ABBA guitarist passes away

IT was revealed on Sunday, April 9, that Lasse Wellander, the guitarist who played on some of ABBA’s biggest hit songs, passed away on Friday April 7, at the age of 70. He performed not only on their hits but also during the 1970s and 80s, he was was an integral part of the Swedish band’s huge concert tours.

“It is with indescribable sadness that we have to announce that our beloved Lasse has fallen asleep. Lasse recently fell ill with what turned out to be cancer that had spread, and early on Good Friday he passed away surrounded by his loved ones,” Lasse’s family wrote in a statement paying tribute to him.

“You were a fantastic musician and humble like few, but above all, you were a wonderful husband, brother, grandmother, and grand­ father,” they continued, as reported by a news outlet.

When ABBA took to the road for a series of sellout concerts across the world in 1979 and 1980, Lasse appeared on stage nightly with the legendary members, Benny Andersson, An­ ni ­ Frid Lyngstad, Agnetha Fältskog, and Björn Ulvaeus.

Lasse featured on no less than 24 of the group’s studio recordings as well as every one of their eight albums. He was also involved with the 2021 album ‘Voyager’.