ABBA-fever stops A-Teen's UK launch.

The launch was cancelled in the last minute, A*Teens postpones it and goes to Las Vegas instead. Reason: They'll get competition by the British pop elite who also sings ABBA at the new cover album "Abbamania".

-The risk is that people gets tired of ABBA, says Eric Hasselqvist at Stockholm Records. Originally A*Teens was going to do some heavy promotion activities in late November and early December to market their new single "Supertrouper". But instead the band chooses to go to the USA.

Are you giving up the UK market? -No, but there is hell of a lot ABBA in the UK right now. It will become a backlash, says Ola Håkanson, president of A-Teen's record company Stockholm Records, to Aftonbladet. It's not only the soundtrack from the successful musical Mamma Mia that is being released in UK in time for the important Christmas shopping time. A probably greater threat comes from "Abbamania", the British pop-elite's new ABBA tribute.

Yesterday evening bands like The Corrs, Westlife, Boyzone, B*Witched and a couple of other famous artists performed their favourite ABBA-tracks on prime time at the TV-station ITV. And in a couple of weeks the music from that TV-show will arrive on CD. It is expected to climb right up to the first place of the British chart list.

With these happenings in mind Swedish A*Teens decides to wait with their British launch. -It will be extremely much ABBA in the UK in the weeks before Christmas, says Eric Hasselqvist. It's not enough to release a single there, you must spend a few weeks doing promotion works and to be on TV to made a success on the chart lists.

Instead the A*Teens-members Sara Lumholdt, Marie Serneholt, Dani Lennevald and Amit Paul goes to USA to perform in Las Vegas among other places. -If everything works out right they will be working with the choreographer of Madonna, says Ola Håkanson.

After the New Year celebrations A*Teens will go to Germany, a land where A*Teens haven't been promoting thenselves yet. Until now A*Teens album "The ABBA generation" has sold about 700 000 copies, and it is expected to reach the one million level at the turn of the year.

By Anders Hvidfeldt / to English by ABBAMAILer Linda Granqvist