Lasse Wellander, veteran ABBA guitarist, dies at 70

10 Apr. (EUROPE PRESS) –

The veteran guitarist of the Swedish pop band Abba, Lasse Wellander, died on Friday at the age of 70 in his sleep, surrounded by his loved ones, the family said on Sunday on their official Facebook profile.

“Lasse recently fell ill with what turned out to be cancer and passed away early on Good Friday, surrounded by his loved ones,” the family said in a brief statement, adding that he was an “incredible and humble” musician.

The Swedish guitarist, in addition to accompanying ABBA on several albums and tours during the 1970s and contributing to the soundtrack of the movie Mamma Mia, played with other well-known national artists, such as Pugh Rogefeldt, DPA has reported.

Wellander was part of Nature in his early professional years, a band that backed Ted Gardestad, who would introduce him to two of ABBA’s members: composer Bjorn Ulvaeus and producer Benny Andersson.