1974 saw the three-day week, two General Elections, the first resignation by a serving American President and Muhammad Ali fighting George Forman in The Rumble in the Jungle.

It also saw four young men meet in a pub in Guilford, Surrey, which would result in one of the most influential and creative bands of the punk/new wave era being formed.

Fifty years later, The Stranglers are still going strong and are in the middle of a 13-date tour to celebrate this incredible achievement.

They wanted their golden anniversary tour to be special, visiting iconic venues that meant something to them and to deliver sets that reflected five decades of their music.

The Cambridge Corn Exchange was always going to be high on the list of venues considered, being one of their favourites.

Cambridge has served them well over the years, they performed at the venue back in 1977 on their first national tour and have been regular visitors ever since.

On Wednesday evening their loyal following ensured another sell out and welcomed them back onto the stage.

Of course, there have been changes to the line up over the years. Vcalist/guitarist Baz Warne joked that he has only been in band for 25 years, but he brings all the snarl and menace you would expect, plus some great Mackem banter too.

Bassist/vocalist Jean-Jacques Burnel has been ever-present. The deep, powerful bass lines he creates are simply wonderful and at times he has them reverberating right through you. “Can you feel that?” he quipped – yes JJ we could!

Tributes were paid to former band members, drummer Jet Black and Dave Greenfield, both of whom sadly passed away in recent years.

Dave lived locally, in the village of Somersham, and was a victim of the pandemic back in 2020.

His skills on the keyboard were incredible, helping create the unique sound of The Stranglers and it was clear to see how much he meant to them.

With Jim Macaulay on drums and Toby Hounsham on keyboards, the band have found worthy replacements.

JJ referred to Toby as a “Dave clone who he would be proud of” and you can hear why.

They walked onto the stage for the first of two sets, below three beautiful chandeliers and resplendent in dinner jackets - trademark black of course - but very unlike the Stranglers we have all grown to know.

However, given we were all about to embark on a golden celebration it seemed somewhat fitting.

They blasted through a 10-track set, which concluded with a stunning version of Down in the Sewer, taken from their debut album.

Set two saw them return to the stage, chandeliers still in place, but gone were the DJ’s and they were straight back into action, delivering another 18 songs which finished with their classic No More Heroes.

Fifty golden years, particular in this industry, is something to be proud of and should be celebrated in the appropriate way.

It is also a huge catalogue of songs to choose from and the sets were a great representation of what they have produced and how far they have come over that time.

So, if you were going along expecting a greatest hits tribute, you may have left a little disappointed.

These shows were always going to be far more than that - they were billed as a golden celebration and that is exactly what was delivered, an incredible 50-year journey crammed into a quite brilliant two and a half hours.

“See you in another 50 years” laughed Baz as the Meninblack left the stage for the final time!