ABBA Guitarist Lasse Wellander Dead at 70

ABBA's longtime guitarist Lasse Wellander has died at age 70 following a battle with cancer.

The musician's family confirmed the news, saying in a statement to the Independent that Wellander died 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. You were an amazing musician and humble as few, but above all you were a wonderful husband, father, brother, uncle, and grandfather," the statement read. "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."

In a statement, ABBA described Wellander as "a dear friend, a fun guy and a superb guitarist."

"The importance of his creative input in the recording studio as well as his rock solid guitar work on stage was immense," the band wrote. "We mourn his tragic and premature death and remember the kind words, the sense of humour, the smiling face, the musical brilliance of the man who played such an integral role in the ABBA story."

Wellander joined ABBA in 1975 and went on to play 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, and returned to play guitar for the band's 2021 record, "Voyage," which received a Grammy nomination.

"It started in April 2017," Wellander recalled in an interview with Guitar World. "Benny called and said, 'We're going to do a couple of songs with the old band.' We did two: "I Still Have Faith In You" and "Don't Shut Me Down." So something was going on, but it sounded like these were going to be for the ABBA tour project that they were planning.

"Then, spring 2019, Benny called again and we did two more songs. So I suspected something. Then at the beginning of summer last year we did four more. I'd heard that they are bringing in two older songs, too, but we recorded eight new ones."

Wellander also had a successful solo career, releasing several albums, the first in 1981 and the most recent, Simple Ticket, in 2006. Two years later, he assisted in the creation of the soundtrack for the musical "Mamma Mia!" In 2018, Wellander was honored with the Swedish Musicians Union's Studioräven Award.

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