Members of S Club have revealed they were desperately trying to get ahold of Paul Cattermole on the day he died.
This revelation came during their first interview since their bandmate passed away in April at the age of 46.
His death came amidst the group planning their comeback tour after a twenty year hiatus.
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Bandmate Jo O'Meara revealed to The Sun that concern had grown among the group as they tried to contact him, with their management not receiving a reply from Cattermole to their messages on WhatsApp.
The group had took part in a group Zoom call three days before Cattermole was found dead in his Dorset home.
The 44-year-old said: "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.'
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"Then the next day I phoned him and messaged him. Everyone was trying to get hold of him . . . and no one could."
O'Meara says that it was through management that she first got the news of his passing.
"Me and Jon 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. It was horrendous. It was just a complete shock," she said.
Fellow bandmate Jon Lee added: "It felt like someone had punched me in the stomach."
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Tina Barrett said that she learned the tragic news whilst watching TV at home with her son.
“At first I was just like, ‘This isn’t real . . . it can’t be real. You’ve made a mistake’." she said.
“I still can’t believe it’s real.”
Hannah Spearritt recently dropped out of the tour and the band weeks after Cattermole's passing, bringing the lineup down to five members.
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When asked about her departure, Lee said: "I guess that’s a conversation for Hannah to have.
“She’s not going to be joining us on this tour but we’ve got loads of stuff that’s happening next year so the door is always open.
“She might join us on the project next year at some point.”
The tour, announced in February and starting in October this year, has been renamed The Good Times Tour, in honour of one of the tracks on which Cattermole was a lead vocalist.
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O'Meara says that it's important to remember Cattermole as the 'goofy' bandmate he was.
She said: "The smiles have replaced the tears, in a really positive way."
The news of Cattermole's death was shared in a joint statement from his family and members of S Club at the time, saying: "It is with great sadness that we announce the unexpected passing of our beloved son and brother Paul Cattermole."
"Paul was found yesterday, 6th April 2023 at his home in Dorset and was pronounced dead later that afternoon," the statement continued.
It wouldn't be until May that a cause of death would be established.
A spokesperson for Dorset Coroner’s Service said: “I can confirm that Mr Cattermole died from natural causes and our investigations have concluded.”
Featured Image Credit: Instagram/SClub/Photo by Dave J. Hogan/Getty Images For XIX Management