Pierce Brosnan attends `Mamma Mia!` premiere in London

03-Jul-2008 • Actor News

Celebrity spotting was the name of the game for Abba fans at the Mamma Mia! world premiere in London. Former James Bond actor Pierce Brosnan and Meryl Streep were among stars of the film who wowed the crowd (pictured below).

Above: Pierce Brosnan with wife Keely Shaye Smith

It has already raised its fair share of eyebrows and it hasn't even been released. A musical with Meryl Streep, Julie Walters, Colin Firth and Pierce Brosnan based on the Abba hit Mama Mia! has been met with equal doses of approval and criticism, not least for the singing of one of its stars - reports The Herald.

And now the original members of Abba have rowed in behind Pierce Brosnan who has been universally panned for his vocal "talents".

Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus, the song writers of the group, stubbornly rejected the idea that the Navan man is seriously lacking in the singing department.

"Everybody complains that Pierce can't sing and it p****s me off," said Benny.

"I think he has a great voice. He couldn't sing Nessun Dorma but neither could I and I was in ABBA.

"Its like saying Bobby Dylan can't sing. It's just not fair. He has a good voice."

Abba had resisted the idea of their hit songs being used for a musical for 10 long years.

When they finally relented the stage version of Mamma Mia! went on to earn â¬1.3bn worldwide becoming the most successful musical ever.

This was on top of the pop group sales of more than 370m chart-topping records.

The Mamma Mia! story goes back to the mid Eighties when British producer Judy Craymer approached the two songwriters to use their songs as the backdrop to a dramatic storyline.

According to Benny: "It wasn't a musical when Judy first came to us. It was a TV programme.

"It was very vague. We said we didn't think it was a good idea.

"We've always been very protective of the songs and we still are."

When writer Catherine Johnson came up with a story where a bride tries to figure out which of three men is her father, Benny says her script "made all the difference".