#150: Nothing But A Heartache by the Flirtations

City: Toronto, ON
Radio Station: CHUM
Peak Month: May 1969
Peak Position in Toronto ~ #4
Peak Position in Vancouver ~ #9
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #34
YouTube: “Nothing But A Heartache”
Lyrics: “Nothing But A Heartache”

The Flirtations were a group from South Carolina formed in 1962. They were Lestine Johnson and sisters Ernestine Pearce, Shirley Pearce and Betty Pearce. They moved to New York City in 1962 and called themselves The Gypsies. Their debut single, “Hey There, Hey There”, stalled at #111 below the Billboard Hot 100, but made the Top 40 on the R&B chart. Lestine Johnson left the group in 1965 and was replaced by Viola Billups. As the Gypsies they released four singles. In 1966, they became The Flirtations. Betty Pearce left the group, reducing the Flirtations to a trio. After winning a small local talent contest in 1968 to see who could sound the most like the Supremes, they packed their bags and headed for England, where they signed to the Parrot label and in the fall of 1968 supported the label’s star act Tom Jones on his European tour. The Flirtations’ sole Parrot release was “Someone Out There”, backed with “How Can You Tell Me?” “Someone Out There” rose to second place on the “Bubbling Under” list in September 1968, and the track did afford the Flirtations a chart hit in the Netherlands with a #25 peak.

In late 1968 the trio signed with Deram Records and released what would become their signature recording – “Nothing But A Heartache”.

“Nothing But A Heartache” was cowritten by Wayne Bickerton (born Arthur Ronald Bickerton) and Tony Waddington. Bickerton was born in 1941 in Rhyl, Wales, while Waddington was born in Liverpool in 1943. Both Bickerton and Waddington were members of Lee Curtis and the All-Stars between 1961 and 1967. Bickerton and Waddington later wrote “Sugar Baby Love” which was a number-one hit in the UK in 1974 for the Rubettes. The songwriting duo also wrote more hit singles in the UK by the Rubettes including “Juke Box Jive”, “I Can Do It”, “Tonight”, and “Foe-Dee-O-Dee”. Bickerton and Waddington also wrote a #3 UK hit in 1975 for Mac and Katie Kissoon titled “Sugar Candy Kisses”, and a #9 UK hit titled “Don’t Do It Baby”. They also wrote a Top Ten Adult Contemporary hit for Tom Jones in the USA in 1970 titled “Can’t Stop Loving You”. Wayne Bickerton went on to become an executive for the Performing Right Society in England. He died at the age of 74 in 2015. Tony Waddington has written scores for Australian and British films. Since 2013 he has been a director at Park Lane Media.

“Nothing But A Heartache” is a song about someone who is “loving a bad guy.” The singer laments “he’s got me, oh why can’t I get him?” On a daily basis she’s got heartache, teardrops, and “tears pouring all down my face.” She complains, “it’s one situation that I just can’t win.” The song appeared in a UK commercial for Kentucky Fried Chicken.

“Nothing But A Heartache” peaked at #1 in Rochester (NY), #3 in Reading (PA), Charlottesville (VA), Boston, Louisville (KY), and Bowling Green (KY), #4 in Toronto for three weeks, Fresno (CA), Santa Rosa (CA), Big Rapids (MI), Toledo (OH), Fort Lauderdale (FL), Pittsburgh, Shippensburg (PA), and Saint Charles (MO), #5 in Sudbury (ON), and Madison (WI), #6 in Windsor (ON), West Palm Beach (FL), Cleveland, Beaumont (TX), and Allentown (PA), #7 in Harrisburg (PA), and Easton (PA), #8 in Pointe Claire (PQ), Battle Creek (MI), and Pensacola (FL), #9 in Vancouver, Lansing (MI), Cincinnati (OH), San Francisco, Corvallis (OR), and Seattle, and #10 in Los Angeles.

The Flirtations appeared on Top of the Pops in the UK. They toured with Stevie Wonder, Tom Jones, the Four Tops, The Temptations and other acts.

The follow-up was less of a dance tune than the previous single. “South Carolina” was a ballad that reached only #111 Bubbling Under the Billboard Hot 1000 in July 1969. In early 1970, “What’s Good About Goodbye My Love” reached #17 on the R&B chart in the USA. In July 1970 the trio scored another hit with another Bickerton and Waddington song, “Can’t Stop Loving You”. The song made it to #96 on the Cash Box Top 100 Singles chart.

Viola Billups left the group in 1972 and several replacements followed. With Loretta Noble, Ernestine and Shirley Pearce, during 1972, the Flirtations were the resident vocal band on the long running BBC TV series It’s Cliff Richard, backing Cliff Richard on various numbers, while performing their own songs and supporting other guests on the show.

Into the 2000s Ernestine Pearce was fronting for the Flirtations on ‘Soul Explosion’ Tours along with the lead singer of the Foundations of “Build Me Up Buttercup” fame.

October 7, 2026
Ray McGinnis

References:
“The Flirtations: Bio,” the flirtations.net.

CHUM 1050-AM Toronto (ON)