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Linda Nolan
Nolan in 2014
Born	(1959-02-23)23 February 1959 Dublin, Ireland
Died	15 January 2025(2025-01-15) (aged 65) Blackpool, Lancashire, England
Occupations	Singer actress author television personality
Years active	1974–2025
Television	Top of the Pops Celebrity Big Brother Loose Women
Spouse	Brian Hudson ​ ​(m. 1981; died 2007)​
Family	Anne Nolan (sister) Denise Nolan (sister) Maureen Nolan (sister) Bernie Nolan (sister) Coleen Nolan (sister) Jake Roche (nephew)

Linda Mary Nolan (23 February 1959 – 15 January 2025) was an Irish singer, actress and television personality.

After moving with her family to Blackpool at the age of three in 1962, she attained fame as a member of the girl group The Nolans in 1974, along with her sisters Anne, Denise, Maureen, Bernie and Coleen. As a member of the Nolans, she toured with Frank Sinatra in 1975, won the Tokyo Music Festival in 1981, and had seven UK top 20 hits between 1979 and 1982.

Soon after leaving the group, Nolan supported Gene Pitney on his 1984 UK tour. She then went on to perform in theatre, including an eight-season residency as Maggie May on Blackpool's Central Pier (1986–1993), where she clocked up over 1,000 performances, followed by two seasons as Rosie O'Grady on Blackpool's South Pier (1994–1995). She reunited with the Nolans for the 2009 I'm in the Mood Again album and tour, and in 2014, she took part in the thirteenth series of Celebrity Big Brother. In 2018, she was a recurring guest panellist on Loose Women.

Early life

Linda Nolan was born on 23 February 1959 in Holles Street Hospital in Dublin, Ireland, the sixth of eight children born to Tommy and Maureen Nolan. The family lived in Raheny, a north side suburb of Dublin, before moving to Blackpool in 1962, at which point Tommy and Maureen formed the Singing Nolans of which Linda was a member. She went to school at Blackpool's St Catherine's Catholic Secondary School, and also attended The Cardinal Wiseman School in Greenford, West London.

Career

The Nolans

In 1981, Nolan scored a minor hit with her sister Coleen as part of the Young & Moody Band, with "Don't Do That" (UK No. 63) which also featured Lemmy from Motörhead and Cozy Powell.

She left The Nolans in December 1983 and quickly gained the label "Naughty Nolan" due to her posing in risqué publicity photos. The Nolans reunited as a five-piece (Bernie, Anne, Coleen, Maureen and Linda) for one-off performances of "I'm in the Mood for Dancing" first for BBC One's All Time Greatest Party Songs, hosted by Tess Daly, which aired on 17 December 2005 and again on 9 August 2007 on Loose Women.

Four of the sisters (Linda, Bernie, Coleen & Maureen) reunited in 2009 for a successful tour of the UK and Ireland. They also released an album I'm in the Mood Again, which reached No. 22 on the UK Albums Chart.

Theatre work and television

On leaving the group, Nolan went on to play the role of Maggie May at Blackpool's pool Central Pier for eight summer seasons (1986–1993), clocking up more than 1,000 performances.

From 1996 to 1997, Nolan starred as the prison governor in two UK tours of Prisoner: Cell Block H – The Musical, alongside Paul O'Grady.

From 2000, Nolan starred as Mrs Johnstone in Blood Brothers for three years in the West End, and regularly played the role in the UK touring production until 2008. She was the third Nolan sister to play the role, after Bernie and Denise. Maureen Nolan has also since played the role in the West End on the UK tour for several years, earning the sisters a place in the Guinness World Records, as the most siblings to play the same role in a musical. Nolan also appeared on Blankety Blank, with sister Anne and niece Alex on Celebrity Pressure Pad and with sister Bernie on Pointless Celebrities.

In January 2014, Nolan participated in the thirteenth series of Celebrity Big Brother. Prior to this, her sister Coleen had participated in and achieved second place in the tenth series.

Jim Davidson, who was also a contestant in the house that year had history with Linda Nolan; in 1995, Nolan's husband Brian Hudson was caught red-handed stealing money from comic Frank Carson's dressing room at the South Pier Theatre Blackpool. This raised the ire of Davidson, who was playing up the road at the time and promptly lost his temper, yelling "no one steals from my mates" and threatened to punch him. Davidson was promptly thrown out of that nightclub. On Day 15, Nolan was reminded by Davidson of his antics, prompting an argument. She was evicted on Day 22.

Personal life

Nolan met Brian Hudson in 1979 and they married in 1981. He was the Nolans' tour manager until 1983 and became Linda's manager after she left the group. They were married for 26 years until his death on 21 September 2007, from liver failure.

In July 2014, Nolan claimed that she was sexually assaulted by Rolf Harris in 1975 while The Nolans were supporting Harris in a tour of South Africa.

Illness and death

In 2005, Nolan was diagnosed with breast cancer. As part of her treatment, she underwent a single mastectomy in 2006. She was given the all-clear from cancer in 2011. In 2007, she was diagnosed with cellulitis and lymphedema in her arm.

In 2017, Nolan fell on her hip and was taken to hospital, where doctors discovered a form of incurable secondary breast cancer on her pelvis. She began undergoing regular radiotherapy treatment to make sure that the cancer would not spread, but said that she would reject chemotherapy if the cancer was found to be terminal, after seeing how her sister Bernie was in pain from her chemotherapy shortly before Bernie's death in 2013. In 2020, Nolan stated that the cancer had spread to her liver. On 27 March 2023, she stated that the cancer had now metastasised to her brain, with a tumour discovered on the left side of her brain, resulting in balance loss on her right side, which has led to her using a wheelchair. She was prescribed the experimental drug Tucatinib to treat her brain cancer followed by Enhertu.

In January 2025, Nolan was admitted to Blackpool Victoria Hospital with double pneumonia. She fell into a coma, and died on the morning of 15 January, at the age of 65.

Discography

Filmography

Stage

References

1. Laing, Dave (15 January 2025). "Linda Nolan obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 January 2025.
2. ^ Larkin, Colin (1998). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music 3rd Edition Volume V: Louvin, Charlie-Paul, Clarence. London: Macmillan. p. 3969. ISBN 0-333-74134-X.
3. Bassam Mahfouz (10 November 1997). "Steve Pound MP for Ealing North... Maiden Speech". Stevepound.org. Archived from the original on 17 May 2009. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
4. Guinness World Records British Hit Singles 14th Edition. London: Guinness World Records. 2001. p. 482. ISBN 0-85156-156-X.
5. Cummins, Fiona (9 February 2006). "Exclusive: Linda: I'll Beat Breast Cancer". The Daily Mirror. Retrieved 31 March 2008.
6. Daly, Tess (presenter) (17 December 2005). All Time Greatest Party Songs (Television program). England: BBC One.
7. "Loose Women". 11. Episode 149. 2007.
8. "Nolans | Artist". Official Charts. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
9. "Nolan sister Linda still gets scared on stage". This Is Worcestershire. 15 September 2000. Archived from the original on 12 January 2009. Retrieved 31 March 2008.
10. Dealey, Justin (11 May 2005). "Linda's in the mood for Blood Brothers!". BBC News. Retrieved 31 March 2008.
11. "Willy Russell - Blood Brothers - The Actors". Willyrussell.com. 31 March 2008. Archived from the original on 6 December 2013. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
12. "Most siblings to play same role in a musical". Guinness World Records. 11 April 2005. Archived from the original on 1 March 2017. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
13. Blankety Blank. Season 7. Episode 11. 30 November 1984. BBC.
14. Celebrity Pressure Pad. BBC1. 1 September 2014.
15. Pointless Celebrities. 20 December 2012. BBC One.
16. "Coleen Nolan housemate profile – Celebrity Big Brother 2012". Bbspy.co.uk. 7 September 2012. Archived from the original on 4 January 2014. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
17. Emily Hewett (18 January 2014). "Celebrity Big Brother 2014: Jim Davidson threatened Linda Nolan's husband – the 'night from hell' in Frank Carson's dressing room finally explained". Metro.co.uk. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
18. McNally, Kelby. "Linda Nolan in tears after row with Jim Davidson over 'Frank Carson's dressing room'". The Daily Express. Retrieved 17 January 2014.
19. "Day 22". Celebrity Big Brother 13. Channel 5. 24 January 2014.
20. ^ "Linda Nolan: nightmare struggle since my husband died". The Belfast Telegraph. 23 June 2008. Archived from the original on 9 January 2014. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
21. Chris Johnston. "Vanessa Feltz and Linda Nolan reveal assaults by Rolf Harris". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 19 December 2023. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
22. ^ "Linda Nolan to start new cancer drug after brain tumours stop responding to treatment". Sky News. 28 August 2024. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
23. "Linda Nolan breaks down as she opens up about 'incurable' cancer diagnosis". Uk.news.yahoo.com. 4 April 2017. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
24. "Linda Nolan opens up about painful radiotherapy cancer treatment". Hellomagazine.com. 15 May 2017. Archived from the original on 3 April 2023. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
25. "Linda Nolan Is Planning One Big Final Party After Turning Down Chemotherapy For Terminal Cancer". Huffingtonpost.co.uk. 5 March 2018. Archived from the original on 25 March 2023. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
26. Paton, Ryan; Retter, Emily (22 April 2023). "One thing Linda Nolan doesn't want to know amid cancer battle". Liverpool Echo. Archived from the original on 27 April 2023. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
27. Sachdeva, Maanya (26 April 2023). "Linda Nolan shares health update after cancer diagnosis". The Independent. Archived from the original on 15 June 2024. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
28. "Singer Linda Nolan dies aged 65". BBC News. 15 January 2025. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
29. "Linda Nolan". TVGuide.com. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
30. "Linda Nolan | Rotten Tomatoes". www.rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
31. "Linda Nolan has died aged 65". WhatsOnStage. 15 January 2025. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
32. "Linda Nolan | Performers". Stage Faves. Archived from the original on 13 November 2017. Retrieved 15 January 2025.

External links

• Linda Nolan at IMDb
• Linda Nolan discography at Discogs

• 1959 births
• 2025 deaths
• Deaths from breast cancer in England
• Irish emigrants to the United Kingdom
• Irish pop singers
• Irish women pop singers
• Musicians from Blackpool
• Musicians from Dublin (city)
• The Nolans members
• Deaths from pneumonia in England
• 20th-century Irish women singers
• 20th-century Irish actresses
• Irish musical theatre actresses
• 21st-century Irish actresses