Jo O’Meara has shared S Club’s plans to pay tribute to Paul Cattermole in their tour (Picture: ITV/PA)
Jo O’Meara has revealed S Club’s plans to make sure Paul Cattermole is included in their upcoming reunion tour.
The Don’t Stop Movin’ hitmakers will hit the road later this year to celebrate 25 years in the industry, with Jo, 44, Rachel Stevens, 45, Tina Barrett, 46, Jon Lee, 41, and Bradley McIntosh, 42, performing for thousands of fans in arenas across the country.
But there’s no denying that there’ll be a Paul Cattermole-shaped hole in their concerts following the singer’s death in April this year, aged 46, after which, Hannah Spearritt, 42, chose not to rejoin the group.
However, they’re still keen to celebrate his life, with Jo telling Metro.co.uk how ’emotional’ the tour will be.
‘It’s gonna be an emotional night, but Paul was so full of fun and he was probably the most excited out of all of us for this tour, so that’s what’s given us the drive to carry on and keep this thing going,’ she said.
‘Of course, there’s gonna be sad times and there’s gonna be a tribute to Paul in there.
The Reach hitmakers will celebrate 25 years in the industry with an arena tour (Picture: Ilpo Musto/REX/Shutterstock)
‘But, it’s gonna be mainly about energy and literally remembering good times because we’ve had a lot of them and that’s how we want to continue.’
‘It’s gonna be a big celebration, 25 years is a long time,’ she added proudly.
While the pop stars have given fans a glimpse inside rehearsals on social media, Jo is remaining tight-lipped on the details of the tour – but there could be some unexpected moments.
‘I don’t want to give too much away. Of course, there are going to be some signature moves in there, I don’t think anyone would appreciate us changing choreography for Reach because it’s so iconic.
‘Those kinds of things will definitely be staying, but there will be a few surprises, that’s for sure.’
Jo predicts emotions will run high on stage each night (Picture: Dave J. Hogan/Getty Images For XIX Management)
She’ll be joined by Bradley McIntosh, Rachel Stevens, Jon Lee, and Tina Barrett (Picture: Dave J. Hogan/Getty Images For XIX Management)
Asked what she hopes fans will take away from the Good Times Tour, Jo is hoping for high energy as ‘there’s something very magical’ about the iconic band being back together – don’t be expecting any flips and tricks, though!
‘I don’t know if we’ll be doing the cartwheels and the backflips anymore, given that we’re not in our late teens and twenties!’, she laughed.
‘The songs just speak for themselves. You go to any parties, or whenever we’ve done arena tours before, the second you put Don’t Stop Movin’ on or Reach, the atmosphere is electric anyway, so I think what we really want is for people to enjoy the nostalgia of it, and leave with a big smile on their face.’
She’s also looking forward to seeing people of all ages in the crowd, despite previously ripping into Gen Z for butchering the lyrics to their hits on TikTok!
‘What has shocked all of us the most, we’ve got the original S Club fans from day one who have been there from the very start and remember the TV show and stuff, but to find all these new fans and these new TikToks and things, it’s all brand new to me!’, she shared.
Cattermole died in April, aged 46 (Picture: Ollie Millington/Redferns)
Jo has teased ‘surprises’ for fans attending shows on the Good Times Tour (Picture: PA)
‘TikTok and all these streaming things that go on these days – now I sound really old! But that wasn’t how it was for us back then.
‘It is definitely really exciting to see a new generation of people coming and enjoying what we do, we’re really lucky to be able to still do this and sell out arenas 25 years later. I’m very grateful.’
After getting her start in showbiz at a young age, Jo’s career has become incredibly varied over the years, allowing her to focus on causes she’s passionate about.
This has included conservation work, as the S Club Party songstress recently visited Yorkshire Wildlife Park to film a three-part documentary series.
The episodes dig deeper into the work that goes into looking after the animals and keeping the park going, with Jo getting stuck in by gutting fish to feed the sea lions, brushing and cleaning tapirs, and much more.
‘We’re really lucky to be able to still do this and sell out arenas 25 years later’ (Picture: Dave J. Hogan/Getty Images For XIX Management)
Jo visited Yorkshire Wildlife Park to get stuck in with looking after the animals (Picture: YouTube)
The singer has always been passionate about conservation and is a huge animal lover (Picture: YouTube)
‘Anybody who knows me knows that I’ve always been a massive passionate animal lover, from big cats to small cats,’ Jo said of why she wanted to be involved with the project.
‘It’s something I’ve always wanted to be a part of so when I was asked to film this documentary and have my best friend film it with me, it was just a complete no-brainer. Raising as much awareness for these animals is so, so important.’
‘I got to learn about different species of animals that I’d never heard of before. The conservation that goes on at that park has me in awe. Every time I see the work they’re doing, I find it really uplifting and it’s just a really happy place to be,’ Jo added.
‘We are literally ruining the world and these animals are not gonna be around forever the way things are going, so this is so important because we’re losing species that our great-grandkids will see them extinct. We need to protect them.’
No Ordinary Zoo starring Jo O’Meara at the award-winning Yorkshire Wildlife Park is out now. View all three episodes on YouTube.
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‘Paul was probably the most excited out of all of us for this tour.’