Swedish band Abba has paid tribute to their long-serving guitarist Lasse Wellander, who passed away on Friday at the age of 70. The group acknowledged his “musical brilliance,” which they said played an “integral role in the Abba story.” Wellander had first collaborated with the quartet as a session musician on their eponymous 1975 album and went on to become their primary guitarist on subsequent LPs. Some of Abba’s biggest hits, such as “Knowing Me, Knowing You,” “Thank You for the Music,” and “The Winner Takes It All,” feature Wellander’s guitar work.
Abba expressed their deep sadness at the passing of their dear friend and superb guitarist. They went on to say in a statement that his creative input in the recording studio and rock-solid guitar work on stage had been 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.
Wellander performed with Abba between 1975 and 1980 and later worked with the group to play on their comeback album Voyage in 2021. He also collaborated with Bjorn and Benny on their 1984 album Chess and played on the soundtracks of the 2008 Mamma Mia! film and its 2018 sequel. Wellander’s family issued a statement on Facebook describing him as an amazing musician, humble, kind, caring, and loving.
In an interview with Guitarist magazine last year, Wellander had revealed that Bjorn and Benny wrote some guitar lines, but others resulted from “a lot of jamming and spreading of ideas and finding out things.” He added that he was able to bring his own sounds to the recordings. He was credited as a guitarist or producer on over 6,300 songs in total and released several solo albums.
“It is a real honour and a privilege for me to be involved with them again,” Wellander had told the Sunday Express before the release of Abba’s 2021 comeback album. “I played with many different groups and artists, but working with Abba was, of course, always a bit special.” Abba said that they would deeply miss Wellander and never forget his contributions to their music.
