by Andy Kellman
Twelve years after moving their family from Dublin, Ireland to Blackpool, England, Tommy and Maureen Nolans five daughters began performing and recording as the Nolan Sisters. With their other family members, Anne, Denise, Maureen, Linda, and Bernadette had recorded a self-titled album as the Nolan Singers, but the female sibling quintet became a distinct group in 1974, initially through appearances on U.K. variety programs. A series of singles released on EMI and Target preceded the sisters 1978 collection 20 Giant Hits, a number three hit in the U.K. Their biggest hit (by a tremendous distance) came a year later with Im in the Mood for Dancing; it was ubiquitous in England, Ireland, and even Japan, where the sisters became unlikely stars. From 1980 on, the sisters performed as the Nolans. A handful of albums were released during the first half of the 80s and the early 90s, but their audience significantly thinned. In 2009, Maureen, Linda, Bernadette, and Coleen (who had joined in 1980) reactivated the group for In the Mood Again, as well as a live DVD and U.K. tour.