1962–1974: Early career Tommy (26 September 1925 – 1998) and Maureen Nolan (15 December 1926 – 30 December 2007) met at
Clerys Ballroom in
Dublin and raised their family in
Raheny. Tommy had a radio show on
RTÉ. The lack of work forced the young family to move from Dublin to
Blackpool in 1962, and there they launched a family singing group, the Singing Nolans, in 1963. The original line-up comprised the parents, and seven of their eight children: sons Tommy (born 20 July 1949) and Brian (born 19 June 1955), and daughters
Anne (born 12 November 1950),
Maureen (born 14 June 1954), The Singing Nolans recorded an album,
The Singing Nolans, a single "Blackpool" – a song about their local
football club,
Blackpool F.C., that is still used on match days at
Bloomfield Road – and the EP
Silent Night for the Nevis label in 1972. Tommy Nolan Sr. died of
liver cancer in 1998. His widow, Maureen, died in Blackpool on 30 December 2007, aged 81, after suffering from
Alzheimer's disease. Anne Nolan released her autobiography, titled ''Anne's Song'', on 27 March 2008. In the book, co-written with Richard Barber, Anne said she had been repeatedly sexually abused by her father, from the age of 11 until she was 15 or 16.
1973–1978: The Nolan Sisters In 1973, the Singing Nolans were booked to sing in Blackpool's
Cliffs Hotel on Christmas Day. After their performance, their father Tommy Nolan was at the bar when businessman
Joe Lewis told Tommy that he was very interested for Tommy's daughters to move to London to sing in Lewis's club above the
New London Theatre. In early 1974, the Nolan clan moved to London to work in the London Rooms on
Drury Lane, where the girls changed their name from the Singing Nolans to the Nolan Sisters. They made their television debut on
Cliff Richard's TV show, singing "Now I'm Stuck on You" and were the resident guests for the entire run of series 4 of ''
It's Cliff Richard'' on
BBC1. The line-up included Coleen, A 1977 eponymous album on the Hanover Grand label was sold only at the London Club Room in Drury Lane and is ranked by price guides as the most collectible UK release by the group. During this period the Nolan Sisters appeared as the musical act for series six of
The Two Ronnies.
1978–1984: Chart success Their chart breakthrough came in 1978 with the covers album
20 Giant Hits on Target, which reached No.3 in the UK. That year, they also supported
Engelbert Humperdinck on a US tour, The group had been booked to promote the song on many BBC shows, leading to speculation that it had been taken for granted they would win the competition. One booking was representing the BBC at the 25th Anniversary celebrations for the Eurovision network, which was staged in Montreux, Switzerland, in May 1979. After signing with
CBS subsidiary
Epic Records in 1979, the group enjoyed their greatest period of commercial success. Although their debut release – the failed UK Eurovision entry "Harry, My Honolulu Lover" – did not chart, their second Epic single "Spirit, Body and Soul" released in September, reached number 34 on the
UK singles chart. In December 1979, the group released the
disco-flavoured single "
I'm in the Mood for Dancing", which became their best-known tune and biggest hit. It reached number 3 in the UK, and number 1 in
Japan, The song, like the majority of the Nolans' hit singles, was written by Ben Findon,
Mike Myers and Robert Puzey. The self-titled album
Nolan Sisters, which featured the first two charting Epic singles, eventually reached number 15 in the
UK. its parent album reached number 10 in Australia and was subsequently released as a single in Japan. This became the group's third number 1 on the Japanese Import chart – following "I'm in the Mood for Dancing" and "Gotta Pull Myself Together". During 1981, Coleen and Linda contributed vocals to the
Young and Moody Band along with
Motörhead frontman
Lemmy, Another 1981 single "Chemistry" released in August (UK number 15, Later in the year, Linda left the group to pursue a solo career. At the time, she was nicknamed the "Naughty Nolan" due to risque publicity photos. A 1989 re-recording of the same song reached number 99, and another version reached number 51 in 1995. In 1991, the group signed with
Teichiku Records to record a series of albums covering popular
Japanese songs in English. The first release was
Playback Part 2, which covered songs made popular by
Momoe Yamaguchi.
Rock and Rolling Idol featured covers of
Kyōko Koizumi songs.
Tidal Wave (Samishii Nettaigyo) included the group's versions of songs made famous by
Wink,
Seiko Matsuda,
Akina Nakamori,
Candies, and
Yōko Oginome.
The Hottest Place on Earth featured five covers of
Princess Princess songs. The Nolans became the first Irish group to be awarded the
33rd Japan Record Awards Kikaku-shō (Prize for Planning) for their cover albums. Compilations of their Japanese material, often featuring remixes and some featuring other artists as well, were regularly released throughout the 1990s and 2000s in Japan, while several budget-priced compilations of their Epic-era material (sometimes re-recorded) appeared in the UK. Coleen, who had married performer
Shane Richie in 1990 and was now a mother of two, quit the group in 1994. often at venues such as
Butlins holiday camps and
bingo halls. Bernie was diagnosed with breast cancer in April 2010 but successfully fought the disease until it later returned.
2009–2014: Solo careers, reformation and death of Bernie Nolan Most of the sisters have continued to work in show business, pursuing careers in acting, musical theatre, pantomime and touring. Coleen has mostly worked as a television presenter, hosting
This Morning briefly in 2001 and appearing regularly as a panellist on
Loose Women since 2000. Four of the sisters – Bernie, Denise, Linda, and Maureen – have played the role of Mrs. Johnstone in the musical
Blood Brothers. Both Maureen and Bernie have performed in productions of the comedy ''Mum's the Word'', and they toured together in the show in 2008. Linda performed in the role of Maggie May at Blackpool's
Central Pier for 10 years, clocking up more than 1,000 performances and toured with
Prisoner Cell Block H – The Musical. Denise released one solo single on
Pye in 1979 and two on
Mercury in 1982. The Nolans reunited as a five-piece (Anne, Bernie, Coleen, Linda and Maureen) 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, but dismissed any immediate prospect of a full-scale reunion. The Nolans announced in June 2009 that they were reforming for a UK and Ireland tour. Four members – Coleen, Bernie, Linda and Maureen – undertook the tour, in October and November 2009. The two other sisters, Anne and Denise, were not involved. Coleen said she had instigated the reformation after speaking to her manager. She explained: "We've been approached before over the last four or five years but it has never felt like the right time and the right people being involved, and this time it was like 'let's just do it once more". The sisters performed their hits and several classic
diva-type songs. The reunion however sparked a split in the family as Anne has appeared in the press stating that she was excluded from the tour, and also issued a statement on her official website, which includes the comment: "they are not my sisters anymore". Denise also issued a statement in support of Anne, claiming that the real reason for the reunion was due to some of the sisters being in financial difficulty. Bernie and Maureen later made amends with Anne and Denise, but Bernie stated there would not be a reconciliation with Coleen and Linda. The Nolans released a new album, ''I'm in the Mood Again
, on 28 September 2009, which reached number 22 in the UK Albums Chart, their highest-charting album for 27 years. A live DVD was released on 9 November 2009. 2011 saw the release of an autobiography Survivors: Our Story''. In 2012, the eldest of the sisters, Anne, released her solo album,
Just One Voice. In September 2012, a farewell tour was announced, to take place from 15 February to 14 March 2013. The line-up would be the same as for the 2009 tour. On 28 October it was announced that the 2013 Farewell Tour had been postponed as a result of Bernie's breast cancer resurgence. Early in 2013, the tour was cancelled completely. Bernie Nolan died from metastatic cancer on 4 July 2013, her cancer having spread to her brain, lungs, liver and bones. In 2014, Linda said that Bernie's death had resulted in her making up with Anne and Denise. Also in 2014, Coleen stated that they had been asked to tour again, with Bernie appearing via holograms, but that it was still too soon.
2020–2022: The Nolans Go Cruising and death of Linda Nolan In February 2020, it was announced that the group would appear in a new TV series for
Quest Red,
The Nolans Go Cruising, a rival show to
Channel 5's award-winning
Cruising with Jane McDonald. In the first series the band performed together for the first time in over 10 years. A second series was confirmed with the return of original member Denise Nolan, who would be performing with the band for the first time in over 40 years. In January 2025, Linda 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==