The Stranglers

It might seem strange that in the fresh and exciting atmosphere of the Edinburgh festival season, the directors of the Edge festival should choose to launch their own programme with a last hurrah from an ageing 70s punk band. The decision, it turned out, was inspired.

Being perhaps the most technically proficient of the British punk scene, The Stranglers always had a knack for walking the tight and tricky line between artistic credibility and chart success, despite their 23 top 40 hits and 17 top 40 albums often being overlooked by rock historians. It's the strength of their back catalogue that shines through tonight, making The Stranglers a highly appropriate reminder of what a highly creative counter-culture can be.

Classics like 'Golden Brown' and 'Peaches' in particular get the ecstatic reception they deserve from a crowd largely dominated by middle aged die-hards, while the anthemic 'Always The Sun' and their classic interpretation of the Bacharach penned 'Walk On By' are given polished outings in a very strong greatest hits set. Second encore 'No More Heroes' especially brings the house down in spectacular fashion.

The band themselves put on an excellent show as front duo Jean-Jacques Burnel and recent recruit Baz Warne give a lively performance, dancing their way through an almost endless back catalogue blending jagged and sprawling guitars with Burnel's superb pulsating bass lines – amongst the finest in the whole punk canon. All this against the ever reliable backdrop of Dave Greenfield’s Doors-inspired keyboard riffs and 70-year-old drummer Jet Black’s solid beats.

Of course they did their best to spoil it. Strangely convinced that they can still produce relevant music, the band spent a good proportion of the set playing inevitably mediocre new material. Very few bands are capable of producing exciting new material after a near 35-year career. Sadly The Stranglers aren't one of them. But fortunately they have more than enough to get by, and with rumours of a forthcoming retirement, it seems a shame that the band's first Edinburgh show in 18 years might also turn out to be their last.