Amen Corner – If Paradise Is Half As Nice (1969)

“(If Paradise Is) Half as Nice” – Single by Amen Corner from the album Farewell to the Real Magnificent Seven
B-side: Hey Hey Girl
Released: 1969
Label: Immediate
Songwriters: Lucio Battisti, Jack Fishman
Producer: Shel Talmy
Charted No.1 in UK, No.12 in Germany, No.14 in Austria, No.4 in Ireland

“(If Paradise Is) Half as Nice” is a popular 1968 song. Originally written by the Italian singer-songwriter Lucio Battisti under the title “Il paradiso” (“The Paradise”), it was first recorded by Italian singer Ambra Borelli and released as a single through Dischi Ricordi under alias La Ragazza 77.

The song was translated into English by Jack Fishman. When it was offered to The Tremeloes as a potential single, they rejected it. It was then recorded by Amen Corner as their debut single for their new record label, Immediate Records.

“If Paradise Is Half As Nice” was the most successful of the band’s six hit singles, it reached number one on the UK Singles Chart for two weeks in February 1969.

Amen Corner were a Welsh rock group, formed in late 1966 in Cardiff, Wales.

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.