"Good Thing" is a song recorded by British band

Fine Young Cannibals Fine Young Cannibals (FYC) was a British pop rock band formed in Birmingham, England, in 1984, by bassist David Steele (musician), David Steele, guitarist Andy Cox (both formerly of The Beat (British band), The Beat), and singer Roland Gift (fo ...

, released as the second single from their second and last album, '' The Raw & the Cooked'' (1989). The song was their second and final #1, topping the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on 8 July 1989. It also peaked at #7 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. The song made its first appearance in ''

Tin Men ''Tin Men'' is a 1987 American comedy film written and directed by Barry Levinson, produced by Mark Johnson, and starring Richard Dreyfuss, Danny DeVito, and Barbara Hershey. It is the second of Levinson's tetralogy "Baltimore Films", set in h ...

'' (1987). Fine Young Cannibals portrayed a nightclub band in the movie, performing this song and three others (including the single's b-side "Social Security"). The film is set in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

in 1963, and the song's retro soul style is consistent with that setting.

Jools Holland Julian Miles Holland, (born 24 January 1958) is an English pianist, bandleader, singer, composer and television presenter. He was an original member of the band Squeeze and has worked with many artists including Jayne County, Sting, Eric C ...

played piano on the track, noting that it was "one of the biggest selling records I've ever played on".

Music video

The accompanying

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for "Good Thing" features many scenes with the ''Orribly Good Scooter Club'', the Jokers and A41 Eagles displaying their motor scooters, both at rest and in motion, as part of scooter boy culture. The scooters featured include stock scooters, as well as highly stylised scooters and minimalist

cutdown A cutdown is a customised scooter (usually an Italian Vespa or Lambretta) with parts of the bodywork removed or cut away. Cutdowns were popular amongst skinheads and scooterboys during the mod revival of the 1970s and 1980s. While the style-obs ...

scooters.

In popular culture

The song was featured in the trailer for ''

Mad Dog and Glory ''Mad Dog and Glory'' is a 1993 American crime comedy-drama film directed by John McNaughton and starring Robert De Niro, Uma Thurman, and Bill Murray, and supporting roles from well known actors Richard Belzer and David Caruso as De Niro's partne ...

'' (1993) and in TV spots for '' Passed Away'' (1992) Twice during 1998, the song was featured in episodes of ''

Top Gear Top Gear may refer to: * "Top gear", the highest gear available in a vehicle's manual transmission Television * ''Top Gear'' (1977 TV series), a British motoring magazine programme * ''Top Gear'' (2002 TV series), a relaunched version of the or ...

'', first in a used car review of the

Volkswagen Golf The Volkswagen Golf () is a compact car/small family car (C-segment) produced by the German automotive manufacturer Volkswagen since 1974, marketed worldwide across eight generations, in various body configurations and under various nameplates ...

, with a voiceover by presenter

Quentin Willson Quentin Willson (born 23 July 1957) is an English TV presenter, motoring journalist, author, TV producer and former car dealer, perhaps most widely known as a presenter of the motoring programmes ''Britain's Worst Driver'', ''Fifth Gear'', and ...

, the second in the beginning of the review of the

Alfa Romeo 166 The Alfa Romeo 166 (Type 936) is an executive car produced by the Italian automaker Alfa Romeo, between 1996 and June 2007. The car was designed by Centro Stile Alfa Romeo, under the control of Walter de Silva, and was facelifted in September 20 ...

, with scenes showing

Alfa Romeo 156 The Alfa Romeo 156 (Type 932) is a compact executive car produced by the Italian automobile manufacturer Alfa Romeo. It was introduced at the 1997 Frankfurt Motor Show as the replacement for the Alfa Romeo 155. The 156 received a positive recep ...

s. In 2007, the song was used in adverts for the

Chevrolet Captiva The Chevrolet Captiva is a compact crossover SUV marketed by General Motors under their Chevrolet marque. The first generation was developed by GM Korea, based on the GM Theta platform and derived from the S3X concept car revealed in 2004. Relea ...

(United Kingdom). The song appears in ''

Doomsday Doomsday may refer to: * Eschatology, a time period described in the eschatological writings in Abrahamic religions and in doomsday scenarios of non-Abrahamic religions. * Global catastrophic risk, a hypothetical event explored in science and fict ...

'' (2008), starring

Rhona Mitra Rhona is the name of: * Rhona Adair (1878–1961), British golf champion * Rhona Bennett (born 1976), American singer, actress and model * Rhona Brankin (born 1950), Labour Co-operative politician and Member of the Scottish Parliament * Rhona Bro ...

, in a surreal scene involving the film's main antagonist. It was also used in the film '' It's Complicated'' (2009), in the scene at the graduation party. It plays as

Alec Baldwin Alexander Rae Baldwin III (born April 3, 1958) is an American actor, comedian, and producer. In his early career, Baldwin played both leading and supporting roles in a variety of films such as Tim Burton's ''Beetlejuice'' (1988), Mike Nichol ...

walks towards

Meryl Streep Mary Louise Meryl Streep (born June 22, 1949) is an American actress. Often described as "the best actress of her generation", Streep is particularly known for her versatility and accent adaptability. She has received numerous accolades throu ...

and

Steve Martin Stephen Glenn Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and musician. He has won five Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and was awarded an Honorary Academy Award in 2013. Additionally, he was nominated ...

, after noticing the two are obviously high.

Track listings

* 7" single # "Good Thing" – 3:22 # "Social Security" – 3:26 * 12" maxi # "Good Thing" ( Prince Paul remix) – 5:30 # "Good Thing" (7" mix) – 3:22 # "Good Thing" (Nothing Like the Single Mix - Instrumental) – 4:38 * 10" limited edition # "Good Thing" – 3:22 # "Good Thing (Double Groove Alternate)" – 3:22 # "Social Security" – 3:26 * CD maxi # "Good Thing" (7" mix) – 3:25 # "Good Thing" (Nothing Like the Single Mix) – 4:42 # "She Drives Me Crazy" (Monie Love Remix) – 5:59

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{authority control Fine Young Cannibals songs 1987 songs 1989 singles Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles RPM Top Singles number-one singles Songs written by David Steele (musician) Songs written by Roland Gift London Records singles Northern soul songs