S Club 7‘s Jo O’Meara and Rachel Stevens have paid tribute to their late bandmate Paul Cattermole following his unexpected death last week.
The musician, 46, passed away on April 6 at his home in Dorset – weeks after announcing that the group’ would be heading out on a reunion tour in celebration of their 25th anniversary.
Paying tribute to Cattermole, O’Meara posted a photo of her late bandmate on Instagram with an emotional caption that read: “I just wanted to reach out and thank everybody from the bottom of my heart for the love and kindness you have shown over the tragic passing of our sweetest soul Paul.”
She continued: “We have lost someone so incredibly special to us all, and there is a huge sense of sadness that will never go. Paul will forever be a huge part of our lives, and I will forever treasure the memories we made.”
O’Meara ended the tribute by saying: “I will love you always Paul, God bless you my darling, rest in forever peace.”
Fellow S Club member Stevens also took to Instagram to honour, Cattermole. “The out pouring of love for our Paul has been so incredibly special and has meant so much,” she posted alongside a photo of the singer. “I hope he knew how loved he was.”
Stevens continued: “Such a kind, gentle and sensitive soul with the most incredible energy and such a wild free spirit. He would light up any room. We are heartbroken but so grateful for the memories we all shared. An absolute shining star who we will love and miss always
RIP darling Paul.”
The band’s manager Simon Fuller was also among those to pay tribute to Cattermole following his death last week – remembering Paul as a “beacon of light for a generation of pop music fans and he will be greatly missed.”
Cattermole’s management also released a statement following his passing, writing that “there are no words to describe the deep sadness and loss we all feel”.
“We were so lucky to have had him in our lives and are thankful for the amazing memories we have,” he said.
No cause of death for Cattermole has been revealed as of yet.
S Club 7 had recently announced that they would be reuniting for a reunion tour ahead of their 25th anniversary.
The tour would have seen all seven original members returning to stage after eight years. In a statement about their comeback, the band shared: “We’re so excited to bring the S Club Party back to our fans across the country to celebrate 25 years of S Club 7.”
S Club 7 were created by Fuller, who also managed the Spice Girls, in 1998. The pop group gained fame due to the success of their own BBC television series, Miami 7.
The band reunited in 2014 with the original line-up and embarked on a tour for 2015, but disbanded again shortly after to pursue individual projects.
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