Music

’70s Pop Singer Dies of Cancer: The Nolans’ Linda Nolan Was 65

Together with her sisters Maureen, Anne, Bernie, Denise and Coleen, Nolan formed The Nolans in 1974 and scored hits with songs like “I’m in the Mood for Dancing” and “Gotta Pull Myself Together.”

Photo Credit: Yui Mok/PA Images via Getty Images

Linda Nolan, the Irish singer and TV personality who rose to fame alongside her sisters in the pop group The Nolans, has died. Nolan passed away following a years-long battle with breast cancer, a statement shared to The Nolan’s X account Wednesday confirmed. She was 65.

“It’s with great sadness that we announce the passing of beloved Linda Nolan. She faced incurable cancer with courage, grace & determination, inspiring millions,” the statement read. “Surrounded by family, she passed peacefully. A pop icon and beacon of hope, Linda will never be forgotten.”

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Portrait of the Irish girl group The Nolans, London, England, 1981. Top left to right Maureen, Anne and Bernadette, front left to right Linda and Denise. (Photo by George Wilkes/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Nolan fought a public decades-long battle against breast cancer. After first being diagnosed in 2005 and given the all clear in 2011, she was diagnosed with secondary breast cancer in 2017. She revealed in 2023 that it had spread and was in her brain.

Her agent Dermot McNamara told the BBC that Nolan was admitted to the hospital over the weekend “double pneumonia,” and “in the early hours of Tuesday morning, she went into a coma and into end-of-life care, surrounded by her devoted family.” McNamara added that Nolan “passed peacefully, with her loving siblings by her bedside, ensuring she was embraced with love and comfort during her final moments,” Wednesday morning.

Born in Dublin in 1959 and raised in Blackpool, per The Guardian, Nolan got her start in the music business when she, her parents, and six of her siblings formed the group singing Nolans, recording a debut album in 1972. In 1974, Nolan and her sisters Anne, Denise, Maureen, and Bernie split from that family group to form the Nolan Sisters, which they later simplified to The Nolans. The group rose to fame throughout the ‘70s and ‘80s with hits like “Gotta Pull Myself Together” and “Attention to Me.” Their 1979 song “I’m in the Mood for Dancing” peaked at No. 3 on the UK Singles chart. The Nolans released more than a dozen albums together and became the first Irish act to sell more than a million records worldwide. Nolan left the group in 1983, but later rejoined The Nolans for several comeback performances.

Remembering her late sister, Coleen, a panelist on Loose Women who announced in Jule 2023 that she was diagnosed with skin cancer, called Nolan “a beacon of love, kindness and strength,” adding that “her wit, humour and laughter was infectious, her presence could light up any room. Linda had a heart full of compassion and always knew how to bring comfort and joy to those around her.” She said that her sister’s “memory will live on in the many lives she touched, and while we miss her more than words can express, we take solace in the love and warmth she shared will all of us.”

Outside of her music career with her sisters, Nolan appeared in a West End production of Blood Brothers, was a Daily Mirror columnist, and also wrote a best-selling memoir. She also became a familiar face on TV, appearing on titles like Come Dine With Me and Celebrity Big Brother.