Treasured possessions pop stars were forced to sell

The fall from fame and fortune can be even more dizzying than the rise, particularly if you've been enthusiastically living the lifestyle. Pity these poor stars, whose luxurious homes, shiny cars, awards, instruments and all manner of gaudy baubles were no sooner acquired than they had to be pawned off to pay the creditors.

UK pop acts dream of winning the favour of the Brit Awards' shining goddess. S Club 7 , fresh from their first TV show, Miami 7, and album, S Club, won Best Newcomer at the Brits in 2000.

But that success was short-lived for Paul Cattermole who left the band in 2002, expressing a desire to return to his rock roots - he'd previously been in the nu-metal band Skua. S Club carried on for around a year, but when Jo O'Meara announced her back problems would leave her unable to perform, that was it.

As the Guardian reported, rumours immediately started to spread that the band were owed payments by manager Simon Fuller, and that of the £52m they'd made, the band had taken home just £100,000 a year each.

In 2008, Jo O'Meara, Bradley McIntosh and Paul Cattermole began touring as S Club 3, playing pubs and clubs. The full band reformed in 2014 for Children in Need, and toured the UK in 2015. However, this year, Cattermole announced he was selling his award on eBay, due to being "skint".

"I don't want the other members to think that I am dissing the band by selling it but there are bills to pay," he said, adding that it was time to move on, and that he would use the award to move house.

In a cruel twist, the first buyer, for £66,000, didn’t come through with the money, and Cattermole was forced to relist the award. Still, he wasn't too sentimental about it: "When I first got given it, I remember thinking, 'Ooh one day I bet I end up selling that.'"