S Club 7 have admitted their ‘hearts have been emptier’ since the tragic death of their bandmate Paul Cattermole.
The band are planning to pay tribute to their bandmate when they kick off their 25th Anniversary Tour in October, after Paul was found dead at his home in April.
In June, Paul’s death certificate revealed he died from a ‘cardiac arrhythmia, acute myocardial ischaemia and severe coronary artery atheroma and intraplaque haemorrhage’.
According to The British Heart Foundation, an arrhythmia is an abnormal heart rhythm that can that can affect the body’s ability to function.
And after joining forces with the charity to raise awareness of heart conditions, S Club 7 admitted they’ve felt Paul’s absence while preparing for their tour.
Emotional: S Club 7 have admitted their ‘hearts have been emptier’ since the tragic death of their bandmate Paul Cattermole (pictured)
Reunited: The band are planning to pay tribute to their bandmate when they kick off their 25th Anniversary Tour in October, after Paul was found dead at his home in April
Rachel Stevens told Sun Health: ‘To be honest we didn’t really know much about heart and circulatory conditions before Paul died.
‘We, like a lot of people, associated heart disease with older people.’
Jon Lee added: ‘Our hearts feel emptier without Paul, far too many people die too soon from heart conditions they didn’t know they had.’
It comes after Rachel detailed the emotional tribute to Paul that she and her bandmates are planning for their upcoming anniversary reunion tour.
The band’s 25th anniversary reunion tour – which kicks off in October – has been renamed The Good Times Tour, after one of the tracks on which Paul had lead vocals.
She told The Mirror: ‘We have renamed the tour. It’s called the Good Times tour, that was Paul’s solo song that he was going to do an acoustic version of, so we just felt like that was so fitting.
‘Paul is with us on so many decisions that we make, we think of Paul and there’s so many sort of elements that are there with him in mind.
‘It’s definitely gonna be a huge celebration. It is so much fun, so much joy, lots of memories, and it’s a tribute to him.’
Tough decision: It comes after Rachel detailed the emotional tribute to Paul that she and her bandmates are planning for their upcoming anniversary reunion tour
S Club has released new single These Are The Days in Paul’s honour, with the accompanying music video showing a montage of Paul over the years.
As the five remaining members of the band flip through a photo album of memories, each shot turns into a video clip of the band as they rose to fame and achieved chart topping pop success.
Paul died at the age of 46 from natural causes at his home in Dorset on April 6, it was announced in a statement released by his family.
His body was discovered in his ground floor flat, devastating his bandmates and fans.
Paul left the group in 2002, citing ‘creative differences’, and the group changed their name from S Club 7 to simply S Club before splitting for good a year later.
Hannah Spearritt, 42, will also be missing from the tour, but Rachel insisted that the ‘door is always open’ for her to return to the band.
She was there in February when the tour was announced, but later learned in July that she was not in the line-up.
The singer, 42, left the band unexpectedly in May, after the shocking death of her former boyfriend and bandmate Paul.
The remaining members of the group – Rachel, Jo, Jon, Bradleyand Tina Barrett – decided to rename S Club 7 as merely S Club and continue as a five-piece.
On the outs: S Club and Hannah are said to be no longer on speaking terms amid claims that she was left feeling ‘betrayed’ by a row over contracts for the band’s tour
Romance: Hannah and Paul dated from 2001 before splitting in 2006, with the pair rekindling their romance in 2015 before finally going their separate ways months later (pictured 2004)
Rachel went on to say: ‘Nostalgia is such an incredible, powerful thing and there’s so much love for S Club, and there’s been so much support since our new single.
‘So to get back out there and perform music we love and that the fans are going to love is really exciting. Some of our fans might have kids now, so that’ll be lovely to bring their kids along, and I can’t wait for all of our kids to be a part of this too.’#
Hannah and Paul dated from 2001 before splitting in 2006, with the pair rekindling their romance in 2015 before finally going their separate ways just months later.
After his sudden death from heart issues in April at 46 , Hannah told The Sun: ‘I can’t stop crying. I still can’t believe I will never see him again.
‘I’m trying my best to hold it together but once I start, I can’t stop crying. And then I have to keep myself together for our two kids [with boyfriend Adam Thomas]. I can’t even imagine any mother losing her child.’
S Club has released new single These Are The Days in Paul’s honour , with the accompanying music video showing a montage of Paul over the years.
As the five remaining members of the band flip through a photo album of memories, each shot turns into a video clip of the band as they rose to fame and achieved chart topping pop success.
Speaking to The Sun, Rachel said the band are now closer than ever and have bonded over their shared grief.
Jo added the band feel it is important to remember Paul for the ‘goofy’ bandmate he was and will pay tribute to him in their tour.
‘The smiles have replaced the tears, in a really positive way,’ she said
While filming the accompanying music video, they explained they saw a butterfly that they believed was their late bandmate.
Tina told the publication: ‘There was a butterfly. 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.’
