Paul Cattermole, a member of the early-2000s British musical group S Club 7, died only weeks after the band planned a reunion tour. He was 46.
The band and Cattermole’s family announced Friday that “it is with great sadness that we announce the unexpected passing of our beloved son and brother Paul Cattermole,” according to the BBC.
Cattermole was discovered deceased at his home in Dorset, southwest England, on Thursday.
“While the cause of death is currently unknown, Dorset Police has confirmed that there were no suspicious circumstances,” they stated.
The announcement comes only weeks after the band planned a reunion tour.
Members of S Club 7 remarked on social media that they were “truly devastated by the passing of our brother Paul.” There are no words to explain the great pain and loss we all feel.”
“We were so lucky to have had him in our lives and are grateful for the amazing memories we have,” the band added.
S Club 7 was formed in 1998 by Simon Fuller, the music tycoon behind the Spice Girls, and was introduced, like The Monkees, via a TV programme about a pop band in which the members portrayed fictionalised versions of themselves.
S Club 7 had a succession of bouncy UK singles, including ‘Don’t Stop Movin’, bubblegum pop classic ‘Reach’, and ballad ‘Never Had a Dream Come True’, which was also a top 10 hit in the US.
According to the BBC, they had 11 top 10 singles in the United Kingdom, including four number ones, and sold more than 10 million albums worldwide. They also received two Brit Awards, the United Kingdom’s highest pop music honour.
The quartet played at a Buckingham Palace event in 2002 to commemorate Queen Elizabeth II’s 50 years on the monarchy.
Cattermole departed the band the next year, and his comrades eliminated the number from their name, according to the BBC.
“It had gotten to the point where things were being handled so badly that I had to go,” he told the Guardian in 2019.
The S Club reassembled in 2014, and Cattermole featured in a theatrical performance of The Rocky Horror Show the following year, according to the BBC.
But he claims he never saw much of the money his band earned, and he sold his Brit Award trophy – awarded for best newcomer in 2000 – on eBay in 2018 after failing to find employment due to a back problem.
S Club 7’s founding members announced a 25th anniversary tour in February, which will go off in October.
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