Lasse Wellander, who served as ABBA’s long-term guitarist, passed away at the age of 70. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, the Swedish musician was featured on some of the most successful singles released by the legendary pop quartet.
Also, he was part of the band’s most recent album, Voyage, published in 2021.
On Sunday, the Swedish musician’s family announced on his official Facebook page that the famed guitarist had passed away on Good Friday “surrounded by his loved ones.”
“It is with indescribable sadness that we have to announce that our beloved Lasse has fallen asleep,” Wellander’s family wrote.”
“You were an amazing musician and humble as few, but above all you were a wonderful husband, father, brother, uncle and grandfather.”
“Kind, safe, caring and loving… and so much more, that cannot be described in words. A hub in our lives, and it’s unbelievable that we now have to live on without you.”
The musician died of cancer.
Wellander became a part of ABBA in 1975 and played lead electric guitar on 24 of the band’s songs, including “Knowing Me, Knowing You”, “Take a Chance on Me”, “The Name of the Game” and “Voulez-Vous”.
He also toured with members Agnetha Fältskog, Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson.
He played on a total of 24 of the band’s studio recordings, including all eight of the band’s studio albums. On their final tour, which took place between 1979 and 1980 and saw the band performing their hit songs to sold-out audiences worldwide, he was a mainstay member of the band.
Lasse was fortunate that his career did not stop when ABBA disbanded for the first time; he joined Peps & Blues Quality alongside Peps Persson when he was only 16.
In addition to ABBA, he collaborated musically with various other Swedish bands and artists during his career. In addition, he issued his debut album, which bore his own name, in 1981, and went on to produce and issue 11 additional albums over the course of his career.
Not only did he compose music for albums, but he also worked as a composer for several film and television themes. One of his most well-known works is the score for the Swedish film Anglagrd, which was first shown in 1992.
The year 2006 saw the publication of his final solo album, which was given the title Easy Ticket in English.
Throughout the course of his career, he was presented with several honours, one of which was the illustrious Swedish Royal Medal for Literature and the Arts in the year 2010.
A famous Swedish Royal Award, the Litteris et Artibus, was bestowed upon him in 2010. He was inducted into the Swedish Music Hall of Fame the following year, together with the other members of ABBA.
Following the news of the passing, fans have taken to various social media platforms to express their deepest condolences.
