THE Blues came calling first, but rock and roll was always waiting around the corner for Chantel McGregor.

Her latest album, Lose Control, sees McGregor deploying her guitar playing and song-writing verve into a hard-edged clash of rock crescendos and riffs, that will not only please her devout army of blues rock supporters, but also deliver her growing fan base into fresh musical territory.

“Some have said I’ve changed direction a bit, but not really,” said Chantel, who opens up her British tour at the Grand, Clitheroe, on Saturday.

“For example, one of the songs from the LP – Take the Power – is dark and grungy, with a bit of a brutal edge.

“It is a departure from my earlier stuff, but rock and heavy metal, that was always my foundation stone.

“I drew on influences from my youth, Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Stone Temple Pilots, who, for me, sparked the emotion of performing with passion and losing control.”

A female guitar prodigy, at 14 she was told by a major record label, rather unwisely as it turned out, that she had a ‘great voice, but girls don’t play guitar like that.’

She has certainly exploded that myth, being the only woman to be voted Guitarist of the Year at the British Blues Awards.

And if you measure an artists’ prospects by the company they keep, then Chantel has been moving in the right direction, touring with Ed Sheeran, Bryan Ferry, Robin Trower and guitar legend Joe Bonamassa.

“I don’t like to be pigeonholed, put in a box for my music,” she said.

“I don’t consider myself strictly as Blues or rock…. my music is Chantel music.”

But this delightful, no nonsense Yorkshire lass has always kept her feet planted firmly on terra firma.

There is no rock bluster here,

Chantel lives in Bradford and she still sees the friends she went to school with in her home city

“I’m very conscious that this incredible journey could end tomorrow, and that you can’t take anything for granted,” she said.

“I do miss home when I’m on tour, especially my two cats Lucky and Sprinkles.

“I watch them on CCTV every night and make sure that they are getting looked after alright.”

Fleetwood Mac, Jeff Buckley, Led Zeppelin and Alanis Morrisette are the artists, she says, that have proved most influential.

“I love Alanis’ album Jagged Little Pill, for the sheer emotion she puts into it,” she said.

“The songs are so personal and filled with angst and I think the personal honesty is what connects with the audience, which is what makes her album timeless.

“Creating your own songs, it’s a fantastic way of being able to communicate what I wouldn’t normally say in everyday life and getting my feelings out.

“It is certainly a very therapeutic thing, I feel lucky to be able to do something that I love, see the world and bring happiness to others through my music.”

Chantel McGregor, Clitheroe Grand, Saturday, April 1. Details from 01200 421599. She also plays Darwen Library Theatre on Friday, April 21. Details from 0844 847 1664