One of the world’s leading musical producers has warned U2 their troubled 'Spider-Man' Broadway show could be their biggest mistake ever.

Award-winning Tim Rice, a legend of the musical theatre, issued the warning via the Sunday Independent.

Having shot to fame and fortune in the 70s with collaborator Andrew Lloyd Webber, Rice knows what he is talking about.

He is the brains behind shows like 'Jesus Christ Superstar' and 'Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.'

But Rice also suffered his own Broadway heartache when the critics panned his musical 'Chess' when it hit New York in 1988 and closed after a very short run.

So his words of warning about the U2-backed Spider-Man musical should be heeded.

“I think there’s a huge, huge difference between music theatre and rock music, which is maybe the problem with Spider-Man,” Rice told the Sunday Independent.

“They’re very different genres of music and I honestly don’t think you can do both.

“I’m also very wary of technical problems like they’ve been having. Things can very easily go wrong when you’re relying on a lot of special effects and gimmicks.”

Rice is well aware of the bad news stories surrounding the lavish Spider-Man project.

The Oscar and Grammy winner added: “I’ve heard about the hard time they’ve all been having over there. I worked with producer Julie Taymor on 'The Lion King' show with Elton John.

“It’s pretty rough when you’re being attacked by the critics like that and things are going wrong on you. Yes, I would have a lot of sympathy for the two guys, Bono and The Edge, and for Julie now.”