S Club: New single These Are The Days is 'tribute' to Paul Cattermole

S Club have released their first new song in two decades, three months after the death of Paul Cattermole.

The group says These Are The Days, released on Wednesday, is intended as a tribute to their former bandmate.

The song has been recorded by Bradley McIntosh, Jo O'Meara, Rachel Stevens, Jon Lee and Tina Barrett, who have said they will proceed with the tour.

Hannah Spearritt, who was previously in a relationship with Cattermole, is no longer taking part in the tour or single as she has said she is still too upset about his death.

Earlier this week, Spearritt told the Sun: "It's still so raw and I have these moments where I don't quite believe that it's real. I still can't believe I will never see him again."

These Are The Days has been written by the group's original hit songwriting team of Cathy Dennis, Simon Ellis, Johanne Ellis and producer John Nathaniel.

While the song recalls the group's classic upbeat sound, the lyrics are more reflective and often tinged with sadness, with clear references to Cattermole.

They include the lines: "And if someday we find / We ever have to say goodbye / We'll be running back these memories to relive time after time.

"Because these are the days of our lives, that we'll always remember / Here's to the craziest time that we've been through together."

Like the forthcoming 15-date UK tour, the release of the song marks the 25th anniversary of the group, originally called S Club 7.

Barrett said: "This single is a nod to our old sound, the sound everyone knows us for, and it's a tribute to Paul."

Lee said the idea of the song's music video "was to celebrate and look back at what we've done... it's a nod to the old days, but it also looks to the future."

O'Meara added: "There are some great archived scenes [in the video]... some bits that haven't been seen before.

"After the amount of time we've been apart, it's exciting. It doesn't feel like 20 years [since our last single]."

The video features footage of the group roller skating, dancing, and having a playful fights with shaving foam and water pistols.

Formed by Simon Fuller, S Club 7, as they were originally called, were one of the UK's biggest pop bands of the late 1990s and early 2000s.

They were known for catchy and inoffensive hits such as Reach, Don't Stop Movin, Bring It All Back and Never Had A Dream Come True.

After Cattermole's death in April, the group posted on Twitter: "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."

In a new interview with the Sun, published on Wednesday, Lee explained: "We were talking to his family quite a lot and we've been working very closely with them to make sure everything's had their OK."

Jo continued: "He was so excited about this reunion and so I think we're all trying to make this as special as we possibly can.

"We all reflect on him with a smile on our face. The smiles have replaced the tears, in a really positive way. We just remember him for the goofy Paul that he always was."