STOCKHOLM, Sweden (CelebrityAccess) — Lasse Wellander, a guitarist, recording artist and producer, who performed and recorded with the legendary Swedish band ABBA for almost 5 decades, has died.
His death was announced via social media by his family, who said he died on April 7th after a battle with cancer.
“You were an amazing musician and humble as few, but above all you were a wonderful husband, father, brother, uncle and grandfather. 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.
We love and miss you so much,” the statement said.
Raised in the Swedish village of Nora, Wellander began performing with local bands, including Blues Quality and Nature. He met ABBA’s Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson while on tour with Ted Gärdestad and was recruited as a session musician for ABBA in 1974.
His proficiency with the guitar soon made Wellander a fixture in ABBA’s band, both in the studio and on tour through the end of the 1970s.
After ABBA went on hiatus in 1982, he continued to collaborate with Ulvaeus and Andersson and his guitar work is featured on the Chess concept album, the two Gemini albums, the 1993 Josefin Nilsson album Shapes and on the soundtracks to Mamma Mia! The Movie and its sequel, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again.
Wellander also recorded with Agnetha Fältskog, appearing on her albums Wrap Your Arms Around Me from 1983 and My Colouring Book from 2004 and on the ABBA album Voyage released in 2021.
As well, after working behind the scenes with the band for several years, he joined the dance band Vikingarna for their final tour in 2004.
In addition to his work as a session music, he recorded multiple albums as a solo artist, including multiple top 40 hits in the 1980s, including an instrumental take on the Chess song Anthem.
In 2005, he received the Albin Hagström Memorial Award from The Royal Swedish Academy of Music and, in 2018, the Swedish Musicians Union’s Studioräven Award for his work as a session musician.
