Blue singer Lee Ryan found himself in court yesterday – and his financial struggles were laid bare for all to see.
“I’ve not got anything,” stressed Lee, who was reportedly once worth £10 million, as he answered driving charges.
“I’m not working. I just don’t have the money.”
But this is not the first time Lee or his Blue bandmates have faced a cash crisis.
Back in 2015, the band shocked their army of supporters when they all declared themselves bankrupt during a bitter battle with their management company.
Here we take a look at just what went wrong for the chart-toppers.
Six years ago Lee became the last member of Blue to declare bankruptcy.
It marked a remarkable fall from grace for a group who racked up more than 40 number one hits globally and sold over 15 million records.
The All Rise boyband revealed in a candid interview on ITV hit show This Morning just why they had struggled.
The popular four-piece insisted it wasn't because they had wasted all their money on partying and luxury outgoings.
Instead they were at pains to express they lost a lot of cash in a legal battle with their former their management company.
"When you hear the word, 'bankruptcy', you have this idea you have no money, but we chose to go down route for business purposes,” explained bandmember Simon Webbe.
Before Duncan James stressed: "There was lots of press around it at the time, claiming we wasted our money, and didn't invest wisely, but that's not the case.
"We were sued by management who tried to screw us over big time, so we liquidated the company. They went after each one of us at a time."
Fellow member Antony Costa admitted it had taken three years for the band to get back on their feet.
"I was on tour with Ant and Dec when I got the call saying, 'You're going bankrupt'.
"I had the [my] baby, and it spiralled, but I was like, 'I've got friends and family, got health'."
Lee said at the time the boys had “stuck by each other as a band” and “come through this together."
But fast forward six years and Lee’s financial situation seemingly remains in a bad state of affairs.
He made the revelation when he claimed he was “unable” to pay the £1,501 he was fined having been found guilty on two counts of failing to give information relating to the identification of the driver of his car for speeding offences.
He was also banned from driving for 12 months.
The Blue singer's Mercedes was captured driving at 70mph in a 60mph limit on Fletton Parkway in Peterborough on August 8, 2020.
It was also caught driving at 71mph on the same road on August 22.
"I haven't got that money,” he revealed. “They stopped the gigs so I don't have any. They've stopped everything because of the pandemic."
Lee - along with Duncan, Antony and Simon - formed the boy band in 2000 until splitting in 2005.
All three of their albums - All Rise (2001), One Love (2002) and Guilty (2003), peaked at Number One in the UK.
But, although the stars all went on to work on their solo careers, they reformed in April 2009 to work on new music.
Lee even made appearances on multiple hit TV shows including Celebs Go Dating and Strictly Come Dancing.
However, in 2018 his Celebrity Net Worth had risen to £6.2 million despite his earlier bankruptcy woes
But when the coronavirus pandemic hit, the pop singer relocated to Spain after the entertainment industry took a huge hit.
And now, amazingly, his estimated net worth is shown to be just £734.
Duncan filed for bankruptcy in September 2013, shortly after the group’s company Blueworld Ltd found itself unable to pay creditors and went into administration.
The music star blamed his financial difficulties on bad property investments for his family.
“I’ve always wanted to give my loved ones roofs over their heads and make sure they were taken care of, so that’s what I did,” he said at the time.
“Now I’ve had to sell the home I bought for my mum. And that’s been the most heart-breaking part for me. I so wanted to care of her.”
Simon, who once boasted that the group made £82m in its first three years, but that its four members “hardly saw a penny of it”, declared himself bankrupt a few weeks after James.
Antony admitted his monthly earnings dropped from £250,000 to £400 and, as a result, became insolvent around the same time.
“I wasn’t saving any of my money along the way and I had champagne taste with lemonade money in the end,” admitted Anthony.
“I thought Blue was going to last forever and any money I did have left at the end of Blue. I wasn’t advised on how to save it but I don’t blame anyone for that.”
