Anne Nolan

Anne Nolan (born 12 November 1950) is an Irish singer, songwriter and author. She is best known for being a member of The Nolans.

Early life

Anne Nolan was born in Dublin, Ireland, to Tommy (26 September 1925–1998) and Maureen Nolan (15 December 1926–30 December 2007), she is the second of eight siblings and the oldest of the Nolan sisters, preceding Denise, Maureen, Linda, Bernie, and Coleen respectively, as well as two brothers Tommy and Brian. The family lived in Raheny, a suburb of Dublin. They lived there before moving to Blackpool, England in 1962.

The Nolans

Anne, along with her sisters, were a part of the singing group The Nolans. The Nolans had a number one hit in 1979 with their song I'm in the Mood for Dancing. It charted at no.2 on Irish music charts, and was no. 1 on charts in Japan and South Africa. Nolan left the group for a short period of time, between 1980 and 1982, with her sister Coleen stepping in for her. During her two years absence from the group, they won the 1981 Tokyo Music Festival with their song "Sexy Music".

Anne reunited with The Nolans as a five-piece (including Bernie, Coleen, Linda and Maureen) for one-off performance of "I'm In the Mood for Dancing" first for BBC One's All Time Greatest Party Songs, hosted by Tess Daly, which aired on 17 December 2005 and again on 9 August 2007 on Loose Women, but dismissed any immediate prospect of a full-scale reunion. Nolan has only missed out on one reunion, which took place in 2009. She returned yet again in 2020, when they reformed, and remained in the group until its disbandment in 2022.

Later works

Anne released her autobiography, titled Anne's Song, on 27 March 2008. In the book, co-written with Richard Barber, Anne said she had been repeatedly sexually abused by her father, from the age of 11 until she was 15 or 16.

In 2012, Anne released her solo album, Just One Voice.

In February 2020, it was announced that Anne and The Nolans would appear in a new TV series for Quest Red, The Nolans Go Crusing, a rival show to Channel 5's award winning Cruising with Jane McDonald. In the first series Anne performed with the group together for the first time in over 10 years. A second series was confirmed with the return of Nolan's sister Denise.

In 2021, Anne and sister Linda Nolan released Stronger Together, a book about dealing with a cancer diagnosis.

In November 2021, Nolan spoke to the Daily Express about her career struggles as a Nolan member, in which she revealed the group were not paid correctly. Nolan is an ambassador for the Great Pink Run, in which she gave a rare performance to thousands of runners in 2022.

In May 2023, Nolan announced a new autobiography New Beginnings was released on 20 May 2023.

Nolan was married to Brian Wilson (not to be confused with the musician from The Beach Boys) from 1979 to 2007, when they divorced. In 2022, it was announced that Anne had beaten cancer for the second time.

Studio albums

EPs and mini-albums

Singles