Will Atomic Kitten Set the U.S. Purring?

They’re cute and cuddly at a time when the top women in youth pop are going for trashy and trampy. They make bubbly music at a time when even most teen-targeted records favor an urban edge.

They’re English at a time when English acts are a rarity on the U.S. charts.

The female trio Atomic Kitten has dominated the U.K. pop world this year. Its remake of the Bangles’ “Eternal Flame� was the No. 1 single of the summer, and the media there chronicled the group’s every move, especially the fallout from the exit of pregnant member Kelly Katona and her replacement by Jenny Frost.

Will the American audience care as much about the tunes and intrigue of the Liverpool-originated act? Virgin Records did a similar trick five years ago by putting America on a first-name basis with Posh, Sporty, Ginger, Scary and Baby Spice.

With the planned January release a single (the cheery “Whole Again�) and March release of the album “Right Now,� the company will try to do the same with Tash (Natasha Hamilton), Lil (Elizabeth McLarnon) and Jen. Virgin Co-President Ray Cooper acknowledges that for every Spice Girls-type import success, there have been several that have thus far been unable to make the move, a la British stars S Club 7 and Samantha Mumba. “It’s the strength of the song, ‘Whole Again,’ that sets them apart,� Cooper says. “We felt the song had the possibility of resonating not just with a young demographic, but also with an older audience. It’s very majestic.� The same, he believes, is true for the Kittens’ image, which he believes could stand out for its contrast with the sex-oriented image make-overs of Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera.

“There’s a more dangerous aspect to the way American girl groups and stars are looking visually and musically at the moment,� he says. “And here too there’s an opportunity to appeal not just to a younger demo, but older as well.�

Shirley Halperin, editor of teen-pop magazine Bop!, agrees that the Kittens’ difference could be the ticket to success.

“A lot of reader mail I get is from girls who are not into the trampy look,� she says. “I get a lot of letters saying, ‘What’s with Britney’s clothes? What’s with Christina in the ‘Moulin Rouge’ video?’ It’s the guys who go for that, and our artists seem to have to play up to that. It’s a shame. Maybe [Atomic Kittens’ image] won’t be sexy enough for MTV, but it could help a lot with the ‘tweens’ [young teen and preteen fans].�

With that in mind, Cooper is planning aggressive campaigns with such youth-heavy outlets as the Disney Channel, Fox Family and Nickelodeon, while at the same time reaching out to VH1 for the older audience, along with pop and adult radio stations.

Most important, the strategy is to have the three performers, all in their early 20s, spend as much as half of their time in America next year.

They had tried to get a head start, going to New York to shoot a new “Whole Again� video in September and were in their Manhattan hotel rooms when terrorists flew planes into the World Trade Center. The video plans were scrapped, and the group returned to England when air travel resumed.

“A lot of groups break big in Europe and don’t spend a lot of time here,� says Teen People senior entertainment editor Jeremy Helligar. “All Saints and Eternal didn’t translate here. Craig David did spend time here and ended up breaking big.�

BONE YARD: A lot of pop media has been devoted in recent months to the 10-year anniversary of Nirvana’s “Nevermind� and the explosion of Seattle-based grunge rock. But many people believe the story would have been dramatically different if not for the 1989 overdose death of Seattle singer Andrew Wood.

That’s the thesis of Los Angeles filmmaker Scott Barbour, who is finishing work on “Malfunkshun: The Andrew Wood Story,� a documentary about the charismatic singer who fronted the band Mother Love Bone--whose other core members went on to form Pearl Jam after his death.

Barbour is making his film with the cooperation of Wood’s family and manager Kelly Curtis (who still handles Pearl Jam), who provided rare footage of the singer and permission to use his music, both with Mother Love Bone and his earlier band, Malfunkshun. Barbour plans to compile an accompanying book and will explore releasing a CD with the film, which he hopes to enter in key festivals next year.

Wood died just two weeks before the release of Mother Love Bone’s major-label debut album, and the music was later seen as a transition between the ‘80s hard rock of Guns N’ Roses and the grunge of Nirvana and Pearl Jam, known for anti-star attitudes.

“One thing the film touches on is how Andy was the giddy, flamboyant guy who wanted the attention,� says Barbour. “He dies, and then everyone else got the spotlight who didn’t really want it.�

BRANCHING OUT: Actor Billy Bob Thornton has just released his first musical album, and his wife, actress Angelina Jolie, has served as executive producer on someone else’s album: “Bone Days� by Native American poet-musician John Trudell. Jolie’s mother had introduced her to Trudell’s earlier work, and the actress sought him out earlier this year when she and Thornton were making initial moves to start a Native American charity organization.

With the couple as co-directors of the All Tribes Foundation, Trudell agreed to join as creative advisor with expectations to officially launch the venture next year.

But Jolie found that there was a role she wished to take helping Trudell with his creative work.

“When we met earlier this year it just happened I was trying to make a CD, and she offered to give me the money to make it,� says Trudell, whose previous two albums were produced by friend Jackson Browne. “I really appreciate their involvement in helping me make my music. It was something offered me in a very good way, and I respect that.� Jolie and Thornton will also soon host a showcase performance to help look for a distributor for the album.

SMALL FACES: The Red Hot Chili Peppers are once again teaming with producer Rick Rubin for the follow-up to their teamwork on 1999’s “Californication.� Rubin and the Peppers are in pre-production now, with plans for formal recording to begin before the end of the month. The album is tentatively due in late spring....

French electronic-dance duo Daft Punk is releasing a limited-edition live album drawn from a 1997 performance, including a 16-minute version of the act’s first hit, “Da Funk.� Only 50,000 copies of the disc, titled “Alive 1997� and due Nov. 6, will be manufactured for U.S. sale....

R&B; singer Avant is finishing “Ecstasy,� the follow-up to his platinum-selling 2000 debut. It’s due in March from Magic Johnson’s MCA-distributed Magic Johnson Music label....

Guitarist Steve Vai is releasing a 10-CD series focusing on rarities, soundtrack work and his stints with Frank Zappa and the band Alcatrazz. Titled “The Secret Jewel Box� and available only through the musician’s Web site (https://www.vai.com), the series will debut Oct. 31 with the first three discs packaged in a lavish box designed to house all 10 volumes.