Amen Corner were a Welsh rock group formed in Cardiff. 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

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".

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". 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.</small> – guitar

  • Allan Jones <small>(born 6 February 1947, Swansea, Glamorgan, South Wales)</small> – saxophone
  • Blue Weaver <small>(born Derek John Weaver, 11 March 1947, Cardiff, Glamorgan, South Wales)</small> – keyboards
  • Mike Smith <small>(born Michael Joseph Smith, 4 November 1947, Neath, South Wales)</small> – tenor saxophone
  • Clive Taylor <small>(born 27 April 1948, Cardiff)</small> – bass, backing vocals
  • Dennis Bryon <small>(born Dennis Ronald Bryon, 14 April 1949, Cardiff, died 14 November 2024)</small> – drums, backing vocals

!<small>AUS</small>

!<small>AUT</small><br/>

!<small>BE (WA)</small><br/>

!<small>GER</small><br/>

!<small>IRE</small><br/>

!<small>NL</small><br/>

!<small>NOR</small><br/>

!<small>NZ</small><br/>

|-

| rowspan="2" |1967

| align="left" |"Gin House Blues"

|12

|85

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|12

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| align="left" |"The World of Broken Hearts"

|24

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| rowspan="2" |1968

| align="left" |"Bend Me, Shape Me"

|3

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|16

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|5

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|10

|9

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| align="left" |"High in the Sky"

|6

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|9

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|19

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| rowspan="7" |1969

| align="left" |"(If Paradise Is) Half as Nice"

|1

|82

|14

|27

|12

|4

|15

|7

|5

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| align="left" |"Let the Good Times Roll and Feel So Good" <small>(withdrawn from UK release)</small>

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| align="left" |"At Last I've Found Someone to Love" <small>(New Zealand-only release)</small>

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| align="left" |"Hello Susie"

|4

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|14

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|14

|7

|13

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|13

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| align="left" |"Judge Rumpel Crassila" <small>(Netherlands-only release)</small>

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| align="left" |"So Fine" <small>(promo sampler)</small>

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| align="left" |"Get Back"

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|1976

| align="left" |"(If Paradise Is) Half as Nice" <small>(re-release)</small>

|34

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| colspan="11" style="font-size:8pt" |"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released

|}

See also

  • List of artists who reached number one on the UK Singles Chart
  • List of performers on Top of the Pops
  • List of UK Singles Chart number ones of the 1960s

References

  • Clive Taylor Sound website
  • Biography from BBC Wales