WHAT a year it was. A long, hot summer with sultry evenings punctuated by soulful sounds and the swirl of mirrorballs in discos up and down the country.

It was 1976 – pre-Thatcherite Britain – when only the gas board sold gas and mobile phones meant the Post Office had moved the red kiosk down the street.

This week the 70s are back with Disco Inferno, a two-hour, toe-tapping triumph banishing credit-crunch blues and HBOS woes to the back burner.

Anne Redfern and Janet Fletcher head the production team res-ponsible for the colourful retro show starring pupils of Stage Door Studio, St James Street, Halifax.

The talented cast, some not even born when the 20th century ended, wowed the audience with alm- ost faultless dialogue, great comic timing and lively singing and dancing.

Inspired casting saw 14-year-old Jake Mars-den shine as Jack, the nightclub glass collector offered the chance of stardom by Lady Marmalade ("I'm very much into soul"), the devilishly contemptuous Hades handmaiden played with panache by Hester Sharpe.

Delightful Jessica Garling, Jack's girlfriend Jane, belied her 11 years with a powerful voice while Afro wig-wearing Nathan Hall was a hit as diminutive disc jockey Terry. Chloe Ellis, as Jack's mate Tom, and Emily Munz, as upstaged club singer Heathcliffe, played men surprisingly well and Rebekah Naylor was sassy and seductive as Heathcliffe's girl Kathy.

Each cast member played their part, down to the tiny just-turned-sevens, who shared the 10pm curtain call.

The show runs until Saturday.