Mamma Mia! proved that the tribute musical can take in a human story. And now we have Mike Bennett’s Blok Busta —a glam-rock musical blending hits of the 1970s with an original score.

The action takes place on the streets of Glamsville, terrorised by “psycho-killer” Busta. The weapon of choice is disco music, a banned substance known to be deadly.

Thanks to TV shows such as Life on Mars, we know investigating the 1970s can be fertile territory. As well as platforms and loon pants it was a decade marked by social unrest, misogyny and racism. But Bennett’s comedy is more School Disco than witty pastiche.

If you’re a child of the 1970s, there is a real primal thrill to hearing Sweet, Slade and Alice Cooper again. And it’s hard to fault the cast, who act, sing, dance, and play all the instruments.

But your heart sinks as soon as Bennett is forced to pad out the soundtrack with his own compositions.

We are told that Bennett’s scriptwriting career includes work for several West End plays, but he has precious little sense of theatre. Kitsch on its own is not enough.

Which is a pity because Bennett is on to something. The moment in the mid-1970s when white MOR rock gave over to the heady vibe of disco was fascinating. The underlying message of the musical is don’t be scared of new genres.

And the surreal poetry of Sweet’s hit Blockbuster (which inspired the piece) really does stand up. “You better beware, you better take care/You better watch out if you’ve got long black hair.”

But a Viz-style whodunnit is simply lame. Save your money for Priscilla Queen of the Desert — or go back to the original records.