Lasse Wellander has died at the age of 70.
The musician was most known for having played the guitar on 24 classic tracks performed by Swedish pop supergroup ABBA but passed away on Good Friday (07.04.23) following a short battle with cancer, his family has confirmed.
A statement posted to Facebook read: “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.
“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. We love and miss you so much.”
Following the news of Lasse’s passing, the ABBA Museum was the first to pay tribute to the tragic musician as they remembered how much he had worked with the ‘Waterloo’ hitmakers throughout their career.
Their statement read: “After a short period of illness our beloved friend and the absolutely brilliant guitarist Lasse Wellander has passed away. He was the most caring and lovely person and a truly devoted musician. Please take a moment and listen to all his fantastic guitar playing for ABBA – from the early years to Voyage.”
Lasse began touring with Agnetha Fältskog, Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus, and Benny Andersson during the height of their fame in the 1970s but can be heard playing on some of their biggest hits, including the likes of ‘Knowing Me, Knowing You’, ‘Take a Chance on Me’, ‘The Name of the Game’ and ‘Voulez-Vous’, and also assisted on the creation of their jukebox musical ‘Mamma Mia!’ in 1999.