Linda Nolan's sister Denise said she would have 'loved all the fuss' in a heartfelt tribute during the singer's funeral at St. Paul's Church in Blackpool on Saturday.

Singing icon Linda tragically passed away on January 15 aged 65 following a 20-year breast cancer battle and after suffering from double pneumonia.

And during the songstress' farewell, Denise revealed that Linda loved the glitzy lifestyle and would go to premieres and opening nights often. 

Speaking to hundreds of celebrity mourners, Denise bravely spoke about her memories with her sister in a sweet eulogy.  

Denise said of Linda: 'She really loved going to premieres and opening nights, having her beautiful hair and make-up done, and always was the life and soul of any big occasion.

'She would have loved all the fuss today.' 

Linda passed away on 15th January, aged 65 at Blackpool Victoria Hospital. She died from double pneumonia, where she entered into end-of-life care and then into a coma. 

She was living with secondary breast cancer, which had spread to her hip, liver and brain, but cancer was not the cause of death. 

The surviving sisters of the Irish eighties pop group - Maureen, 71, Anne, 74, Denise, 72, and Coleen, 59, - have raised £2,670 for Trinity Hospice.

Linda was laid to rest in her 'spiritual home' of Blackpool, where the Nolans found fame after moving to the town in 1972, and where they lived for much of their lives, once even recording a single called Blackpool about the football club. 

The funeral service was held in the same church on Honister Avenue where Linda married her beloved husband Brian Hudson in 1981.

The church is also where she held Brian's funeral, after she lost him to skin cancer in 2007 when he was 60 years old.

A private service followed at a crematorium nearby, with Linda laid to rest with Brian's ashes.

Her sister Coleen previously explained how they had decided on Linda's final resting place, telling The Mirror: 'My first thought after she died was to put Brian's ashes with Linda's.

'So that's what we're doing. In life they were never apart, so I'm glad they'll be together again.'

In the wake of her death, Linda's sisters Anne, 74, Denise, 72, Maureen, 69, and Coleen, 59, extended an invitation to her fans to say their goodbyes and celebrate 'her remarkable life'.

Fans gathered outside St Paul's in designated areas, joining in with the family's final farewell.

An official invitation shared on social media last week read: 'The Nolan family invites everyone to join them in celebrating the extraordinary life of Linda Nolan.

'Linda was a beacon of light, strength and unwavering love who inspired everyone she met, in addition to millions around the world.

'Her absence leaves an ache in our hearts but her legacy will live on through the joy, hope and kindness she shared so freely.

'Everyone who knew Linda or whose lives she touched, is welcome to come and pay their respects as we remember her remarkable life.

'Fans and public are welcome to gather outside the church for the funeral - and in true Linda spirit, the more the merrier!'

It continued: 'St. Paul's Church holds a deeply special place in Linda's heart. It is where she married the love of her life, Brian Hudson, with whom she shared 26 wonderful years of marriage. Brian was Linda's rock, her soulmate, and the love of her life, just as she was his.

'When Brian tragically passed away in 2007, Linda found the strength to carry on, but her love for him never wavered. St. Paul's was also where Linda said her final goodbye to Brian, holding his funeral in the same church where they had exchanged their vows.

'Now, Linda will return to this sacred place to be reunited with Brian once more, finally at peace and back in his loving embrace.

'Following the service, there will be a private cremation at a nearby crematorium, attended by close family and friends only.'

Linda was first diagnosed with stage-three breast cancer in 2005 before getting the all-clear in 2006 - but in 2017 she was diagnosed with a form of incurable secondary cancer in her hip, which spread to her liver in 2020.

Three years later she shared the news that the cancer had spread to her brain, with two tumours discovered on the left side of her brain which left her struggling with her speech and balance.

And she issued an update last August that the tumours - which were thought to be stable - had grown.

Weeks before her death, the former Nolans star wrote in the Mirror that she was beginning to feel better after contracting double pneumonia, but two days later she was rushed to hospital with breathing problems.

But despite being placed on oxygen and being urged to rest, Linda, known for her playful and spirited personality, couldn't resist making those around her smile.

Rather than following medical advice to take it easy, she chose to spend her final hours spreading happiness and making people laugh.

Days after her death, her sister Denise, 72, reflected on her sister's unwavering zest for life, describing how Linda embraced every moment and left behind memories of love, humor, and light.

Recounting the last few hours in the life of her 'beautiful, brave, hard-working and talented sister', Denise told the Mirror: 'She'd been laughing and joking, although the medical team had told her she had to stay quiet to let her treatment do its job. Everyone was being quietly optimistic as she'd seemed so cheerful.

'Then at 3.30am on Tuesday, we got the dreaded call, 'Get to the hospital asap'.'

Linda had heartbreakingly planned her own funeral in the years before her death, right down to her glitter pink coffin.

Writing in her autobiography From The Heart in 2018, she explained: 'I want to get all my affairs 'in order', as they say. I've caused my family enough worry over the years and so I want everything I can decided now so they don't have to if I become very poorly.'

She added: 'I've chosen the songs for my funeral... I would like There You'll Be from Pearl Harbor sung by Faith Hill.

'The words couldn't be more fitting for the moment when I'll finally be going to meet Brian again.'

The singer's husband, Brian Hudson, died of liver failure in 2007 after being diagnosed with skin cancer.

Linda wrote: 'It's the song we played at his funeral. The song we'd jokingly rowed about years earlier as to which of us would have it at our funeral. A row in the days when we thought dying was a million miles away. Goodness, how things have changed.'

'She would have loved all the fuss today.'