Amen Corner (band)
Encyclopedia
Amen Corner were a successful Welsh
rock
group
, formed in late 1966 in Cardiff
, Wales
.
from the United States
.
Initially they specialised in a blues
and jazz
-oriented style, but were steered by their record label
s into more commercial pastures. Their first singles
and album
appeared on Decca
's subsidiary label, Deram
— see "Discography" below — but they left at the end of 1968 to join Immediate
,
where they were instantly rewarded with 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, with a cover version
of The Beatles
' "Get Back
" released as their swansong, they disbanded at the end of 1969. The band also appeared as themselves in the 1969 horror film
, Scream and Scream Again
.
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 Blue 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
. Blue Weaver joined The Strawbs
as Rick Wakeman's replacement and later after a successful 1974 tour with Mott The Hoople, went on to join the Bee Gees
, where Dennis Bryon was now the drummer. Blue Weaver also played keyboards for many artists as a session player and later Fairlight programmer.
Amen Corner's Decca back catalogue has been re-issued as part of the "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.
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
group
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
, formed in late 1966 in Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
.
Career
The band 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 the best soul musicSoul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
from the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Initially they specialised in a blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
and jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
-oriented style, but were steered by their record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
s into more commercial pastures. Their first singles
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
and album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
appeared on Decca
Decca Records
Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
's subsidiary label, Deram
Deram Records
Deram Records was a subsidiary record label established in 1966 by Decca Records in the United Kingdom. At this time U.K. Decca was a completely different company than the Decca label in the United States, which was then owned by MCA Inc. Deram recordings were also distributed in the U.S. through...
— see "Discography" below — but they left at the end of 1968 to join Immediate
Immediate Records
Immediate Records was a British record label, started in 1965 by The Rolling Stones' manager Andrew Loog Oldham and Tony Calder and concentrating on the London-based blues and R&B scene.-History:...
,
where they were instantly rewarded with a No. 1
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
, "(If Paradise Is) Half as Nice
(If Paradise Is) Half as Nice
" Half as Nice" is a popular single by Amen Corner.Originally written by the Italian singer-songwriter Lucio Battisti for La Ragazza 77, alias Ambra Borelli, in 1968 as "Il paradiso della vita" , and later in 1969 for Patty Pravo as "Il Paradiso" , it was translated into English by Jack Fishman...
" in early 1969, followed by another Top 5 entry with the Roy Wood
Roy Wood
Roy Adrian Wood is an English singer-songwriter and musician. He was particularly successful in the 1960s and 1970s as member and co-founder of the bands The Move, Electric Light Orchestra, and Wizzard. As a songwriter, he contributed a number of hits to the repertoire of these bands.-Career:Wood...
composition, "Hello Susie".
After recording a final studio album, Farewell to the Real Magnificent Seven, with a cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
' "Get Back
Get Back
"Get Back" is a song by The Beatles, composed by Paul McCartney and frequently attributed to Lennon–McCartney. The song was originally released as a single on 11 April 1969, and credited to "The Beatles with Billy Preston." A different mix of the song later became the closing track of Let It Be ,...
" released as their swansong, they disbanded at the end of 1969. The band also appeared as themselves in the 1969 horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
, Scream and Scream Again
Scream and Scream Again
Scream and Scream Again is a 1970 British horror film directed by Gordon Hessler and starring Christopher Lee, Vincent Price and Peter Cushing. It is based on the novel The Disorientated Man by Peter Saxon.- Plot :...
.
Whilst saxophone
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
player Allan Jones went on to form Judas Jump
Judas Jump
Judas Jump was a British short-lived prog rock supergroup, formed in 1969. They released one album and three singles before disbanding in 1971. They are best known for their various members who had success before and after Judas Jump.-Career:...
, guitarist and vocalist Andy Fairweather Low led Dennis Bryon (drums), Blue Weaver
Blue Weaver
Blue Weaver is a British keyboard player, session musician, songwriter and record producer.-Biography:...
(organ), Clive Taylor (bass) and Neil Jones (guitar) into a new band, Fair Weather
Fair Weather
Fair Weather was a British rock band formed in 1970 by former Amen Corner guitarist and vocalist, Andy Fairweather Low. They are best known for their track, "Natural Sinner".-Biography:The band evolved from a split within Amen Corner...
. The band scored a UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
No. 6 hit
Hit single
A hit single is a recorded song or instrumental released as a single that has become very popular. Although it is sometimes used to describe any widely-played or big-selling song, the term "hit" is usually reserved for a single that has appeared in an official music chart through repeated radio...
with "Natural Sinner" in 1970 and recorded one album before disbanding after Blue left to join The Strawbs a year later.
Fairweather Low went on to a successful solo
Solo (music)
In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...
career in the 1970s, notably with the Top 10 hit "Wide Eyed and Legless" (1975); he became a regular player with Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
, George Harrison
George Harrison
George Harrison, MBE was an English musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison became over time an admirer of Indian mysticism, and introduced it to the other...
and Roger Waters
Roger Waters
George Roger Waters is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. He was a founding member of the progressive rock band Pink Floyd, serving as bassist and co-lead vocalist. Following the departure of bandmate Syd Barrett in 1968, Waters became the band's lyricist, principal songwriter...
. Blue Weaver joined The Strawbs
The Strawbs
Strawbs are an English rock band founded in 1964. Although the band started out as a bluegrass group they eventually moved on to other styles such as folk rock, glam rock and progressive rock...
as Rick Wakeman's replacement and later after a successful 1974 tour with Mott The Hoople, went on to join the Bee Gees
Bee Gees
The Bee Gees are a musical group that originally comprised three brothers: Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio was successful for most of their 40-plus years of recording music, but they had two distinct periods of exceptional success: as a pop act in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and as a...
, where Dennis Bryon was now the drummer. Blue Weaver also played keyboards for many artists as a session player and later Fairlight programmer.
Amen Corner's Decca back catalogue has been re-issued as part of the "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.
Band members
Amen Corner comprised:- Andy Fairweather Low (vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
) — born Andrew Fairweather Low, 2 August 1948, Ystrad MynachYstrad MynachYstrad Mynach is a town in the County Borough of Caerphilly, previously within the ancient traditional county of Glamorgan, Wales, and is 5 miles north of Caerphilly town. It has a population of around 13,500 and stands in the Rhymney Valley . Before the Industrial Revolution and the coming of coal...
, HengoedHengoedHengoed ) is a village on the west side of the Rhymney Valley - between Ystrad Mynach to the South and Cefn Hengoed to the North. Across the valley it looks towards Maesycwmmer...
, South WalesSouth WalesSouth Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
. - Neil Jones (guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
) — born 25 March 1949, Llanbradach, South Wales. - Allan Jones (saxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
) — born 6 February 1947, SwanseaSwanseaSwansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
, GlamorganGlamorganGlamorgan or Glamorganshire is one of the thirteen historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales. It was originally an early medieval kingdom of varying boundaries known as Glywysing until taken over by the Normans as a lordship. Glamorgan is latterly represented by the three...
, South Wales. - Blue WeaverBlue WeaverBlue Weaver is a British keyboard player, session musician, songwriter and record producer.-Biography:...
(keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
) — born Derek John Weaver, 11 March 1947, Cardiff, Glamorgan, South Wales. - Mike Smith (tenor saxophoneTenor saxophoneThe tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble...
) — born Michael Joseph Smith, 4 November 1947, NeathNeathNeath is a town and community situated in the principal area of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, UK with a population of approximately 45,898 in 2001...
, South Wales. - Clive Taylor (bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
) — born 27 April 1948, Cardiff. - Dennis Bryon (drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
) — born Dennis Ronald Bryon, 14 April 1949, Cardiff.
Singles
- DM136 "Gin House BluesGin House Blues"Gin House Blues" is the title of two different blues songs, which have become confused over the years. Both songs were first recorded by Bessie Smith....
" (1967) — UK Singles ChartUK Singles ChartThe UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
#12 - DM151 "The World of Broken Hearts" (1967) — UK #24
- DM172 "Bend Me, Shape MeBend Me, Shape Me"Bend Me, Shape Me" is a song written by Scott English and Larry Weiss. It was first recorded by The Outsiders as a track on their album The Outsiders In in 1966...
"/"Satisnek The Job's Worth" (1968) — UK #3 - DM197 "High in the Sky" (1968) — UK #6
- IM073 "(If Paradise Is) Half as Nice(If Paradise Is) Half as Nice" Half as Nice" is a popular single by Amen Corner.Originally written by the Italian singer-songwriter Lucio Battisti for La Ragazza 77, alias Ambra Borelli, in 1968 as "Il paradiso della vita" , and later in 1969 for Patty Pravo as "Il Paradiso" , it was translated into English by Jack Fishman...
" (1969) — UK #1 - IM081 "Hello Susie" (1969) — UK #4
- IM084 "Get BackGet Back"Get Back" is a song by The Beatles, composed by Paul McCartney and frequently attributed to Lennon–McCartney. The song was originally released as a single on 11 April 1969, and credited to "The Beatles with Billy Preston." A different mix of the song later became the closing track of Let It Be ,...
" (1969) — Did not chartRecord chartA record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
Albums
- SML1021 Round Amen Corner (1968) — UK Albums ChartUK Albums ChartThe UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
#26 - IMSP023 The National Welsh Coast Live Explosion Company (1969) — UK #19
- IMSP028 Farewell to the Real Magnificent Seven (1969)
- IML1004 The Return of the Magnificent Seven (1976)
- IML2004 Greatest Hits (1977)
- MS023 Amen Corner (If Paradise Is Half As Nice and More Hits) (2007) — includes live recordings
See also
- List of artists who reached number one on the UK Singles Chart
- List of performers on Top of the Pops
- List of number-one singles from the 1960s (UK)