A psychedelic rock band fronted by a 23-year-old electric guitar virtuoso inspired by ‘60s and ‘70s music is coming to Bromley Cross.

Purson will play a special, one-off show at The Railway Venue, Chapeltown Road, on Friday, May 16.

Formed by Rosalie Cunningham in 2011, their debut album The Circle And The Blue Door is described as a combination of folky warmth and lurid technicolour horror, skull-crushing doom and classic songwriting.

Jon Hanson, manager of The Railway Venue which has been attracting music fans from across the country since it opened in 2010, said: “They're probably one of the most original and dynamic bands to have come out of Britain in a long, long time.

“Coming from someone who sees bands day in, day out, every single week and has been listening to all genres of music since the age of six, that’s saying something.

“Leader of the band, Rosalie Cunningham, is a stunning vocalist, songwriter and multi instrumentalist — though she just sticks to guitar in a live context.

“Their music is a mix of straight-out rock, psychedelia, folk and some kind of inexplicable magic ingredient that draws you in — once you're hooked, I would say you're a fan for life.”

Rosalie, a former backing vocalist with The Last Shadow Puppets, was just 16 when she left her native Southend-on-Sea to pursue music, forming the short-lived Ipso Facto in London.

Dubbed a female version of The Horrors for their gothic take on psychedelic rock, Ipso Facto split when she realised people were more interested in the way the teenage girls looked than any actual sound they might make.

She said: “We were getting a bit of hype, but it wasn't what I wanted and I didn't feel ready for it.

“Everyone told me I was doing the wrong thing by splitting the band but it felt like something was happening that I didn't ask for; that we were being taken advantage of because we were so young.

“And I didn't have the sophistication to make the music I wanted to, even if the ideas were there. It's taken this long to get it right."

Rosalie grew up as a child obsessed by The Beatles, with an affection for the music of the late ‘60s and the early ‘70s which inspired her poetic and evocative lyricism.

She said: “For me, they are music.

"I liked all the usual pop things my friends liked, but my real love was The Beatles, The Faces and Led Zeppelin, which they didn't like."

She formed Purson, named after the great god of Hell, who were signed to Rise Above Records and have performed live in session for Marc Riley on BBC Radio 6 Music three times since January 2012.

Speaking of her other key influences, Rosalie said: “Slade is a much underrated group, with a collection of perfectly crafted pop songs.

“David Bowie is one of those people you can listen to forever and keep on hearing new things.

“I love all of his classic albums but I'd have to put The Man Who Sold The World as my favourite.

“Tragic Catastrophe, the final song on The Circle And The Blue Door, takes a lot of inspiration from Bowie."

Purson, featuring Rosalie on vocals and lead guitar, George Hudson on guitar, Samuel Shove on organ, Justin Smith on bass and James Last on drums, will be The Railway Venue on Friday, May 16.

Tickets cost £8 in advance, call 01204 306450.