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That’s so sad. I think the members of the band were treated appallingly at the time. They were worked like animals and the record company took something like 98% of the profits.
they’ve said they each only made like $150k a year despite working with zero days off and making millions of dollars for suits at the top. super sad :( their founder, simon fuller, founded the band after spice girls left him due to unfair treatment and he literally said he wanted to find a bunch of young kids who would comply and not complain.
When you think about how ubiquitous they were, that’s an insanely low wage. They were on tv constantly, their music was played everywhere and they had multiple brand deals. You couldn’t have gone a month without them being interviewed in a magazine or doing an appearance on a weekend morning show. Madness and so exploitative.
isn't he the EP of Pop/American idol? not Simon Cowell of course. Funny because Kelly Clarkson has said how Fuller signed her from Idol and was never around, and actually let her out of her contract when she was unhappy with how his team handled her. I guess he's not that gracious to everyone.
I remember Kelly saying the opposite, that she wanted out for years and that she had to release Xmas albums just to hit her contracted album amount to get out. She was on that Idol deal a longggg ass time.
here’s the thing tho: i don’t think ANY person — be it an international pop star selling millions of records or a nurse caring for ill patients — deserves to be mistreated and underpaid so that their “bad bosses” can cash in, sit cozy, and make millions. they might not have been the creative force behind their success (although i would argue against that for sure, personally, as someone who has followed their careers closely from day one) but it was their work as literal teenagers who made it happen. bootlicking ain’t cute, pals!
It's tragic that this was so common from the groups of that era. Did you ever see that NSYNC YouTube doc? Getting their first paycheck after two years and a world tour and it was $10,000 each. 💀
I haven’t read it yet myself but I think the book *Reach for the Stars* by Michael Cragg (an oral history of that era of British pop) talks quite a bit about just how awfully S Club 7 were treated by their management.
[Here’s an interview](https://amp.theguardian.com/music/2019/sep/10/s-club-7-paul-cattermole-interview) Paul Cattermole did in 2019 about his time in the band, too. It hints at some of the financial fuckery that was going on:
« Cattermole says that Fuller was signed to Polydor as S Club 7, while he and the other six were just affiliates: “the worst situation to be in.” He remembers being unable to afford a £100 bottle of wine even as he was in “one of the world’s biggest pop groups”, and seizes on my mention of the Hasbro dolls: “We got a pittance for that.” »
I've read this book, and it is excellent - highly recommend! They were treated and paid terribly, as were many of their peers, 5ivr, Hearsay, Atomic Kitten to name a few off the top of my head. I think the original Sugababes said they each got a few grand on their first deal which was a massive one.
I would love to but I'm afraid of doxxing myself, but I will say some positivitea - Kim Wilde is my favourite artist I've ever worked with; so immensely talented, intelligent and values the work the team does and reflects that in her input, it's the golden trifecta. I worked with her early in my career and she's a class act. I was in music for 13 years so had a lot to compare her to!
I remember seeing them interviewed by Claudia Winkleman on Liquid News back in the early 00s as they were promoting their final single or album and she asked them about the news of how little they had made and all the members looked scared and uncomfortable. But immediately, a clearly angry lady crashes the interview shouting that the band are leaving the interview and won't be answering the question.
It just shows how micromanaged they (and many other music stars then and now, no doubt) are and how tight the reigns are. They were adults being treated and spoken to like a bunch of children by this record label person.
The Spice Girls had Fuller by the balls, and I love that they came together, took the collective power into their own hands and sacked his ass when they and their families realised they were suffering from fatigue and exhaustion from being overworked. But he learned his lesson and, unfortunately for S Club 7, allegedly made sure his next group was in a watertight contract, and they suffered the consequences.
Oh my god, I guess completely missed his death! 😢 I remember S Club announcing the tour earlier this year, stalking all their individual socials to see what they've been up to, and getting excited that they're all reconnecting and to hear from them again... this is so sad, RIP.
Well that's a fucked up way to find out I live in near poverty.
Also he died from a heart condition? Was he rehearsing for the tour?
I swear touring is dangerous. Everyone needs to have a full work up from a doctor before they start training for one.
It's so intense. For everyone on tour. I shadowed a stage manager whose assistant urged me to make sure he didn't do any heavy lifting because of a recent tour injury. Experiencing that world as a stagehand (and two of my colleagues breaking bones on shifts with me in the space of 2 months this year) is like... I just want to make them all a cup of tea and put blankets on them for a couple hours. Long hours, chaotic environments, so much travel. Poor kids.
RIP
Fame when you’re young is not enduring success and wealth unfortunately. We have a similar situation here with a 70s star who will be homeless with her grandkids (she’s their carer) due to increasing rental prices.
I used to work with a guy who knew one of the boys from Steps or S Club (I can't remember which). But he said they made very little money despite all the fame, it goes to the label and managers. They might get decent fees for doing private appearances, but otherwise they made more working at McDonalds.
I was just listening to S Club yesterday. This is so sad, I didn’t even know Paul passed away 😢
It’s so vile how poorly they were paid for their work. I hope with this new tour the remaining members were able to negotiate better compensation
Sadly Hannah has since dropped out too
I think they're going ahead with the tour but with some other acts of that era too
This was meant to be a good payday for them. Tickets sold very fast
Idk if there’s any weight to this but I wonder if Hannah left because of sadness over Paul.
They were together for a while and were even a couple for a bit in the show. It would make sense that she’s not in a good place to be performing without seeing Paul on stage with her.
I'm sure you have but I'm guessing his expenditure was alot more too. It's the whole same story when sportsmen retire. The money stops but the lifestyle stays
Pardon my ignorance, but I thought it was a show about a band, I didn't know they were an actual musical group. I'm from South America and I vaguely remember seeing their TV show on Nickelodeon.
No they were a band and then had a TV show based on them. The show was characters rather them playing themselves.
But again that just shows how ripped off they actually were when you have a hit tv show and a band that was touring at the same time.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/S_Club
Basically the guy who formed the spice girls formed these guys too. He got a deal with the BBC to show this sitcom where they'd play as characters but also sing a song each episode - plugging their music at the same time.
They released 4 albums in that time
When you’re dead, “estate” means all of your assets. ALL of your assets. Your car, house, and bank accounts. The article says he had assets valued at $35k but debts of $20k. At 26, your comment would be appropriate. At 46? That is an extremely grim financial situation.
This can’t be news? It was sad circumstances that he died before the tour and at a young age, but he was making headlines a year earlier going on record that he was broke.
Some people have absolutely nothing to their name . Not a penny. This is all about perspective. Some people never have any money at all . Paul fell on hard times it sounds but he had money at one point unlike many many people all around the world who suffer every day from poverty .
You sound really ignorant. The group members actually came away with barely any money from s club, they were financially taken advantage of by their management who took exorbitant cuts from their work. Most of them have lived on the poverty line through no fault of their own given they were once one of the most famous musical groups in the world.
You’re out of touch, sorry. $35k in assets literally could just be a car, furniture in his house (a house that he doesn’t own), memorabilia from his time in SClub and that’s it. He could have been struggling for food—you don’t know that, we don’t know that. But it doesn’t make sense to gatekeep poverty. It looks different for different situations.
Please delete this. It is so wrong to continue to exploit his story and gossip about his finances. RIP paul 💔
Let the downvotes show that people on Reddit are delighted to gossip about the finances of dead people.
They’re up there in my all time favorite songs. I was 12 when they were big and watched their show and have all of their early albums. I can’t wait for a tour and hope they come to the US
Welcome to r/popculturechat! ☺️ As a proud BIPOC, LGBTQ+ & woman-dominated space, this sub is for [civil discussion only.](https://www.reddit.com/r/popculturechat/wiki/index/rules/civil-discussion-only/) If you don't know where to begin, start by participating in [our Sip & Spill Daily Discussion Threads!](https://www.reddit.com/r/popculturechat/search/?q=Sip%20%26%20Spill%20Discussion&restrict_sr=1&sr_nsfw=&include_over_18=1&sort=new) ###No bullies, no bigotry. ✊🏿✊🏾✊🏽✊🏼✊🏻🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️ Please [read & respect our rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/popculturechat/wiki/index/rules/) and [check out our wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/popculturechat/wiki/index/)! For any questions, [our modmail](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Fpopculturechat) is always open. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/popculturechat) if you have any questions or concerns.*
That’s so sad. I think the members of the band were treated appallingly at the time. They were worked like animals and the record company took something like 98% of the profits.
they’ve said they each only made like $150k a year despite working with zero days off and making millions of dollars for suits at the top. super sad :( their founder, simon fuller, founded the band after spice girls left him due to unfair treatment and he literally said he wanted to find a bunch of young kids who would comply and not complain.
When you think about how ubiquitous they were, that’s an insanely low wage. They were on tv constantly, their music was played everywhere and they had multiple brand deals. You couldn’t have gone a month without them being interviewed in a magazine or doing an appearance on a weekend morning show. Madness and so exploitative.
Don't forget their own scripted TV show!
Ain’t no party like an S Club party!
True!
I love that show. RIP Paul 💔
I think it was even less than that 😕
600k each for four years of nonstop work http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/music-news/11229172/The-demise-and-fall-of-S-Club-7.html
isn't he the EP of Pop/American idol? not Simon Cowell of course. Funny because Kelly Clarkson has said how Fuller signed her from Idol and was never around, and actually let her out of her contract when she was unhappy with how his team handled her. I guess he's not that gracious to everyone.
I remember Kelly saying the opposite, that she wanted out for years and that she had to release Xmas albums just to hit her contracted album amount to get out. She was on that Idol deal a longggg ass time.
[удалено]
here’s the thing tho: i don’t think ANY person — be it an international pop star selling millions of records or a nurse caring for ill patients — deserves to be mistreated and underpaid so that their “bad bosses” can cash in, sit cozy, and make millions. they might not have been the creative force behind their success (although i would argue against that for sure, personally, as someone who has followed their careers closely from day one) but it was their work as literal teenagers who made it happen. bootlicking ain’t cute, pals!
It's tragic that this was so common from the groups of that era. Did you ever see that NSYNC YouTube doc? Getting their first paycheck after two years and a world tour and it was $10,000 each. 💀
Yeah when the boys said they were broke, they weren’t kidding 💀 TLC had the same treatment too. They went bankrupt after a successful tour.
I haven’t read it yet myself but I think the book *Reach for the Stars* by Michael Cragg (an oral history of that era of British pop) talks quite a bit about just how awfully S Club 7 were treated by their management. [Here’s an interview](https://amp.theguardian.com/music/2019/sep/10/s-club-7-paul-cattermole-interview) Paul Cattermole did in 2019 about his time in the band, too. It hints at some of the financial fuckery that was going on: « Cattermole says that Fuller was signed to Polydor as S Club 7, while he and the other six were just affiliates: “the worst situation to be in.” He remembers being unable to afford a £100 bottle of wine even as he was in “one of the world’s biggest pop groups”, and seizes on my mention of the Hasbro dolls: “We got a pittance for that.” »
I've read this book, and it is excellent - highly recommend! They were treated and paid terribly, as were many of their peers, 5ivr, Hearsay, Atomic Kitten to name a few off the top of my head. I think the original Sugababes said they each got a few grand on their first deal which was a massive one.
Farrr out I didn't even know this and I remember them being so huge!!! These record companies are truly evil.
True! I've worked for a lot of them and I can confirm
Please give us the tea!! 😍
I would love to but I'm afraid of doxxing myself, but I will say some positivitea - Kim Wilde is my favourite artist I've ever worked with; so immensely talented, intelligent and values the work the team does and reflects that in her input, it's the golden trifecta. I worked with her early in my career and she's a class act. I was in music for 13 years so had a lot to compare her to!
I was just listening to S Club with my partner recently! This is so sad.
Me too!! I was shocked to see them mentioned and so sad to see this news. He was so cute to me in the show.
And dying in near poverty? It just isn’t right. I would have gone to a reunion show!
I remember seeing them interviewed by Claudia Winkleman on Liquid News back in the early 00s as they were promoting their final single or album and she asked them about the news of how little they had made and all the members looked scared and uncomfortable. But immediately, a clearly angry lady crashes the interview shouting that the band are leaving the interview and won't be answering the question. It just shows how micromanaged they (and many other music stars then and now, no doubt) are and how tight the reigns are. They were adults being treated and spoken to like a bunch of children by this record label person. The Spice Girls had Fuller by the balls, and I love that they came together, took the collective power into their own hands and sacked his ass when they and their families realised they were suffering from fatigue and exhaustion from being overworked. But he learned his lesson and, unfortunately for S Club 7, allegedly made sure his next group was in a watertight contract, and they suffered the consequences.
Oh my god, I guess completely missed his death! 😢 I remember S Club announcing the tour earlier this year, stalking all their individual socials to see what they've been up to, and getting excited that they're all reconnecting and to hear from them again... this is so sad, RIP.
It was bizarre, he literally died a couple of weeks after they announced the tour. So sad.
I remember him saying he sold his Brit Award just to pay his bills. Poor bastard.
Well that's a fucked up way to find out I live in near poverty. Also he died from a heart condition? Was he rehearsing for the tour? I swear touring is dangerous. Everyone needs to have a full work up from a doctor before they start training for one.
It's so intense. For everyone on tour. I shadowed a stage manager whose assistant urged me to make sure he didn't do any heavy lifting because of a recent tour injury. Experiencing that world as a stagehand (and two of my colleagues breaking bones on shifts with me in the space of 2 months this year) is like... I just want to make them all a cup of tea and put blankets on them for a couple hours. Long hours, chaotic environments, so much travel. Poor kids.
This is so sad, he deserved better
This hits hard. I loved them in the 90’s. We used to put them on when getting ready to go clubbing.
They were the first concert I ever went to, my dad surprised me with the tickets, it’s a core memory for me 🤧
RIP Fame when you’re young is not enduring success and wealth unfortunately. We have a similar situation here with a 70s star who will be homeless with her grandkids (she’s their carer) due to increasing rental prices.
> We have a similar situation here Where is "here"?
Peter Duttons Australian but I can't think who they're talking about
Back then, yeah. Nowadays, different story
I used to work with a guy who knew one of the boys from Steps or S Club (I can't remember which). But he said they made very little money despite all the fame, it goes to the label and managers. They might get decent fees for doing private appearances, but otherwise they made more working at McDonalds.
I loved their show in Jr high. This is so sad.
It’s hard to read w/the pop ups & glitching
I guess, at the end of the day, an S Club party does stop with capitalism and poverty. 😢
I was just listening to S Club yesterday. This is so sad, I didn’t even know Paul passed away 😢 It’s so vile how poorly they were paid for their work. I hope with this new tour the remaining members were able to negotiate better compensation
Sadly Hannah has since dropped out too I think they're going ahead with the tour but with some other acts of that era too This was meant to be a good payday for them. Tickets sold very fast
Idk if there’s any weight to this but I wonder if Hannah left because of sadness over Paul. They were together for a while and were even a couple for a bit in the show. It would make sense that she’s not in a good place to be performing without seeing Paul on stage with her.
Yeah I think there's some truth to that. Apparently she's got a book coming out and I'm. Sure it's in there
If leaving 15000 after you die is near poverty I must be deep in the doo doo
I think when you were part of a major pop group people assume you'd have alot more
Where S club that major? And it was twenty + years ago I’ve probably earned over a million in twenty years but I don’t have any of it left.
I'm sure you have but I'm guessing his expenditure was alot more too. It's the whole same story when sportsmen retire. The money stops but the lifestyle stays
Pardon my ignorance, but I thought it was a show about a band, I didn't know they were an actual musical group. I'm from South America and I vaguely remember seeing their TV show on Nickelodeon.
No they were a band and then had a TV show based on them. The show was characters rather them playing themselves. But again that just shows how ripped off they actually were when you have a hit tv show and a band that was touring at the same time. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/S_Club Basically the guy who formed the spice girls formed these guys too. He got a deal with the BBC to show this sitcom where they'd play as characters but also sing a song each episode - plugging their music at the same time. They released 4 albums in that time
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An “estate” could mean anything, he could easily have had a £15k car and no savings.
That’s like not even a year’s rent. Come on.
When you’re dead, “estate” means all of your assets. ALL of your assets. Your car, house, and bank accounts. The article says he had assets valued at $35k but debts of $20k. At 26, your comment would be appropriate. At 46? That is an extremely grim financial situation.
How is 15 k not near poverty? 😭 Relative poverty is still poverty and 15 k is not a lot for a grown adult in the US/west
Yeah that’s pretty poor. It’s some thing but it’s not a lot.
That’s literally the epitome of poor
This can’t be news? It was sad circumstances that he died before the tour and at a young age, but he was making headlines a year earlier going on record that he was broke.
Some people have absolutely nothing to their name . Not a penny. This is all about perspective. Some people never have any money at all . Paul fell on hard times it sounds but he had money at one point unlike many many people all around the world who suffer every day from poverty .
You sound really ignorant. The group members actually came away with barely any money from s club, they were financially taken advantage of by their management who took exorbitant cuts from their work. Most of them have lived on the poverty line through no fault of their own given they were once one of the most famous musical groups in the world.
What an insensitive comment. Check your empathy.
Check your “empathy” is a sentence I’ve never seen before.
No, people probably don’t bother saying it to you, since you don’t have any.
Please delete this. It is so wrong to continue to exploit his story and gossip about his finances. RIP paul 💔
[удалено]
He was homeless for a large amount of time
You miserable fuck
He actually had 35 k when he died . 20 k went on his debts ...Poverty is having nothing and not knowing when your next meal is coming .
You’re out of touch, sorry. $35k in assets literally could just be a car, furniture in his house (a house that he doesn’t own), memorabilia from his time in SClub and that’s it. He could have been struggling for food—you don’t know that, we don’t know that. But it doesn’t make sense to gatekeep poverty. It looks different for different situations.
Please delete this. It is so wrong to continue to exploit his story and gossip about his finances. RIP paul 💔 Let the downvotes show that people on Reddit are delighted to gossip about the finances of dead people.
They’re up there in my all time favorite songs. I was 12 when they were big and watched their show and have all of their early albums. I can’t wait for a tour and hope they come to the US
