The guitarist for ABBA passed away at the age of 70 from cancer, and the band members have paid their respects.

Since the band’s inception in 1972 in Stockholm, Sweden, they have been a cultural and global phenomenon ever since their beginnings. The popular Swedish pop band that was comprised of two men and two women who were already in relationships at the time of its formation rose to the top of the charts all over the globe and reached worldwide recognition between the years 1974 and 1983. Their music has had a long-lasting influence on mainstream music, and to this day, people all over the globe continue to listen to it.

Bjorn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, Agnetha Faltskog, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad, who was more generally known by the moniker Frida, are the members of ABBA.

The Swedish pop group ABBA is now one of the most successful musical acts of all time, having sold a combined total of 385 million albums and singles throughout the globe. Even though the band did not make an official statement that they were disbanding, they did end up going on an extended sabbatical, during which time they started concentrating on individual projects in the middle of the 1980s.

In the end, they weren’t able to get back together for more than three decades; it wasn’t until 2016 that there was even a remote possibility of them getting back together again. In the same year, the four members of the foursome got back together when they went to a party in Stockholm celebrating the musical “Mamma Mia!” Later that year, they performed together at a private party, where it was stated by a manager that they will eventually get back together for a “new entertainment experience.”

In 2018, the band stated that they had collaborated on the recording of two new songs, and in 2020, despite some setbacks caused by the pandemic, they were able to resume their recording sessions together. At long last, in September 2021, ABBA released “Voyage,” their first album together after a hiatus of almost four decades. In addition to that, they gave another live performance together in a forward-thinking digital concert event.

However, in April of 2023, the band made the unfortunate announcement that their longtime guitarist, Lasse Wellander, had passed at the age of 70 from cancer. Wellander was 70 years old. Continue reading to see the band’s heartfelt homage to the other musician in the band.

with 1968, while Wellander was just 16 years old, he started his professional career by playing with the band Peps & Blues Quality. They split up in 1970 but reunited three years later as Nature, the moniker under which they continued to perform together until 1977. After this point, the guitarist went on to start his own band, which was eventually given the name Wellander & Ronander.

But it was Wellander’s time spent working with ABBA that ultimately proved to be the most significant in his career. In addition to performing live with the legendary band from 1975 to 1980, the guitarist contributed to the vast majority of the band’s recordings, which include all eight of their studio albums. Wellander was also a collaborator with ABBA for both of the “Mamma Mia!” films as well as their return to music on “Voyage,” while his cooperation with Andersson and Ulvaeus extended to their “Chess” project. ABBA’s comeback to music was documented on “Voyage.” In addition, Wellander worked along with dozens of other artists, the vast majority of them were from Sweden.

On the guitarist’s official Facebook page, his family shared the tragic news of the musician’s passing with the online community. They wrote in Swedish, his native language, and then translated it as follows:

“It is with unfathomable sorrow that we have to share the news that our dearly loved Lasse passed away peacefully in his sleep. Recently, Lasse was diagnosed with what turned out to be extensive cancer, and in the early morning of Good Friday, he passed away peacefully while surrounded by those who were closest to him.

They discussed Wellander in terms of the person that he was:

“You were a wonderful musician and humble in a way that very few people are, but the most important thing in your life was being a wonderful husband, father, brother, uncle, and grandfather.” Kind, safe, compassionate, and loving, in addition to so many more qualities that just cannot be put into words. A focal point in each of our lives, and it is incomprehensible that we will have to go on living without you.

The note concluded with “We love and miss you so much,” attributed to “Lena, Ludvig, and Andréas.” A picture of Wellander doing what he loved most — playing guitar — was included with the heartfelt tribute that was given.

In addition to his work with ABBA and other musicians, Wellander had a successful solo career that spanned more than ten albums and was mostly comprised of instrumental compositions. This career was in addition to his work with ABBA. The year 2006 saw the release of his most recent album, however he did issue three singles in the year 2022.

On the official ABBA account on Instagram, the band paid tribute to a longtime partner. Along with a picture showing him performing onstage as the other members of the band are standing around him, they released a statement that read:

“Lasse was a wonderful friend as well as a hilarious and talented musician. It cannot be overstated how important his innovative contribution in his recording studio and his rock solid guitar skills on stage were to the band’s success. We are saddened by his untimely and terrible passing and will remember the warm remarks, sense of humor, smiling smile, and musical genius of the guy who had such an important part in the ABBA tale. He will be sorely missed, but his legacy will go on forever.

The homage was signed “in their own words” by “Agnetha, Bjorn, Frida, and Benny.”

Andersson told the New York Times, prior to the release of the song “Voyage,” that the band had initially intended to just release two songs, but they decided to keep going since they were having so much fun:

“We said, ‘Shouldn’t we write a few other songs just for fun?'” “Shouldn’t we write a few other songs, just for fun?” According to what Andersson said, the newspaper. “And the girls [Faltskog and Lyngstad] responded, ‘Yeah, that will be fun.'” “And the ladies [Faltskog and Lyngstad] said, ‘Yeah, that will be fun After then, we heard a total of five songs from them. And so we asked ourselves, “Shouldn’t we do a few more?” We are able to put out an album'”

ABBA was ecstatic to be back together as they broke new ground with their digital concert event that included “ABBAtars” — digital holograms of the four band members — as well as a real 10-piece band. ABBA also broke new ground with their digital concert event.

News