Longtime ABBA guitarist Lasse Wellander passed away at the age of 70. The lead guitarist for the group died on April 7 after battling cancer. His official Facebook page stated he “recently fell ill in what turned out to be spread cancer and early on Good Friday he passed away, surrounded by his loved ones.”
Wellander’s Early Years
Wellander was born in 1952 and grew up in Skrekarhyttan, Sweden. His parents ran a grocery store where they sold everything from freshly ground coffee to horseshoes, nails, and petrol from barrels, according to Wellander’s website.
In 1959, his family moved to Nora where Wellander began his musical career playing the recorder and according. He took up the guitar after seeing The Beetles appear on a Swedish show called “Drop In” in 1963.
Becoming a Guitarist
Wellander moved to Örebro in 1968 he contacted Blues Quality. The previous year the band had “ended up third in a pop group competition arranged by the Swedish Radio.” After consulting with his family he took a sabbatical from high school when he was 16 years old. In the summer of 1968, he started his career as a guitarist for Peps & Blues Quality.
Since 1969, he worked as a guitarist or producer. In March 2020, Wellander had registered for 6,331 titles on 1,698 different albums, according to the Swedish Artists and Musicians Interest Organization (SAMI).
He first played with ABBA in 1974 when Björn and Benny asked if he’d like to partake in some recordings with the group. Wellander had been touring with Ted Gärdestad when he was asked. At that time ABBA had been very involved with Gärdestad’s career.
Touring with ABBA
Wellander toured with ABBA in 1975, 1977, 1979, and 1980. Afterward, he continued to collaborate with Björn and Benny.
His guitar playing can be heard on the Chess concept album and two Gemini albums. People can also hear his strumming in the movie and soundtrack for “Momma Mia!” and its sequel “Momma Mia! Here We Go Again.”
Furthermore, he played on the albums “Wrap Your Arms Around Me” and “My Colouring Book.” Both of with were by Agnetha Fältskog. His musical talents are also on ABBA’s 2021 album “Voyage.”
RIP
The Facebook post announcing his death was created by his family members, Lena, Ludvig, and Andréas. They stated he was “an amazing musician and humble as few, but above all, you were a wonderful husband, father, brother, uncle, and grandfather.” They added that he was “A hub in our lives, and it’s unbelievable that we now have to live on without you.”
By Sheena Robertson
Sources:
ET Canada: Lasse Wellander, ABBA Guitarist, Dead At 70
Very Wellander: Biography
ABBA: LASSE WELLANDER
Inset Image by Lars Uddén Courtesy of Wikimedia – Creative Commons License
Top and Featured Image Courtesy of niklasbeller_photography‘s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
