S Club 7 stars reveal final phone calls to Paul Cattermole in first interview since his death

Paul Cattermole, Rachel Stevens, Jon Lee, Jo O'Meara, Hannah Spearritt, Tina Barrett and Bradley McIntosh of S Club 7 announced their reunion tour in February this year. Photo / Getty Images

S Club 7 stars Rachel Stevens, Jo O’Meara, Bradley McIntosh, Jon Lee, Tina Barrett and Hannah Spearitt have recalled their emotional phone calls to bandmate Paul Cattermole hours before his death.

In their first group interview since Cattermole’s death, they’ve told The Sun they grew concerned when Cattermole stopped replying to messages and answering calls as the band tried to plan their comeback.

Months before they were set to embark on their reunion tour, Cattermole was found dead in his flat in Dorset on April 6. He was only 46 years old.

Jon Lee, Paul Cattermole and Bradley McIntosh of S Club 7 circa 2001. Photo / Getty Images

His bandmates were told in a late-night phone call.

In June this year, Cattermole’s cause of death was confirmed as “cardia arrhythmia, acute myocardial ischaemia and severe coronary artery atheroma and intraplaque haemorrhage”, according to The Express.

The news left his bandmates reeling - with O’Meara, 44, recalling in the new interview, “Our management called. Me and Jon [Lee] were the first to hear. It was about half past nine on the Thursday night. I think I just went completely silent at first. It was awful.”

Lee added, “It was like someone had punched me in the stomach,” with Barrett adding, “I was at home with my son, we were just watching TV and I picked up the call.

“At first I was just like, ‘This isn’t real ... it can’t be real. You’ve made a mistake. I still can’t believe it’s real.”

The group had done a Zoom call together earlier that week - but then Cattermole stopped opening WhatsApp messages from their management.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by S Club (@sclub)

Lee recalled, “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.”

S Club 7 have just announced they are releasing their first single in 20 years, These Are The Days, alongside a bittersweet music video in tribute to Cattermole.

The group feel “lucky” to have been able to reunite before Cattermole’s death in February this year.

To have that time together was really special. We all reconnected again as who we are now. Paul felt part of it. We all felt part of it,” Stevens shared.

However, Spearitt, who dated Cattermole from 2001 to 2006 and again briefly in 2015, pulled out of the reunion following his death. The remaining members of the group have renamed their upcoming UK shows The Good Times Tour, in reference to one of their 2001 songs.

Cattermole’s family gave the group their blessing to continue performing.

“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 explained.

“We want to be very respectful towards his family. But they’re very private.”

Barrett believes that Cattermole’s spirit paid them a visit on the set of shooting the new music video, recalling, “We were all sat down and a butterfly came from nowhere. It was a really bright, beautiful butterfly which flew down and went off. I don’t know why, but I just thought, ‘That’s Paul’. It came from nowhere.”

Stevens agreed, adding, “There’s little signs of Paul everywhere. On the video shoot, there was a vinyl coaster and it said ‘Good Times’ on it. That was his song.”

O’Meara said the new single is a “celebration” of the band’s achievements so far.

The tour will begin in Manchester in the UK on October 12 and will include emotional tributes to Cattermole - but the group promised that the show will also be uplifting.

“We don’t want people to come to the tour and be sad,” O’Meara pointed out.

“It’s more of how amazing he was and let’s celebrate.”