A Good Thing Going

When I was first getting into Northern Soul all those years ago, it wasn't easy getting a hold of the tracks as nobody I knew had any collections to speak of. The only way to get a hold of these tunes was to buy home made compilation tapes from ads in the back of Scootering  or to buy the few compilation albums and repress singles on labels like Casino Classics and Inferno.

One of the best of these compilations was Out On The Floor Tonight on Neil Rushton's Inferno label. This album included classics such as as Tainted Love, Love Factory and of course Out On The Floor Tonight.

It also contained a couple of curios, A Good Thing Going being one of them. The track is an instrumental but that isn't all that unusual on the scene. But it was recorded by an Irish composer and his Orchestra who made traditional Irish and Folk music as far removed from the black soul music of the scene. When you first listen to the track it does seem a rather odd choice for the dancers at the Wigan Casino but when heard dropped in the middle of a set and you see the dancers moving to it, it fits perfectly albeit with shudders and derision from the purists.

This is another example along with the likes of The Human Beinz and Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels  which illustrate the diverse musical styles that seeped into the scene.

See what you think.

Phil Coulter and His Orchestra - A Good Thing Going