Coleen, Anne, Denise and Linda Nolan talk to Louisa Gregson about the new special plaque put up in their honour in Blackpool
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00:00 First of all, I just wanted to start off with, obviously, there's been quite a ferrari this
00:09 week, hasn't there? Because you've been honored at the Cliffs Hotel with a blue plaque.
00:14 Yes, we have.
00:15 Yeah, which I wrote a piece about. So if I could just maybe-- I don't know who wants
00:21 to start off. Is there anybody who wants to start off? I just-- I wanted to just go around
00:27 everybody and just have a little chat, really, just about-- I know, obviously, we've already
00:30 spoken, haven't we, Linda? But just about what it means, what that actually meant to
00:35 you and what it was like, and the nostalgia and everything of the Cliffs Hotel.
00:39 Yeah, it was absolutely amazing. I mean, Jake was instrumental in putting it together. And
00:45 all the kids helped financially and all. We didn't even know about that. I just knew Jake
00:50 did it. And he told us at his brother's wedding. And we were like, oh, god, we were so happy,
00:54 like a dog with two tails, you know? Because it's such an honor. And long after we're gone,
00:59 hopefully, the vandals don't destroy it. It'll still be there. And it's such an honor. It's
01:04 amazing.
01:05 Such an honor. And I'm sure-- I certainly hope that vandals won't destroy it. It's beautiful,
01:11 isn't it?
01:12 [LAUGHTER]
01:13 Tom's from.
01:14 It's a lovely plaque, isn't it? It's--
01:16 It really is.
01:17 It's beautiful. And so same question, then. I know, obviously, Linda, we've already talked
01:23 about it. But Anne, maybe, what did it mean to you with the--
01:27 Well, I mean, it was the start of our-- although we had worked in the working men's clubs around
01:33 England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales for 10 years before that, it was actually the
01:38 start of our move into television and recording. Because we met the guy who actually brought
01:46 us to London on the day-- 50 years ago at the Cliffs Hotel on Christmas Day. And we
01:51 signed a contract with him to move down to London to his-- he had a theater restaurant
01:55 on Drury Lane, which we worked in for about six years. And whilst there, that was where
01:59 we got onto the Cliff Richard series. And the whole series was our first time on TV.
02:05 And also started recording. So it was a massive, massive thing for us, really, that day at
02:11 the Cliffs Hotel. It's always been synonymous in our career, really. And like I said, it
02:16 was 50 years ago. I was 20-- I was still old. I was 20. How old am I now? 73. So I was 23.
02:22 That's not old, is it? That's very young.
02:26 So yeah. So it's a really big thing. It was a really big thing for us to get that plaque,
02:31 really. Because that was the start of our TV and radio career, really.
02:34 Yeah.
02:35 Meeting that guy.
02:36 Wow. Wow.
02:37 Even though we didn't want to work on Christmas Day.
02:40 No.
02:41 We really didn't. My dad got such a hard time. We wanted to play with our toys-- well, maybe
02:45 not our toys. We're grown up. You know, we wanted to be at home on Christmas Day. But
02:51 it was short and sweet. And the audience were amazing, I remember.
02:54 Do you remember, Colleen?
02:55 Yeah. She was so young.
02:57 I do remember, actually. Because it was Christmas Day. And you were all old. But I did want
03:02 to play with my toys.
03:03 You did want to play with your toys.
03:04 How old were you, Colleen?
03:05 I think I was 73. I'll have been eight.
03:06 You were eight years old?
03:07 I was just going to say, you were about eight, weren't you, Colleen?
03:08 Yeah. Yeah.
03:09 And you were at home, did you?
03:10 Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
03:11 Well, I was performing with the whole family from the age of two. Like Anne said, we'd
03:20 been performing our whole lives, really. I think for me, the blue plaque was-- I don't
03:28 know. I mean, I was so proud, really. You know, proud of Jake for sorting it, and the
03:34 kids for paying for it, and all of that. But also, just to have that recognition. Because
03:39 Blackpool has, and still has, such a massive part in our lives. And there was a moment
03:46 there where I felt a bit nostalgic, as in I would have loved-- I don't know. It's ridiculous.
03:52 But I would have loved my mom and dad to have seen that.
03:54 Oh, no.
03:55 And Bernie, as well.
03:56 And Bernie. And sadly, my brother Tommy couldn't be there on the day. But it was great. It
04:02 was great to be with us all on the day, anyway. But I feel really proud, because we always
04:08 mentioned Blackpool. All my family still live in Blackpool. When people even talk to me,
04:13 you know, I live in Cheshire. But whenever I do my own stuff, everyone always brings
04:17 Blackpool up. And I think it was just a really nice thing to happen, because I think Blackpool
04:23 has been a massive part of our lives. But we've equally been a massive part of Blackpool's
04:27 lives. So it was nice on both counts, really.
04:30 Really, I think it's kind of extra special to you, really, because you were the only
04:33 one actually born in Blackpool, weren't you, Paula?
04:36 Yeah.
04:37 We were all born in Dublin, but Colleen's the only one who was actually born in Blackpool.
04:41 I was born in Blackpool, Colleen.
04:44 Yeah.
04:45 Blackpool Victoria Hospital.
04:46 I know. I was Glenroyd Hospital. So I was not even there anymore.
04:52 Oh, no. Okay.
04:54 Yeah.
04:55 I bet you weren't put in a drawer, though, when they brought you home.
05:00 I don't think so.
05:01 Yeah, well, I was. And I don't even think it was top drawer. That's what's always worried
05:06 me.
05:07 You had a pillow. What more did you want?
05:11 She's got the most Irish name as well. You know, she's the only one not born in Ireland.
05:16 Yeah, she has actually. I did think that.
05:20 Colleen Patricia, yeah.
05:21 Colleen is the most Irish name you could possibly get for a woman, really, isn't it?
05:27 She gets called 'Cleaner'.
05:29 'Cleaner'.
05:30 You know, but it's...
05:32 Yeah, Colleen's a good one.
05:35 (laughing)