Song:Nothin' But A Heartache
Album:The Northern Soul Scene
The Flirtations were frequently comapred to The Supremes to the point where they had to move to England to have any kind of success. Nothin' But A Heartache was their only US chart single in 1969. They were from South Carolina and were originally called The Gypsies. Members were sisters Ernestine, Shirley and Betty Pearce along with Lestine Johnson. They signed with Old Town Records in 1964 and though they had limited success with the J.J. Jackson song Jerk It in 1965, they left Old Town after four singles and Lestine was replaced by Viola Billups. They recorded some more singles as The Flirtations but weren't getting anywhere. So after Betty Pearce's departure reduced them to a trio, they moved to London because some of their songs became popular on the Northern Soul scene. They signed with Decca's Deram label and recorded Nothin' But A Heartache with Deram house producer Wayne Bickerton. He wrote the song with his partner Tony Waddington. The went on to produce The Rubettes in the 70s. Nothing But A Heartache reached #34 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1969 and is one of several Northern Soul favourites available on this comp. Subsequent recordings had limited success at best and they left Deram for Polydor in 1971. Viola Billups left in 1972 and has had solo success as Pearly Gates. The Flirtations continued to record into the 80s and still tour today. Their story is very unusual. Here's the video for Nothin' But A Heartache by The Flirtations.
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