Amen Corner were a Welsh rock group formed in Cardiff, Wales. They are best known for their hits "Bend Me, Shape Me" (1968), "High in the Sky" (1968) and the chart-topper "(If Paradise Is) Half as Nice" (1969).

Career

History

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" 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, 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.

Members later careers

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. Mike Smith, who married Linda Carter in 1970 and added her surname to his, invented the "Good Night Ring", a ring worn during sleep to reduce heavy snoring. 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. Neil Jones died on 8 June 2018 aged 70. Dennis Bryon died on 14 November 2024 aged 75.

Band members

Discography

Albums

Singles