The band is named after Amen Corner, a small residential area on the edge of Bracknell in Berkshire. Initially they specialised in a blues and jazz-orientated style, but were steered by their record companies 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, where they were instantly rewarded with a No. 1, "(If Paradise Is) Half as Nice" (originally a song by Lucio Battisti) in early 1969, followed by another top five 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.
While sax players Alan Jones and Mike Smith went on to form Judas Jump, guitarist and vocalist Andy Fairweather-Low led Dennis Byron (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 ten hit "Wide Eyed and Legless" (1975); he became a regular player with Eric Clapton, George Harrison and Roger Waters. He also worked with The Strawbs and the Bee Gees.
Amen Corner's Decca back catalogue has been reissued as part of 'The Collection' series; and their Immediate work, as a double CD, including their singles, live album and material recorded for an unreleased studio album, under the title "If Paradise Was Half as Nice: The Immediate Anthology".
Disc 1
1. (If Paradise Is) Half As Nice (Jack Fishman, Lucio Battisti) - 2:47
2. Hey Hey Girl - 3:03
3. Hello Susie (Roy Wood) - 2:36
4. Evil Man's Gonna Win - 4:02
5. Get Back (John Lennon, Paul McCartney) - 2:41
6. Farewell To The Real Magnificent Seven - 6:36
7. Lady Riga - 3:18
8. Proud Mary (John Fogerty) - 3:06
9. At Last I've Found Someone To Love (Dominic King) - 3:47
10.Scream And Scream Again (Dominic King) - 3:36
11.Sanitation - 2:46
12.Mr Nonchalant - 3:31
13.The Weight (Robbie Robertson) - 5:50
14.Welcome To The Club - 3:05
15.Recess (Fletcher Henderson) - 2:29
16.When We Make Love (Dominic King) - 2:51
17.Things Ain't What They Used To Be - 2:07
18.Long Chocolate Limousine - 3:13
19.Natural Sinner - 4:14
20.(If Paradise Is) Half As Nice (Jack Fishman, Lucio Battisti) - 2:49
21.Hello Susie (Roy Wood) - 2:55
22.Hey Hey Girl - 3:06
23.Evil Man's Gonna Win - 3:40
Tracks 2,4,6,7,11,12,14,17,18,19,22,23 written by Andy Fairweather Low
Disc 2
1. Introduction-MacArthur Park (Jimmy Webb) - 3:39
2. Baby Do The Philly Dog (Fred Smith, Sherlie Matthews, Walter Ward) - 2:36
3. You're My Girl (I Don't Want To Discuss It) (Dick Cooper) - 2:17
4. Shake A Tail Feather (Andre Williams, Otha Hayes, Verlie Rice) - 1:45
5. So Fine (Johnny Otis) - 2:44
6. (Our Love) Is In The Pocket (George Clinton, Joanne Jackson Bratton, Rose Marie McCoy) - 3:16
7. Penny Lane (John Lennon, Paul McCartney) - 3:04
8. High In The Sky (Anthony King) - 3:15
9. Gin House (Fletcher Henderson) - 3:51
10.Bend Me Shape Me (Larry Weiss, Scott English) - 4:02
11.(If Paradise Is) Half As Nice (Jack Fishman, Lucio Battisti) - 3:20
12.Outro-Stag-O-Lee - 2:59
The National Welsh Coast Live Explosion Company LP
Amen Corner
*Andy Fairweather Low -Vocals
*Neil Jones - Guitar
*Allan Jones - Saxophone
*Blue Weaver - Keyboards
*Mike Smith -Tenor Saxophone
*Clive Taylor - Bass
*Dennis Byron - Drums
