Lasse Wellander, the musician who lengthy served because the guitarist for iconic pop group ABBA, has died at 70.
Wellander died Friday after a most cancers prognosis, his household mentioned Sunday. The Swedish musician performed on ABBA’s main albums, toured with the globally acknowledged quartet within the late Nineteen Seventies and was concerned of their current Grammy-nominated “Voyage” album.
“It’s with indescribable unhappiness that we’ve got to announce that our beloved Lasse has fallen asleep. Lasse not too long ago fell sick in what turned out to be unfold most cancers and early on Good Friday he handed away, surrounded by his family members,” the household wrote on his official Fb web page.
He was remembered as a humble and superb musician, in addition to “a beautiful husband, father, brother, uncle and grandfather.”
“Type, secure, caring and loving… and a lot extra, that can not be described in phrases. A hub in our lives, and it’s unbelievable that we now must dwell on with out you,” they mentioned.
Wellander teamed up with the Eurovision Tune Contest 1974 winners after taking part in in Nature, the backing band of Swedish singer-songwriter Ted Gärdestad. Gärdestad launched him to ABBA’s Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson and he joined the quartet within the late Nineteen Seventies to 1980. He additionally appeared on Ulvaeus and Andersson’s “Chess” idea album and Agnetha Fältskog‘s solo albums after the band separated in 1982. Wellander can also be credited on the soundtracks for the ABBA-musical movies “Mamma Mia! The Film” (2008) and sequel “Mamma Mia! Right here We Go Once more” (2018).
The “Dancing Queen” and “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!” hitmakers paid tribute Monday to Wellander with a press release written “in their very own phrases” and posted on the band’s Instagram and Fb accounts.
“Lasse was an expensive good friend, a enjoyable man and an outstanding guitarist,” mentioned Fältskog, Ulvaeus, Andersson and Anni-Frid “Frida” Lyngstad. “The significance of his artistic enter within the recording studio in addition to his rock strong guitar work on stage was immense.”
“We mourn his tragic and untimely loss of life and bear in mind the sort phrases, the sense of humour, the smiling face, the musical brilliance of the person who performed such an integral function within the ABBA story,” they added. “He will likely be deeply missed and by no means forgotten.”
