'I never thought we’d be doing it again in Blackpool,' say The Nolans as they announce new resort summer show

It’s over four decades since The Nolans last performed summer season in Blackpool but, this July, Anne, Maureen and Denise are reuniting to do it all over again in the town they are so proud to call home.

“It just amazes and astounds me that people still want to hear our songs and learn more about our lives,” admits 72-year-old Maureen. “If someone had told me then that we’d be back 40-odd years later, I wouldn’t have believed it.”

For the first time since the 1980s the singing sisters are set to star in a sensational summer residency just a stone’s-throw away from the world-famous promenade. And they can’t wait!

“I never thought we’d be doing it again,” says Denise, 74, “but I’m really looking forward to it.”

“To be rehearsing for a summer season, in Blackpool, once again is just amazing” adds Anne, 75. “It feels surreal but it’s fantastic.”

Blackpool has been home to the Nolan family since they relocated here from Raheny, Dublin, in 1962, and it holds a special place in each of their affections.

“Blackpool will be my home for the rest of my life,” asserts Denise. “I just love living here and, wherever I go, I always want to come back.”

That may well be the case now but, when the family first crossed the Irish Sea, her first impressions were rather different.

“We came over when I was about 11 and I thought we were coming for a holiday,” Denise explains. “Of course, we came in the middle of winter, in January, and it was dead.

“I thought English people had dogs instead of children because, in a predominantly Catholic country like Ireland, every family had six or seven kids and they’d be playing out in the street all the time, but we didn’t see many kids here. So, I didn’t like it, at first, but then the summer came on.”

The arrival of warmer weather and hordes of tourists breathed new life into the town and the young sisters were seduced by its bright lights and working-class glamour.

“When I was a kid, I loved the promenade,”admits Anne. “The smell of the toffee apples and the candy floss was amazing.”

The family occupied a modest four-bedroom terraced house in Waterloo Road and, as home to a family of nine, it was a lively household. Shortly after they’d moved in, baby Coleen arrived.

“Coleen was the only one of us that was born in Blackpool,” says Anne. “But we all went to school here and all of us still have friends that we made back then that we still keep in touch with.”

Their parents, Tommy and Maureen, found work singing in the town’s many working men’s clubs. Although their act was popular, with so many mouths to feed, money was tight. So, one or two at a time, the whole family eventually joined the act until The Singing Nolans were born.

The new family group cleverly cashed-in on the success of the most popular musical of the decade, The Sound of Music, and, before too long, they became known as Blackpool’s very own Von Trapp family.

“They were kind of like us – but with money,” Maureen jokes.

As word spread, people packed into the clubs where The Singing Nolans performed.

“Our first ever summer season was at The Brunswick,” recalls Anne. “We did nine summer seasons there, in total.”

Denise adds: “We weren’t on until around 8.30pm, but there were queues around the block from 5pm to get seats. The clubs were a big deal in Blackpool, back then.”

The family spent almost a decade singing in clubs in Blackpool and throughout the UK until, on Christmas Day in 1973, the hard graft paid off. A performance at The Cliffs Hotel – the grandest hotel in the town at the time – set them on the road to stratospheric success.

“It was quite spooky,” says Maureen. “The one gig we ever did at Christmas turned out to be the beginning of a whole new life and career. That was “the break”, I suppose.”

“We’ll always be grateful for that,” adds Anne. “We’ve done some amazing shows and pantomimes here, at the Opera House and the Grand. And, Linda had an amazing residency, on the Central Pier, for eight years in Maggie May [completing more than 1,000 performances, between 1986 and 1993, and holding the record for the longest-running residency by a female headline artiste].”

However, the love the sisters have for their home town is not merely due to fond memories of former glories.

“It’s a fabulous town to live in,” says Anne. “We’ve got everything here – the beach, the zoo, gorgeous restaurants – and even a first division football team. There are also a lot of things to see and do that are only five or ten minutes away from the town centre. Some people only ever go along the Golden Mile and they think that’s it.”

Maureen is also quick to praise the town’s Grade II-listed park.

“So many people don’t even know we have an award-winning park, but Stanley Park has been voted the best park in the UK twice in the last three years and it’s beautiful.

“And, then Lytham St Anne’s is so close by and within an hour you’re in the Lake District.

“There’s so much to do,’ adds Denise. “Some seaside resorts are lovely during the day but there’s absolutely nothing to do at night – with Blackpool, you have the best of both worlds.”

“Blackpool has so much more to offer than just sticks of rock, saucy postcards and “kiss-me-quick” hats,” says Anne.

“It gets some bad press from certain sections of the media, but I don’t recognise any of that, really. And, every town has parts that are great and some that are not so great, I suppose.”

“Blackpool has so much going for it and we’re all great advocates of it,” Maureen concludes. “It’s a place that will stay in our hearts forever.”

*An Afternoon with The Nolans runs every Saturday from July 25 until October at Russ Brown’s House of Secrets on Church Street in Blackpool.

For more information and to book tickets, visit www.houseofsecretsmagicbar.com