A ROCK band from Bromley has gone from playing for friends and family in a sports hall to preparing to perform before thousands at the O2.

Van Susans will play to a huge crowd at IndigO2 at the Greenwich centre on Saturday (April 16), less than a year since their first gig for friends and family at Goals in Elmers End.

The group, made up of 21-year-old Olly Andrews, Olly Groome, aged 22, Caroline Atkinson, aged 17, and the Dullaway brothers Rob, aged 22, Eddie, aged 20, and 17-year-old Tim, has quickly become a success.

Since forming in June last year, they have been signed by label Beatnik Geek Records, put out a single, Plans, in February, and will release a five-track EP titled We Could Be Scenery on May 23.

Now on the cusp of becoming stars, the Van Susans say they cannot believe how far they have come in less than a year.

Drummer Rob Dullaway, who works as a tradesman, said: “It’s amazing how far we have come since that first gig at Goals. The band just seems to be getting bigger and bigger.”

And they have high hopes for the future, with lead singer and guitarist Olly Andrews, who is studying marketing at university, saying: “In five years time we would love to be playing Wembley and headlining at the Reading Festival.”

The unusual name of the band is a way of keeping alive the memory of their friend Dan Susans, who died five years ago in a motorcycle accident.

Mr Andrews said: “When Rob and I were younger we had a band called Man Versus Blender, and Dan always used to say he was going to buy a van and have our name printed on the side.

“So when it came to naming this band, we though Van Susans was a good way to commemorate him.”

For more information on the band, go to vansusans.com