S Club 7 star Paul Cattermole was ‘not well’ before his death aged 46, leaving just £15,000 to his family, a new report claims.
The singer was found dead on April 6 — just two months after he and the band announced they would be embarking on a reunion tour this fall. It still goes on without him.
Despite the band being one of the biggest pop phenomena of the early 2000s, many of the members have spoken out about their financial struggles in the past, with Paul admitting to living “on the breadline” during a 2018 TV appearance.
It has now been revealed that Paul, who died intestate, had total assets of £35,773 but owed £20,000 in debts and bills, according to The sun.
A source told the publication, “Paul was not doing well before he died, and was not doing well financially.”
Woes: S Club 7 star Paul Cattermole was ‘not well’ before his death aged 46, leaving just £15,000 to his family, a new report claims
They added, “While it is shocking that any member of the group would not be well off, people who knew Paul may not be surprised at how little he left.”
MailOnline has reached out to a S Club representative for comment.
Paul died of natural causes at his home in Dorset on April 6, aged 46, his family said in a statement.
His body was discovered in his ground floor flat, devastating his bandmates and fans.
S Club 7 – made up of Paul, Tina Barrett, Rachel Stevens, Jo O’Meara, Hannah Spearritt, Bradley McIntosh and Jon Lee – were one of the most iconic bands of their time, selling more than 10 million albums worldwide, with in the starring their own TV series and winning two BRIT Awards.
Paul left the group in 2002, citing “creative differences”, and the group changed their name from S Club 7 to simply S Club before breaking up for good a year later.
The singer ran into trouble after leaving the band, going bankrupt in 2015 and even putting his Brit Award up for sale on eBay for £650, saying ‘there are bills to pay’.
He also put up a list he had received for S Club 7’s platinum album in New Zealand, which had a starting bid of £200.
Trouble: Despite the band being one of pop’s biggest phenoms, Paul admitted to living ‘on the bread line’ during a 2018 TV appearance (pictured on Loose Women in 2018)
Reunion: The singer was found dead on April 6 — just two months after he and the band announced they would be embarking on a reunion tour this fall. It still goes on without him
In 2018, Paul left Loose Women viewers in tears when he discussed his life on the bread line, revealing that he lived on noodles and couldn’t afford a new shirt for his televised appearance at the time.
Speaking to Christine Lampard, Saira Khan, Nadia Sawalha and Jane Moore, he said his financial woes forced him to live off instant noodles and beg reality TV producers for work.
Paul admitted trying to sign up for reality shows like I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! and Dancing On Ice, but was told he wasn’t “famous enough.”
Paul admitted he was ‘nervous’ about appearing on the show as he was always used to being interviewed with the group. ‘We’ve traveled the world, we’re really good friends and it’s been a lot of fun. I look back on those days with great pleasure. Possibly with more love than ever before.
“I wouldn’t say it was the perfect life because it’s not very easy when you do something with a pop band, the perception on the outside isn’t what it is on the inside. But there were very nice times. You take the rough with the smooth.”
Following his departure from the band, Paul mostly stayed out of the limelight, revealing that he was desperate for reality television.
He confessed that although he had approached producers of Dancing On Ice, Celebrity Big Brother and Strictly Come Dancing, “for some reason they don’t want me.”
He added that he could have made ends meet taking odd jobs and wouldn’t be averse to something like “delivering pizza” for a living.
While admitting that he was reduced to the life of instant noodles, Jane Moore revealed that the show had to buy Paul his shirt to wear on the program.
She said, “You literally didn’t have the money to buy the shirt on your back. How did it get so bad?’
Paul sidestepped the issue, explaining, “Something happened last year that I can’t really talk about, so it’s a big deal. But I’ve had an injury, so that’s what happened last year that made it very difficult.”
In October 2014, it was confirmed that the original S Club 7 line-up would reunite for BBC Children in Need for the first time in over a decade, and a UK reunion tour was later announced.
Tragic news: Paul died of natural causes at his home in Dorset on April 6 at the age of 46, it was announced in a statement from his family
Awful: In 2018, Paul left Loose Women viewers in tears as he discussed his life on the bread line, revealing that he lived on noodles and couldn’t afford a new shirt
However, Paul admitted, ‘When we did the 2015 S Club tour, I went bankrupt and had to return all that money.
“So I had to give all my money for that tour to pay that bill, so I had to do the next job that came in, which was Rocky Horror. S Club might have done something different if I hadn’t been pushed into that position.’
In an attempt to ease his financial woes, Paul tried to sell one of his BRIT Awards, and although there were reports that the gong had sold for £66,100 on eBay, he revealed that it ultimately failed to sell.
He revealed, “It wasn’t a PR thing in any way. I didn’t expect it to go the way it did. In a way I regret how it turned out. I hoped to be able to sell them quietly without causing a stir.’