Paul Cattermole.Photo: Dave J. Hogan/Getty
S Clubhave opened up about the day band memberPaul Cattermoledied, recalling the anxiety they experienced as they couldn’t reach him.
The British pop band, which rose to fame in the late ’90s and early aughts, spoke about the loss of their friend and bandmate and the panic they experienced that day in their first interview since his death.
In April, Cattermole died aged 46 at his home in Dorset, England. By June, it was determined hiscause of deathwas due to heart-related issues. At the time, the band had been planning their reunion tour.
A representative for the Dorset Coroner’s Servicetold PEOPLE in Maysaid his death was from “natural causes.”
S Club 7, circa 2001.Tim Roney/Getty Images
Tim Roney/Getty Images
In speaking withThe Sun, Jo O’Meara, 44, said she and Jon Lee, 41 revealed they were the first two members of the group to hear about Cattermole’s death from their management.
“I think I just went completely silent at first. It was awful,” O’Meara told the outlet.
Lee added, “It was like someone had punched me in the stomach."
S Club revealed how anxious they felt as Cattermole stopped replying to their messages.
“We’d done a Zoom call with him, all of us, on the Monday," Lee said. “Then our management had messaged him a few times and it hadn’t shown that it’d been read on WhatsApp.”
He continued, “So it was like, ‘Is he all right?’ But then it was like, ‘Yeah it’s Paul. You know, sometimes he doesn’t answer his phone.’ Then the next day I phoned him and messaged him."
“Everyone was trying to get hold of him… and no one could,” Lee concluded.
S Club on July 27, 2023 in London.Kate Green/Getty
Kate Green/Getty
Rachel Stevens, 45, told the publication how happy she was to reconnect with Cattermole before his death.
“To have that time together was really special," she said. “We all reconnected again as who we are now. Paul felt part of it. We all felt part of it.”
Bradley Macintosh, 41, added that “it doesn’t feel like he’s gone.”
“We miss him dearly,” he said.
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The British pop also released their first new single in 20 years on Wednesday with “These Are The Days,” a tribute to Cattermole.
“I think it’s got such a balance of everything that’s happened but also still positive and uplifting,” Stevens said of the single.
S Club 7.Dave J. Hogan/Getty
The “Bring It All Back” musicians shared that they have the family’s blessings to move ahead withtheir reunion tour, which will kick off in October.
“We were talking to his family quite a lot and we’ve been working very closely with them to make sure everything’s had their OK," Lee said.
source: people.com
