"Nothing but a Heartache" is a song

Song

In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...

 originally released on the Deram Records

Deram Records

Deram Records was a subsidiary record label established in 1966 by Decca Records in the United Kingdom. At this time U.K. Decca was a completely different company than the Decca label in the United States, which was then owned by MCA Inc. Deram recordings were also distributed in the U.S. through...

 label in 1968 by The Flirtations. Written by Wayne Bickerton

Wayne Bickerton

Wayne Bickerton is an English songwriter, record producer, and music business executive. He became well known, with Tony Waddington, as writer and producer of a series of UK chart hits in the 1970s for The Rubettes, and is now a leading figure in SESAC, the Society of European Stage Authors &...

 and Tony Waddington - the team who'd be responsible for The Rubettes

The Rubettes

The Rubettes were an English pop band assembled in 1973 by the songwriting team of Wayne Bickerton, then the head of A&R at Polydor Records, and his co-songwriter, Tony Waddington, after their doo-wop and 1950s American pop-influenced songs had been rejected by a number of existing acts...

 successs in the 1970s - "Nothing But a Heartache" just missed the UK Top 50 with a #51 peak. However the track became a Top 40 hit in the US, reaching #34 on the Billboard Hot 100

Billboard Hot 100

The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

. in May 1969.

The song was used on a television

Television

Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

 advertising

Advertising

Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...

 campaign for KFC

KFC

KFC, founded and also known as Kentucky Fried Chicken, is a chain of fast food restaurants based in Louisville, Kentucky, in the United States. KFC has been a brand and operating segment, termed a concept of Yum! Brands since 1997 when that company was spun off from PepsiCo as Tricon Global...

 in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 along with several other Northern Soul

Northern soul

Northern soul is a music and dance movement that emerged from the British mod scene, initially in northern England in the late 1960s. Northern soul mainly consists of a particular style of black American soul music based on the heavy beat and fast tempo of the mid-1960s Tamla Motown sound...

 records including Frank Wilson

Frank Wilson (musician)

Frank Wilson is an African American former songwriter and record producer for Motown Records.-Biography:He was born to James Wilson and Samantha Gibbs...

's "Do I Love You (Indeed I Do)

Do I Love You (Indeed I Do)

"Do I Love You " is a song and single by American soul singer Frank Wilson first released in 1965 on the Motown subsidiary label Soul. It is Wilson's only Motown single and is a prized item among collectors.-Record history:...

" and Marlena Shaw

Marlena Shaw

Marlena Shaw is an American singer. Shaw began her singing career in the 1960s and is still singing today. Her music has often been sampled in hip hop music, and used in television commercials.-Biography:She was first introduced to music by her uncle Jimmy Burgess, a jazz trumpet player...

's "California Soul". A promotional film for the song featuring the group was shot at Tintern Abbey

Tintern Abbey

Tintern Abbey was founded by Walter de Clare, Lord of Chepstow, on 9 May 1131. It is situated in the village of Tintern, on the Welsh bank of the River Wye in Monmouthshire, which forms the border between Monmouthshire in Wales and Gloucestershire in England. It was only the second Cistercian...

 in Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

.

"Nothing but a Heartache" was one of the songs covered on the Detroit Cobras album Tied & True

Tied & True

Tied & True is the fourth album by The Detroit Cobras, released 24 April 2007 .-Track listing:#As Long As I Have You#* Original by Garnett Mimms#Nothing But A Heartache#* Original by The Flirtations...

 in 2007. It was also covered in 2007 by the UK dance act

Dance music

Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...

 Freemasons

Freemasons (band)

Freemasons are an English dance band from Brighton, East Sussex, England. The act consists of producers Russell Small and James Wiltshire .-2005-2007: Early Career:Their name is taken from the Brighton pub, Freemasons Tavern, Hove, which they frequently...

. This version was 'mashed up' by Dutch dance DJ Pytski with "Umbrella

Umbrella (song)

"Umbrella" is a song recorded by Barbadian singer Rihanna, featuring a rap verse by Jay-Z. The song was written by The-Dream, Christopher Stewart, Kuk Harrell and Jay-Z, and was produced by Stewart and The-Dream for Rihanna's third studio album, Good Girl Gone Bad...

" by Rihanna

Rihanna

Robyn Rihanna Fenty , better known as simply Rihanna, is a Barbadian recording artist. Born in Saint Michael, Barbados, Rihanna moved to the United States at the age of 16 to pursue a recording career under the guidance of record producer Evan Rogers...

. Although this mashup

Mashup (music)

A mashup or bootleg is a song or composition created by blending two or more pre-recorded songs, usually by overlaying the vocal track of one song seamlessly over the instrumental track of another...

 was quite popular in clubs, it was not released commercially due to legal reasons. Southside Johnny covered this song on his album "Into The Harbour".

Nothing but a Heartache - a documentary film

Documentary film

Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...

 (currently in production) about the Northern Irish scooter scene.