ABBA - SMASH HIT ABBA SHOW SET TO STORM ENGLAND AND US

ABBA stars BENNY ANDERSSON and BJORN ULVAEUS are finally ready to launch the English version of their hit Swedish stage show KRISTINA FROM DUVEMAL.

The epic three-hour musical, focusing on a poverty-stricken group of 19th-century Swedes who set their sights on America, is set to premiere in the US before transferring to London's West End.

Capitalising on the massive success of Abba musical MAMMA MIA, the show has already smashed theatre box office records in Sweden.

The English version has been in development for five years, but the DANCING QUEEN stars are convinced the time is right to unleash it on UK and US audiences.

Bjorn, 59, says, "We are as near to staging the musical now as we have ever been. It won't be long."