Linda Nolan was laid to rest at St Paul’s Church in her hometown of Blackpool on Saturday with her famous sisters in attendance.
The former eighties pop star planned her own funeral in the years before her death right down to her glitter pink coffin and an emotional Faith Hill ballad.
Linda passed away on 15th January, aged 65 at Blackpool Victoria Hospital from double pneumonia, where she entered into end-of-life care and then into a coma.
She was living with secondary breast cancer, which had spread to her hip, liver and brain, but cancer was not the cause of death.
By invitation of the Nolan sisters, fans flocked to the church where Linda married her former manager and husband, Brian Hudson, in 1981 and later held his funeral in 2007.
Loose Women star, Coleen Nolan’s son Shane Richie, 35, was manning the door for his aunt while Linda’s older sister Denise, 72, read the eulogy.
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Linda Nolan was laid to rest at St Paul’s Church in her hometown of Blackpool on Saturday with her famous sisters in attendance
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The former eighties pop star planned her own funeral in the years before her death right down to her glitter pink coffin and an emotional Faith Hill ballad
The four surviving Nolan sisters – Maureen, 71, Anne, 74, Denise, 72, and Coleen, 59 – arrived first and waited in the church as their sister was carried in seven pall bearers comprised of male members of the Nolan’s friends and family.
Linda’s name was arranged in white flowers and pink roses in the back of the black hearse.
A matching flower arrangement was placed on top of her coffin, with heartfelt messages from her family attached.
Fans were clamouring to get into the church which was full, and the door had to be manned by two make-shift security guards.
The service began with Faith Hill’s emotional ballad, There You’ll Be, playing before Denise, who Linda lived with towards the end of her life, lead the eulogy.
In it she revealed the family’s nickname of ‘Auntie Ginda’ for the late singer, ‘because she liked a gin or two’.
She began: ‘She was the life and soul of the party. Her sense of humour was unlike any other and no party will ever be the same.
‘Linda would always say, “I’m living with cancer not dying of cancer”. She didn’t let it rule her life no matter how hard it tried.’
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Linda passed away on 15th January, aged 65 at Blackpool Victoria Hospital from double pneumonia , where she entered into end-of-life care and then into a coma (pictured in 2014)
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Linda’s name was arranged in white flowers and pink roses in the back of the black hearse with a matching flower arrangement placed on top of her coffin
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Heartfelt messages from her family and friends were attached to the arrangement
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One read: ‘Love you always Auntie Lin’
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Another sweet addition included a pig constructed from pink roses
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The order of service was topped with a glamorous photo of Linda
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Other photos included one from her wedding day to Brian Hudson
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Her granddaughter Lucy Houliston read an emotional poem
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By invitation of the Nolan sisters, fans flocked to the church where Linda married her former manager and husband, Brian Hudson, in 1981 and later held his funeral in 2007
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The service began with Faith Hill’s emotional ballad, There You’ll Be, playing before Denise, who Linda lived with towards the end of her life, lead the eulogy
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In it Denise (pictured) revealed the family’s nickname of ‘Auntie Ginda’ for the late singer, ‘because she liked a gin or two’
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The last surviving Chuckle brother, Paul Harlan, 77, also paid his respects and said ‘the world will be a darker place without Linda, we used to enjoy our life together’
Denise continued: ‘The hair loss was the worst thing for her when she got it again. And then during Covid she spent a week in hospital alone with no visitors were allowed.
‘All of these things would have destroyed a lesser person but Linda wouldn’t allow it.’
Denise concluded: ‘It’s time to rest now Linda, the battle is over you are free,’ as a song by Linda, When It’s Over, followed.
The last surviving Chuckle brother, Paul Harlan, 77, paid his respects and said ‘the world will be a darker place without Linda, we used to enjoy our life together’.
Her sister Coleen previously explained how they had decided on Linda’s final resting place, telling The Mirror: ‘My first thought after she died was to put Brian’s ashes with Linda’s.
‘So that’s what we’re doing. In life they were never apart, so I’m glad they’ll be together again.’
Linda was first diagnosed with stage-three breast cancer in 2005 before getting the all-clear in 2006 – but in 2017 she was diagnosed with a form of incurable secondary cancer in her hip, which spread to her liver in 2020.
Three years later she shared the news that the cancer had spread to her brain, with two tumours discovered on the left side of her brain which left her struggling with her speech and balance.
And she issued an update last August that the tumours – which were thought to be stable – had grown.
Weeks before her death, the former Nolans star wrote in the Mirror that she was beginning to feel better after contracting double pneumonia, but two days later she was rushed to hospital with breathing problems.
But despite being placed on oxygen and being urged to rest, Linda, known for her playful and spirited personality, couldn’t resist making those around her smile.
Rather than following medical advice to take it easy, she chose to spend her final hours spreading happiness and making people laugh.
Days after her death, her sister Denise, 72, reflected on her sister’s unwavering zest for life, describing how Linda embraced every moment and left behind memories of love, humor, and light.
Recounting the last few hours in the life of her ‘beautiful, brave, hard-working and talented sister’, Denise told the Mirror: ‘She’d been laughing and joking, although the medical team had told her she had to stay quiet to let her treatment do its job. Everyone was being quietly optimistic as she’d seemed so cheerful.
‘Then at 3.30am on Tuesday, we got the dreaded call, ‘Get to the hospital asap’.’
Linda had heartbreakingly planned her own funeral in the years before her death, right down to her glitter pink coffin.
Writing in her autobiography From The Heart in 2018, she explained: ‘I want to get all my affairs ‘in order’, as they say. I’ve caused my family enough worry over the years and so I want everything I can decided now so they don’t have to if I become very poorly.’
She added: ‘I’ve chosen the songs for my funeral… I would like There You’ll Be from Pearl Harbor sung by Faith Hill.
‘The words couldn’t be more fitting for the moment when I’ll finally be going to meet Brian again.’
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Linda had heartbreakingly planned her own funeral in the years before her death, right down to her glitter pink coffin (pictured in 2022)
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Coleen previously discussed the heartfelt plans for her sister’s funeral and revealed Linda had planned some details before her death, creating a list of requests for her sisters (pictured together in 2017)
The singer’s husband, Brian Hudson, died of liver failure in 2007 after being diagnosed with skin cancer.
Linda wrote: ‘It’s the song we played at his funeral. The song we’d jokingly rowed about years earlier as to which of us would have it at our funeral. A row in the days when we thought dying was a million miles away. Goodness, how things have changed.’
She also previously revealed her coffin choice, telling the Mirror: ‘Brian organised his funeral and it was amazing.
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She told The Mirror, how she wanted them to ‘wear mantillas’ and black outfits, but her coffin is set to have a showbiz twist (pictured together in 2017)
‘Bernie arranged hers. It’s easier for people left behind. I’ve gone into it a little bit. A Neil Sedaka song, Our Last Song Together. And I know the funeral people I’m going to use.
‘Brian’s coffin was like a flight case, with ‘This way up’, ‘Fragile’ on it.
‘Our auntie had a beautiful coffin with pictures of us around it.
‘Then Maureen said, ‘Look at this coffin, it was made for you, it’s pink glitter’.’
Coleen recently confirmed the heartfelt plans for her sister’s funeral and revealed Linda had planned some details before her death, creating a list of requests for her sisters.
The Loose Women star told how Linda wanted them to ‘wear mantillas’ and black outfits, while her coffin was to have a showbiz twist.
Coleen laughed: ‘I remember saying, “You are joking, Linda! If I see all my sisters in mantillas, I’m going to laugh the whole way through the funeral! We’ve decided not to do that, but we are wearing black.
‘Her coffin is pure showbiz – bright pink and sparkly, just as she wanted. The one thing my sister loved was bling so it feels right that she has a glittery pink coffin.’
Prior to her death, Linda shared her fears about dying of breast cancer like her sister Bernie as she battled a ‘bad case of flu’ in the weeks before she died at the age of 65.
In a newspaper column published shortly before her passing, Linda described how a debilitating bout of sickness for 11 days over Christmas made the festive period ‘a complete wipe out’.
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Linda was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005, before being given the all clear in 2011
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Linda’s sisters also have a history of cancer, with herself, Coleen and Anne all receiving diagnoses and Bernie passing away from the disease in 2013
In what would be her final column for the Mirror, she wrote: ‘The doctors say it’s been a bad case of flu. I’d walk a few steps and struggle to catch my breath.
‘My legs were even more wobbly than usual and, although I try not to, I thought of how Bernie was at the end. You think, ‘Oh my God, is this it?’
‘It was only on Monday I felt well enough to venture out. It feels like a whole new world out there. There’s nothing like the sensation of starting to feel better after an illness.
‘You’ve forgotten what it feels like to feel normal (well, I say normal?).’
In an especially poignant final line, she added: ‘I’m no fan of resolutions but here’s one: It’ll take more than flu to finish me off.’
In the statement announcing her death, her agent Dermot McNamara wrote: ‘It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Linda Nolan, the celebrated Irish pop legend, television personality, Guinness World Record holding West End star, Sunday Times bestselling author and Daily Mirror columnist.
‘As a member of The Nolans, one of the most successful girl groups of all time, Linda achieved global success; becoming the first Irish act to sell over a million records worldwide; touring the world and selling over 30 million records, with hits such as Gotta Pull Myself Together, Attention to Me and the iconic disco classic I’m In The Mood for Dancing.’
