Amen Corner (band)
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Amen Corner was a successful British pop group, formed in late 1966 in Cardiff, Wales.
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 music from the United States.
Initially they specialised in a blues and jazz-orientated style, but were steered by their record labels into more commercial pastures. Their first singles and album appeared on Decca's subsidiary label Deram, but they left at the end of 1968 to join Immediate,[1] where they were instantly rewarded with a No. 1, "(If Paradise Is) Half as Nice" (originally a song by Italian songwriter Lucio Battisti) in early 1969, followed by another Top 5 entry with the Roy Wood composition, "Hello Susie".
After recording a live album, Farewell to the Real Magnificent Seven, and a final single, a rather premature cover version of The Beatles' "Get Back", they disbanded at the end of 1969.[2] The band also appeared as themselves in the 1969 horror film, Scream and Scream Again.
Whilst saxophone players Allan Jones and Mike Smith 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 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. He also worked with Strawbs and the Bee Gees. Blue Weaver also played keyboards for the Bee Gees from the mid 1970s through to the 1990s.
Amen Corner's Decca back catalogue has been reissued as part of 'The Collection' series; and their Immediate work, including their singles, live album and material recorded for an unreleased studio album, on If Paradise Was Half as Nice: The Immediate Anthology.
Band members
Amen Corner comprised:
- Andy Fairweather-Low (vocals) - born Andrew Fairweather-Low, 2 August 1946, Ystrad Mynach, Hengoed, South Wales.
- Neil Jones (guitar) - born 25 March 1949, Llanbradach, South Wales.
- Allan Jones (saxophone) - born 6 February 1947, Swansea, Glamorgan, South Wales.
- Blue Weaver (keyboards) - born Derek John Weaver, 11 March 1947, Cardiff, Glamorgan, South Wales.
- Mike Smith (tenor saxophone) - born Michael Joseph Smith, 4 November 1947, Neath, South Wales.
- Clive Taylor (bass) - born 27 April 1948, Cardiff.
- Dennis Bryon (drums) - born Dennis Ronald Bryon, 14 April 1949, Cardiff.
Discography
Singles
- DM136 "Gin House Blues" (1967) - UK Singles Chart #12
- DM151 "The World of Broken Hearts" (1967) - UK #24
- DM172 "Bend Me, Shape Me"/"Satisnek The Job's Worth" (1968) - UK #3
- DM197 "High in the Sky" (1968) - UK #6
- IM073 "(If Paradise Is) Half as Nice" (1969) - UK #1
- IM081 "Hello Susie" (1969) - UK #4
- IM084 "Get Back" (1969) - Did not chart
Albums
- SML1021 Round Amen Corner (1968) - UK Albums Chart #26
- IMSP023 The National Welsh Coast Live Explosion Company (1969) - UK #19
- IMSP028 Farewell To The Real Magnificent Seven (1969) - live recording
- IML1004 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)
References
- ^ Rice, Jo (1982). The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits (1st ed.). Enfield, Middlesex: Guinness Superlatives Ltd. p. 124. ISBN 0-85112-250-7.
- ^ a b "Biography by William Ruhlmann". Allmusic.com. Retrieved 15 October 2009.
- ^ a b Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 21. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
Footnotes
- Vinylnet Record Label Discographies. link. - Immediate Records catalogue numbers where applicable.