THE promotional juggernaut for Mamma Mia! began in earnest on Monday in London, as the blue -- yes, blue -- carpet was rolled out for the world premiere of the film based on the eternally unforgettable songs of Swedish supergroup ABBA.

The stars were out in force for what's expected to be this summer's version of last summer's smash movie musical Hairspray. Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan were mobbed by the hundreds of fans looking to catch a glimpse of the stardust on parade.

"All of us put our neck out on the line for this," Brosnan told reporters. "That was what was so much fun about it. To see an ex-MI6 thespian (a reference to his prior screen life as James Bond) singing and dancing in the world of Mamma Mia! . . . people are going to howl."

Howl with delight, we're sure he means. Not that he was a big fan of ABBA before the movie landed on his lap.

"No, I wasn't," he admits. "Did I dance to them? Hear them? Live with them? Yes, we all did, but it wasn't my kind of music. I would never have gone to see this musical if I hadn't been offered the job."

Having Streep as a co-star was also a major lure. Though she's famous for her multiple accents, including an Irish one she showcased in Dancing at Lughnasa in 1998, singing was a new horizon for her to conquer.

"Having Meryl singing 'The Winner Takes it All' on a bluff overlooking Greece is wonderful. I've worked with some beautiful ladies, Halle Berry and so on, but Meryl is the tops," he said.

Pierce's next role will certainly differ from his song and dance shtick in Mamma Mia!. He's set to co-star with newly minted Oscar winner Tilda Swinton and former Oscar winner Nicolas Cage in the film adaptation of the British political thriller The Ghost, which is said to be loosely based on former Brit PM Tony Blair and his wife Cherie. The exiled director Roman Polanski will helm, and filming starts in September in Berlin.

And if all of the above isn't enough, Pierce's flawless, 55-year-old face will feature in a new ad campaign for L'Oreal. He'll shill for the company's Men Expert Skincare line, and reports say his ad will feature him as a middle aged man who knows there is more to life, given his age.

Too true. Things seem to be getting better and better for Pierce ever since he was dumped from the James Bond role a few years back.