In the pink, sparkly coffin she picked out herself, pop legend Linda Nolan will take her final curtain call today - as only she knew how.
Heartbroken fans are expected to line the streets in the singer’s hometown of Blackpool, where she will be laid to rest, to give “the blingiest Nolan”, who fought a long and determined battle with cancer, one last standing ovation.
Her devastated brothers and sisters, “her cavalry” as she christened them, will be by her side to the very end.
The sixth of eight siblings, Linda died on January 15, just a month shy of her 66th birthday, after developing double pneumonia. In spring 2023, the Daily Mirror columnist announced secondary breast cancer had spread to her brain and had since been documenting living with the incurable disease each week, with both moving honesty and her trademark humour.
Following her death in hospital, Blackpool lit up its iconic tower in pink to honour the Irish-born star who moved to the town as a child and was first diagnosed with breast cancer 20 years ago.
The service to commemorate her life will be held at St Paul's Church at 10.30 am, followed by an intimate committal at a nearby crematorium.
Celebrity friends expected to attend include lifelong pals and fellow showbiz veterans Paul Chuckle and Tommy Cannon, alongside younger friends the sociable singer made in later years, including Kerry Katona and Lisa Maffia.
Poignantly, the pretty church is where she married the love of her life, Brian Hudson, in 1981. A photograph of the pair on their big day, smiling cheeks pressed together, beams with joy from the Order of Service.
It is also the church where Linda said her last goodbye to Brian at his own funeral, following his death aged 60 from liver failure in 2007.
“St Paul’s Church holds a deeply special place in Linda’s heart,” explained her manager and longtime friend Dermot McNamara. “Now, Linda will return to this sacred place to be reunited with Brian once more, finally at peace and back in his loving embrace.”
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Mirrorpix)Apart from the ‘blingy’ coffin she picked with her true indomitable spirit when she first received the frightening news tumours had spread to her brain, Linda struggled to plan the details of her own funeral.
She admitted she admired her beloved younger sister Bernie, who died in 2013, aged just 52, after her own tragic breast cancer diagnosis, for having planned her send-off. But said she found it hard to do the same, focusing instead on living the best life she could day by day.
Yet there was one piece of music which, years ago, she and Brian chose for what then seemed the distant prospect of their funerals: There You’ll Be by Faith Hill. And so, following in Brian’s footsteps, the powerful ballad will sound out again at St Pauls as Linda’s pink coffin enters the church through the doorway his once did.
Psalm 23, The Lord Is My Shepherd, will then form the reading before Linda’s older sister Denise, who she lived with during her final years, gives the eulogy.
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Redferns)Music from Linda’s good friend Donny Osmond was never going to be far from her final act. The American singer was her schoolgirl crush, his posters decorating her and Bernie’s bedroom wall.
His track Twelfth Of Never will lift the congregation, a song chosen because Linda sang it from the audience with her idol in 2017 when he performed on tour in Liverpool. The pair first met in the 1970s, after Linda got her big break with her sisters.
And Linda’s own voice will of course take a star turn. By her own admission, she never shied from being centre stage.
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Andy Stenning/Daily Mirror)God Knows, a track from The Nolans’ 1982 album, Portrait, which she performed solo the following year during a BBC TV special, will feature in the service.
Online video of that moving performance captures the beautiful star in her prime, her huge blue eyes as sparkly as her dress under sky blue eyeshadow. The lyrics ‘I’ll never leave you’ could have been sung especially for her family, friends, and fans now mourning her loss.
Another track, When It’s Over, which Linda repeatedly belted out during her decade-long stint until 1993 as Maggie May on Blackpool’s Central Pier, in a basque and huge blonde curls, will also lift the rafters.
Poignant poems will be read by her great nephew Vinny Palmer, her elder sister Anne’s grandson, and by her own granddaughter, Lucy Houliston. While Linda and Brian never had children together, a decision she said was her “one regret”, Brian had two from previous relationships who she adored, and who adored her in return.
A sermon will be given by the Reverend Lesley Atkins, and the congregation will sing the hymn I Watch The Sunrise.
Please Don’t Talk About Me When I’m Gone by Frank Sinatra - who The Nolans once supported on tour - will also be played.
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Kevin Holt/ANL/REX/Shutterstock)Linda will be laid to rest with Brian’s ashes, which she kept at her home in Blackpool.
The star sold 30 million records during her long career, including hits Spirit, Body and Soul, Attention To Me and the iconic disco banger I’m In The Mood For Dancing.
She also raised more than £20million for the Samaritans, as well as breast cancer and mental health charities. Her candid discussions about the disease - about treatment, surgery, and losing her hair five times - especially after she discovered it had spread to her hip in 2017, and her liver in 2020, were widely praised. Her weekly Mirror column became a firm favourite with readers.
Her fans have been invited by Linda’s family - siblings Anne, 74, Denise, 72, Maureen, 70, Coleen, 59, Tommy, 75, and Brian, 69 - to congregate outside the church.
A spokesman said: “The Nolan family invites everyone to join them in celebrating the extraordinary life of Linda Nolan. Linda was a beacon of light, strength and unwavering love who inspired everyone she met, in addition to millions around the world.
“Her absence leaves an ache in our hearts, but her legacy will live on through the joy, hope and kindness she shared so freely. Everyone who knew Linda, or whose lives she touched, is welcome to come and pay their respects as we remember her remarkable life.
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Channel 5)“The family welcomes all public and fans who can gather outside the church, where there will be designated spots.”
Linda adored performing as a toddler in her mum’s high heels, and began singing with her famous family in the clubs of Blackpool aged just five, forming The Singing Nolans and then the Nolan Sisters.
The band finally hit the big time after being spotted by London cabaret club owner (and Spurs owner) Joe Lewis as they sang in a Blackpool hotel. He invited them to move to London, and The Nolans were born. They subsequently made regular TV appearances with Sir Cliff Richard and toured the world, gathering a particularly passionate fanbase in Japan.
After leaving the band in 1983 to turn solo, a risque photo shoot in nothing but a sheet landed Linda the nickname ‘the naughty Nolan’, which she cheerfully relished.
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Getty Images)Speaking after Linda’s death, Loose Women star Coleen explained Linda’s outlandish pink coffin had been her wish. “The one thing my sister loved was bling – her trainers had bling on them, her handbags, her walking stick [..] so it feels right,” she said. “Her coffin is pure showbiz - bright pink and sparkly, just as she wanted.”
She also recalled how she and her family gathered at Linda’s hospital bedside during her final days.
“It was full of love and laughter. My daughter Ciara and I sat with her, and we said everything we needed to say to each other. She told us how much she loved us, and we told her we loved her. I think she knew it would be the last time she'd see us, but there were no tears.
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Publicity Picture)Most of all, she said, she would remember her sister Linda as the life and soul of every party.
“She loved a drink, she loved a party and loved to dance,” said Coleen. “She was funny and feisty. She was just a force of nature.”
Today those who loved her will raise a final toast to the ever-exuberant star.
* Linda wanted to share her final bow with her fans so the sisters have decided to livestream the funeral. Click here and use the code 3579 to join the stream from 10.30am
The Nolans are also raising money for their local Trinity House hospice, in Blackpool, which helped both Linda and her sister Bernie. If you'd like to donate or would like to leave a tribute to Linda, please visit linda-nolan.muchloved.com
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