S Club 7 star Paul Cattermole has died aged 46.
The star had been set to reunite with his bandmates for a massive tour which was announced just weeks ago.
The group made the announcement on the official S Club 7 Twitter page, describing the singer as their "brother".
The statement read: "We are truly devastated by the passing of our brother Paul. 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 will be so deeply missed by each and every one of us. We ask that you respect the privacy of his family and of the band at this time."
S Club 7 were formed in 1998 by former Spice Girls manager Simon Fuller and they went on to achieve huge success, with a raft of smash hit singles and TV shows Hollywood 7 and Miami 7.
Paul was joined in the band by Tina Barrett, Paul Cattermole, Jon Lee, Bradley McIntosh, Jo O'Meara, Hannah Spearritt and Rachel Stevens and Hannah Spearritt - who he also dated from 2001 - 2006.
Paul left the band in 2002 to form his own group Skua, leaving S Club 7 to rename themselves as S Club.
The rest of the group went their separate ways on April 21, 2003.
The Sun reports that some of the other group members, including Hannah, “broke down” when given the shock news after they were told there were “no suspicious circumstances” surrounding his death.
A source told The Sun: “Everyone is in pieces. Hannah and the rest of the gang broke down when told what happened.
“No one can believe it. There is a real sense of horror and disbelief.”
In February, we reported the band announced a huge 25-year UK and Ireland reunion tour, including a gig in Scotland.
They had been set to take to the Ovo Hydro stage in Glasgow on October 18.
The group appeared on BBC The One Show to announce the exciting news, as Rachel told presenter Alex Jones: "We're back. "We are very excited to say that we are going back out on tour in October, we're just so excited to get back out there and sing our hearts out and perform."
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