Bernadette Nolan
| Bernie Nolan | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
Bernadette Therese Nolan 17 October 1960 Dublin, Ireland |
| Died | 4 July 2013 (aged 52) Weybridge, Surrey, England |
| Cause of death | Metastatic breast cancer |
| Occupation | Actress, singer, entertainer |
| Years active | 1974–2013 |
| Spouse(s) | Steve Doneathy (m. 1996–2013) (her death) |
| Relatives | Sisters: Anne Nolan Denise Nolan Maureen Nolan Linda Nolan Coleen Nolan Brothers: Tommy Nolan Brian Nolan |
| Website | www |
Bernadette Therese "Bernie" Nolan (17 October 1960 – 4 July 2013) was an Irish actress, singer and television personality, formerly lead vocalist of the girl group The Nolans. She was the second youngest of sisters Anne, Denise, Maureen, Linda and Coleen Nolan. From the age of two, she was raised in Blackpool, Lancashire, England.
The Nolans began in 1974 and went on to have seven UK Top 20 hits, including "I'm in the Mood for Dancing" (1979), "Gotta Pull Myself Together" (1980) and "Attention to Me" (1981). They won the 1981 Tokyo Music Festival with "Sexy Music". She left the group in 1995 to become an actress. On television, she had roles in the Channel 4 soap opera Brookside from 2000–02 and the ITV police drama The Bill from 2002–05. while her numerous roles in stage musicals included Mrs. Johnstone in Blood Brothers (1998-2000), Hannah Owens in Flashdance: The Musical (2008–09) and Mama Morton in Chicago (2012). She was also a member of the Nolans line-up that reformed for a successful tour of the UK and Ireland in 2009. She died from breast cancer in July 2013.
Born in Dublin in 1960, Nolan's parents were Tommy Nolan, a violent heavy drinker who died of liver cancer at the age of 73 in 1998, and Maureen Nolan, who died at the age of 81 of Alzheimer's disease in 2007.
The Nolan family moved from Dublin to Blackpool in 1962 and began performing as The Singing Nolans. In 1974, the sisters formed The Nolan Sisters, later shortened to The Nolans, and made their TV debut that year on Cliff Richard's show, It's Cliff Richard. In 1975, they supported Frank Sinatra on his European tour. In 1979, they released their biggest hit "I'm in the Mood for Dancing", which reached number three in the UK and was the first of seven top twenty hits. The others, with Bernie Nolan usually singing lead vocals, were "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 Nolans sold millions of recordings worldwide, particularly in Japan where they sold over nine million albums and won the 1981 Tokyo Music Festival with the song "Sexy Music". Bernie also composed songs during this time, when she wrote two tracks for their 1982 album Portrait. In 1991, they won the Planning award (企画賞 Kikaku-shō?) of the 33rd Japan Record Awards for Cover version of Japanese pops.
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