WORCESTER Rugby Club is hoping to stake a new claim to fame -- as a music venue.

Sixways goes pop for the first time next Friday (June 30) when it stages its first-ever open-air pop concert, when Abba Gold, a tribute band to Swedish superstars Abba, take to the stage.

If the concert is a success -- and the rugby club is confident that it will be -- then more regular gigs, perhaps featuring bigger bands, could follow in subsequent summers and could be a useful fundraiser for the Allied Dunbar Premiership Two club.

The Worcester club is looking to maximise the use of Sixways during the summer months when there is no rugby activity, and is using this concert as a gauge to see whether such events are a viable proposition.

Only 1,300 tickets are available for the

first concert, including hospitality suites, but the club has already broken even onthe venture and hopes to sell out of tickets before the event.

A stage has been built on the pitch The rugby club's press officer Nicola Goodwin said: "It is very much testing the water. If it works we will hope to do quite a lot in the future.

"We want to use the pitch all the way through the year and when we build the new East stand at Sixways , there is no reason why we can't have concerts for 7,000-8,000 there."

The club is also looking at having other show business acts, such as well-known comedians, perform at the site, and hope it will become a regular occurrence during the off-season.

Tickets for the Abba Gold concert are £12 each and are available from the club on 01905-454183.

The concert starts at 7pm at Sixways next Friday.