: The Immediate Anthology30 October 2000 · Album · CompilationSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 35 tracks · 2 discsDisc 11(If Paradise Is) Half as Nice (mono)2:462Hey! Hey! Girl (mono)3:023Hello Susie (mono)2:354Evil Man's Gonna Win (mono)4:015Get Back (stereo)2:406Farewell to the Real Magnificent Seven (stereo)6:357Lady Riga3:198Proud Mary3:059At Last I've Found Someone to Love3:4610Scream and Scream Again3:3511Sanitation2:4512Mr. Nonchalant3:3013The Weight5:4914Welcome to the Club3:0415Recess2:2816When We Make Love2:5017Things Ain't What They Used to Be2:0418Long Chocolate Limousine3:1219Natural Sinner (mono version)4:1620(If Paradise Is) Half as Nice (stereo album version)2:4821Hello Susie (stereo album version)2:5422Hey! Hey! Girl (stereo mix)3:0623Evil Man's Gonna Win (stereo mix)3:38Disc 21Introduction: Macarthur Park (live)3:392Baby Do the Philly Dog (live)2:353You're My Girl (I Don't Want to Discuss It) (live)2:174Shake a Tail Feather (live)1:455So Fine (live)2:446(Our Love) Is in the Pocket (live)3:127Penny Lane (live)3:088High in the Sky (live)2:599Gin House (live)3:3810Bend Me, Shape Me (live)4:0211(If Paradise Is) Half as Nice (live)3:1612Outro: Stag-O-Lee (live)3:01.

Band members

Andy Fairweather Low (born Andrew Fairweather Low, 2 August 1948, Ystrad Mynach, Hengoed, South Wales) – vocals
Neil Jones (born 25 March 1948, Llanbradach, South Wales; died 8 June 2018) – guitar
Allan Jones (born 6 February 1947, Swansea, Glamorgan, South Wales) – saxophone
Blue Weaver (born Derek John Weaver, 11 March 1947, Cardiff, Glamorgan, South Wales) – keyboards
Mike Smith (born Michael Joseph Smith, 4 November 1947, Neath, South Wales) – tenor saxophone
Clive Taylor (born 27 April 1948, Cardiff) – bass, backing vocals
Dennis Bryon (born Dennis Ronald Bryon, 14 April 1949, Cardiff, died 14 November 2024) – drums, backing vocals

Albums

Round Amen Corner (Deram, 1968) – UK No. 26
The National Welsh Coast Live Explosion Company (Immediate, 1969) – UK No. 19
Farewell to the Real Magnificent Seven (Immediate, 1969)
The Return of the Magnificent Seven (Immediate, 1976)
Greatest Hits (Immediate, 1977)
If Paradise Is Half As Nice: The Immediate Anthology (Castle, 2000)
Amen Corner (If Paradise Is Half As Nice and More Hits) (Weton-Wesgram, 2007) – includes live recordings