ABBA guitarist Lasse Wellander dies at 70; group recalls his 'musical brilliance'

Lasse Wellander, a longtime guitarist for Swedish pop group ABBA, has died after a battle with cancer. He was 70.

His family shared the news with "indescribable sadness" on Facebook in a touching message.

"We have to announce that our beloved Lasse has fallen asleep," they wrote. "Lasse recently fell ill in what turned out to be spread cancer and early on Good Friday he passed away."

They called Wellander a "wonderful" father, husband, brother, grandfather and uncle and said he was humble, caring, kind and loving.

ABBA members Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Anni-Frid ("Frida") Lyngstad and Benny Andersson paid tribute to Wellander in a statement shared on Instagram.

"Lasse was a dear friend, a fun guy and a superb guitarist," ABBA said. "The importance of his creative input in the recording studio as well as his rock solid guitar work on stage was immense. We mourn his tragic and premature death and remember the kind words, the sense of humour, the smiling face, the musical brilliance of the man who played such an integral role in the ABBA story."

They added that Wellander "will be deeply missed and never forgotten.”

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Wellander was born in 1952 and grew up in Skrekarhyttan and Nora, Sweden. He started his life in music with recorder and accordion and progressed to guitar after being inspired by The Beatles, according to his website.

After a few different stints in the music industry as a musician and producer, he started to work with ABBA in 1974 when Ulvaeus and Andersson asked if he would join in on their recording sessions.

From there, Wellander spent a long stretch working with ABBA, which continued after Ulvaeus and Fältskog divorced in 1979 and also-married couple Andersson and Lyngstad split in 1981. He joined in on tours, recordings and working on the soundtracks for "Mamma Mia" and "Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again." He also had a part on ABBA's 2021 release "Voyage," for which the group reunited.

On top of his work with ABBA, Wellander played with a number of other groups in the 1980s including the Stockholm All Stars, Low Budget Blues Band and Zkiffz among others. He also ran a restaurant and nightclub for a period on Sweden's west coast.

Contributing: Melissa Ruggieri

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Lasse Wellander, ABBA guitarist, dies at 70 after cancer battle