Linda Nolan

Linda Nolan
Born	23 February 1959 Dublin, Ireland
Occupation	Singer, actress
Years active	1974–present
Spouse(s)	Brian Hudson (m. 1981–2007, his death)

Linda Nolan (born 23 February 1959) is an Irish-born singer based in Blackpool.^[1] She attained fame as a member of the girl group The Nolans in the 1970s and early 1980s, along with her sisters Anne, Denise, Maureen, Bernie and Coleen. As a member of the Nolans, she toured with Frank Sinatra in 1975, had seven UK top 20 hits (1979–82) and won the Tokyo Music Festival in 1981.

After leaving the group in 1984, she went on to perform in theatre, including eight years and more than 1000 performances as Maggie May on Blackpool's Central Pier (1986–94). In the mid 90s, she starred in the UK touring production of Prisoner Cell Block: The Musical. In 2000, she starred in the West End as Mrs. Johnstone in Blood Brothers and went on to star for several years in the UK tour. In 2009, she was part of the Nolans line-up that reformed for a successful tour of the UK and Ireland. In 2014, she took part in the 13th series of Celebrity Big Brother.

Early life

Nolan was born in Dublin, Ireland, to Tommy and Maureen Nolan.^[1] The family moved to Blackpool in 1962,^[1] at which point Tommy and Maureen formed the Singing Nolans of which Nolan was a member.^[1] She went to school at Blackpool's St Catherine's Catholic Secondary School, and also attended the Cardinal Wiseman School in Greenford, West London.^[2]

Career

Singing career

From 1974 to 1983, Nolan was a member of the girl group The Nolans, who achieved eight top forty hits on the UK Singles Chart, with "Spirit, Body and Soul" (1979), "I'm in the Mood for Dancing" (1979), "Don't Make Waves" (1980), "Gotta Pull Myself Together" (1980), "Who's Gonna Rock You" (1980), "Attention to Me" (1981), "Chemistry" (1981) and "Don't Love Me Too Hard" (1982). The group supported Frank Sinatra on his 1975 European tour. They were particularly successful in Japan, scoring a string of hits (including a No.1) and won the 1981 Tokyo Music Festival with the song "Sexy Music". They also achieved success in Europe and Australia. In 1981, she 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.^[3] She left the Nolans in 1983 and quickly gained the label "Naughty Nolan" due to her posing in risqué publicity photos.^[1][4] 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^[5] and again on 9 August 2007 on Loose Women.^[6] 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 Album Chart.^[7]

Musicals

On leaving the group, Nolan went on to play the role of Maggie May at Blackpool's Central Pier for 8 years (1986-1994), clocking up more than 1,000 performances.^[8] She then starred for two years (1994-1996) in a similar show on Blackpool's South Pier called Rosie O' Grady's. In the mid 90s, she toured with Prisoner: Cell Block H – The Musical, alongside Paul O'Grady.^[9] In 2000, she starred in the West End as Mrs. Johnstone in Blood Brothers and went on to perform for several years in the UK touring production. She was the third Nolan sister to play the role, after Bernie and Denise. Maureen Nolan has also since played the role in the UK tour for several years.^[10]

Other

Nolan has also appeared on Blankety Blank^[11] and, with Anne Nolan and her daughter Alex, on Celebrity Pressure Pad.^[12]

Celebrity Big Brother

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.^[13] According to the Belfast Telegraph, she entered in an attempt to make a turn around, as she had encountered some hard times and had turned to the UK benefits system.^[14]

Nolan entered the house on Day 1 handcuffed to Jim Davidson.^[15] Upon learning that she was to be handcuffed, she confirmed her "Naughty Nolan" nickname by saying "I like a bit of bondage".^[16]

Nolan and Davidson have history; in 1995, Nolan's husband Brian Hudson was caught red-handed stealing money from comic Frank Carson's dressing room in a Blackpool nightclub. This raised the ire of Davidson, who was playing up the road at the time and promptly went ballistic, yelling "no-one steals from my mates" and threatened to punch him. Davidson was promptly thrown out of that nightclub.^[17] On Day 15, Nolan was reminded by Davidson of his antics, prompting an eruption.^[18] She was evicted on Day 22.^[19]

Personal life

Nolan met Brian Hudson in 1979 and they married in 1981. He was the Nolans tour manager until 1983 and became his wife's manager after she left the group. They were married for 26 years until his death in 2007, from skin cancer.^[20] In 2006, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. The following year she was diagnosed with a serious skin infection in her arm.^[20]

On 7 July 2014, she claimed that she was sexually assaulted by Rolf Harris in 1975 while The Nolans were supporting Harris in a tour of South Africa.^[21]

On 10 May, 2015 it was reported that Nolan will appear in court for benefit fraud totaling £12,000. It was stated that Nolan failed to declare additional income from television appearances.^[22]

In July 2015 she received a police caution for wrongly claiming more than £6,000 in benefits.^[23]

References

1. 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.
2. Bassam Mahfouz (10 November 1997). "Steve Pound MP for Ealing North... Maiden Speech". Stevepound.org. Archived from the original on 17 May 2009. Retrieved 2014-01-25.
3. Guinness World Records British Hit Singles 14th Edition. London: Guinness World Records. 2001. p. 482. ISBN 0-85156-156-X.
4. Cummins, Fiona (9 February 2006). "Exclusive: Linda: I'll Beat Breast Cancer". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 31 March 2008.
5. Daly, Tess (presenter) (December 17, 2005). All Time Greatest Party Songs (Television program). England: BBC One.
6. "Loose Women". 11. Episode 149. 2007.
7. "NOLANS | Artist". Official Charts. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
8. "Nolan sister Linda still gets scared on stage". This Is Worcestershire. 15 September 2000. Retrieved 31 March 2008.
9. Dealey, Justin (11 May 2005). "Linda's in the mood for Blood Brothers!". BBC News. Retrieved 31 March 2008.
10. "Willy Russell - Blood Brothers - The Actors". 31 March 2008. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
11. Blankety Blank. Season 7. 30 November 1984. BBC.
12. Celebrity Pressure Pad. BBC1. 1 September 2014.
13. "Coleen Nolan housemate profile – Celebrity Big Brother 2012". bbspy.co.uk. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
14. "Nolan took benefits to 'survive'". The Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
15. "Linda Nolan is chained to Jim Davidson in Celebrity Big Brother". Daily Mail. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
16. "Celebrity Big Brother 2014: Meet the House Mates". International Business Times. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
17. Emily Hewett (2014-01-18). "Celebrity Big Brother 2014: Jim Davidson threatened Linda Nolan's husband – the 'night from hell' in Frank Carson's dressing room finally explained | Metro News". Metro.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-01-25.
18. McNally, Kelby. "Linda Nolan in tears after row with Jim Davidson over 'Frank Carson's dressing room' | Showbiz". 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. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
21. Chris Johnston. "Vanessa Feltz and Linda Nolan reveal assaults by Rolf Harris | UK news". The Guardian. Retrieved 2014-07-07.