Linda Nolan's life on rollercoaster ride of stardom with singing sisters

Linda Nolan and her singing sisters lived successful the spotlight aft their career-defining deed I'm In The Mood For Dancing successful 1979 - meaning some their highs and lows were played retired successful public.

The close-knit group, the archetypal sisters - Linda, Anne, Denise, Maureen and Bernie (Coleen was initially excessively young) - had been connected the euphony country since 1974 and went connected to go 1 of the biggest British groups of the precocious 70s and aboriginal 80s.

The Nolans scored 7 UK apical 20 hits, including their astir celebrated song, which reached fig 3 successful 1980.

They besides built up a large planetary pursuing - peculiarly successful Japan. And they went connected circuit with Frank Sinatra.

• Singer Linda Nolan dies aged 65

All this came with a sugary disco representation and catchy bubblegum songs, besides including Spirit, Body and Soul, Don't Make Waves and Don't Love Me Too Hard.

"For each its formulaic superficial corniness, I'm In The Mood For Dancing is simply a definite uplifting shiny-minded popular song," euphony writer Paul Morley told BBC News.

"[It was] efficiently customized built for parties, Top of the Pops and weddings, and with a longevity you would not person seen coming astatine the time."

After immoderate line-up changes, Linda near the radical successful 1983 to prosecute a solo career, chiefly successful philharmonic theatre - and with a bully grade of success.

Her astir memorable relation was successful the West End accumulation of Blood Brothers. Then determination were regular TV appearances, including a notorious crook connected 2014's Celebrity Big Brother, wherever she came face-to-face with her long-time adversary, comedian Jim Davidson.

But, arsenic the years went on, showbusiness seemed to beryllium overshadowed for Linda and her siblings by a idiosyncratic and household beingness marked by turmoil, calamity and the breakdown of sisterly bonds.

Linda was calved successful Ireland earlier her parents Tommy and Maureen Nolan, a husband-and-wife singing duo, moved the household to Blackpool successful 1962 successful hunt of work. There were 8 Nolan offspring - six girls and 2 boys. All the girls sang and were performing from an aboriginal age.

The Nolan girls recovered themselves connected a treadmill of performances successful nightclubs, connected TV and connected tours. Their fees paid the household bills.

Their begetter doubled arsenic their manager and would hold successful the barroom earlier taking them location successful the aboriginal hours of a schoolhouse day.

"The value of hard enactment was drummed into america astatine an aboriginal age," Linda told The Telegraph successful 2018. "My cognition has ever been that unless I'm connected a stretcher, the amusement indispensable spell on."

But, arsenic it emerged overmuch later, their father, an alcoholic and womaniser, was sexually abusing his eldest daughter, Anne. He was often violent, too. Tommy Nolan died aged 78 successful 1998. Anne unloaded her concealed successful her 2008 autobiography.

"It indispensable person been hard for Anne each those years due to the fact that everybody loved our father, perfectly loved him," Linda said successful an interrogation with The Guardian.

"She indispensable person been seething. People accidental it was astir apt cathartic for her to constitute the book, and I'm definite it was."

The girls were "spotted" astatine a Blackpool gig successful 1973 and signed a signaling contract, but their large interruption came successful 1978 erstwhile they got a woody with Epic Sony-CBS.

So began the hits, satellite tours and regular appearances connected TV shows from Top of the Pops to Morecambe and Wise.

The Nolans sold 25 cardinal albums globally but precise small of the profits ended up successful the girls' pockets, their begetter having failed to admit helium could negociate a bigger wage deal.

In 1979, Linda met Brian Hudson, a erstwhile musician, and they joined successful 1981 contempt the reservations of her parents implicit the 13-year property spread and Brian's past of 2 divorces. Brian besides became The Nolans' circuit manager.

"But erstwhile the different girls decided that my hubby Brian wasn't close arsenic their circuit manager, I was devastated and opted to motorboat a solo vocation instead," Linda told The Telegraph later.

She near with a cheque for £13,000 - but past a taxation measure came successful for the aforesaid amount.

Linda's solo career, managed by Brian, archetypal saw her marque impermanent appearances connected TV and connected the tours of specified divers names arsenic Gene Pitney and Cannon and Ball.

She besides did her just stock of pantomimes earlier her philharmonic theatre vocation kicked disconnected with a portion alongside Paul O'Grady successful Prisoner Cell Block H: The Musical.

The fiscal blows flared up again successful 1995 erstwhile she and Brian were declared bankrupt. They were saved erstwhile a paper past paid Linda £17,000 to archer her story.

She enactment their wealth problems down to the "feast oregon famine" quality of showbiz.

But it was besides astatine the commencement of the 2000s that Linda's world, and that of her family, began to autumn apart.

First Anne was told she had bosom cancer, past Brian was diagnosed with crab of the skin. A twelvemonth later, Linda was told she excessively had bosom cancer.

Anne recovered, and it was portion Linda was undergoing attraction that she mislaid her hubby of 26 years, a stroke that near her contemplating suicide.

"He was the emotion of my life... I mislaid anticipation of ever being blessed again and started thinking, arsenic radical bash erstwhile they scope a definite constituent successful depression, it would beryllium amended for everybody if I wasn't present and I would beryllium doing them a favour," she revealed successful aboriginal 2018.

She was fixed the all-clear from crab successful 2006 but, excessively depressed to work, she started claiming benefits.

Then successful 2009 came a fiscal lifeline erstwhile Maureen, Linda, Bernie and Coleen were offered the accidental of a reunion circuit to observe the 30th day of I'm In The Mood For Dancing.

The circuit went good but, connected the household front, things turned decidedly sour. Anne declared she had been "stabbed successful the back" by her siblings.

"No-one asked me. No-one progressive maine astatine each until it was excessively late. Now they've made it wide I americium not wanted," she told The Daily Mail.

The sisters claimed the determination had been the grounds company's and retired of their hands. It caused a further rupture successful the already fractured household relationship.

But the adjacent year, the sisters attempted to travel unneurotic to enactment Bernie, who was diagnosed with bosom cancer. She had a mastectomy and chemotherapy and was fixed the all-clear. But successful 2012 the crab returned, starring to her decease aged 52.

The sisters' truce came to an extremity soon afterwards.

In 2014, Linda's fiscal problems returned erstwhile she was investigated by Blackpool assembly and the Department for Work and Pensions for claiming benefits to the tune of £12,000 portion working.

"I thought I'd stuck to the rules religiously, but immoderate of the things they thought of arsenic 'work' conscionable hadn't occurred to me. I thought moving meant doing a signifier show, not speedy tv interviews," she told The Telegraph.

She came up with a repayment program and yet was issued with a caution.

That aforesaid year, Linda went into the Celebrity Big Brother location (reportedly due to the fact that she needed the money), an acquisition that led to her telling torrid tales astir her enactment beingness and coming to verbal blows with Davidson.

The 2 had been enemies since the 90s, erstwhile Brian had been caught stealing money from Davidson's person and chap comedian Frank Carson.

As sister Coleen became a panellist connected ITV's Loose Women, Linda besides became a regular guest.

And it was connected that amusement successful 2017 that a tearful Coleen told viewers her sister's crab had returned, and this clip was terminal.

Linda had resumed her signifier enactment but then, with the 2nd diagnosis, she stopped. In March 2023, she confirmed that the crab had dispersed to her brain.

But arsenic she made wide successful her autobiography From My Heart - released successful 2018 - she refused to walk the clip she had near to unrecorded "constantly stressing astir cancer".

She added: "I've chosen to bask the small things. I've chosen to laugh. And I've chosen to look backmost connected my beingness and convey God for it."