The Midnight Rebel band wanted to mark the 50th anniversary of The Rolling Stones, but were put off by the thought of wearing bad wigs and strutting around like Mick Jagger.

So they came up with a new concept – playing the group’s 1969 album Let It Bleed, note by note, track by track, in its entireity, at a special gig – The Classic Album Show.

“As far as I can find we’re the only ones in Europe doing this,” says Martyn Goddard, who came up with idea, “It’s a twist on the tribute band. We didn’t want to dress up and be other people, we wanted to show the background message of the album. It’s not about pulling moves like Keith, it’s about the music.“

The album marks one of the darkest periods for the Stones – released at the time of the disasterous Altamont Free Festival at which one fan was killed.

“There are so many similarities to today,“ says Martyn, who has toured with the likes of The Stooges and The Horrors. “As the ‘60s turned into the ‘70s, all the hippy power stuff was dying. It was a case of going into the unknown.

“There was the war in Vietnam, the unrest in the country, marked against the recession and the feeling that nobody really knows what’s round the corner. Much like today.“

The eight-piece band deliver a frightfully accurate rendition of the album, an opportunity for fans to hear Stones songs that they never performed live themselves.

“I’ve always loved the album and as you get deeper into it, you find some really dark themes running through it,“ adds Martyn. “It’s a piece of history, it really tells the story of a time and how people were feeling.“

The Midnight Rebel Band present The Classic Album Show: Let It Bleed at The Horns,  on Thursday, February 28 at 8pm. Details: www.theclassicalbumshow.com, 01923 225020