Lasse Wellander

Lars-Ove "Lasse" Wellander (18 June 1952 – 7 April 2023) was a Swedish guitarist, best known for his association with ABBA. He first recorded with the group's backing band in 1974, and played on all their studio albums from ABBA (1975) to Voyage (2021). Wellander came from the village of Skrikarhyttan [sv]. His musical career began at the age of 16 when he joined Peps & Blues Quality [sv], which without leader Peps Persson later became Nature [sv]. Subsequently, they were asked to become a backing band for Ted Gärdestad, who introduced Wellander to Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson. Speaking after Wellander's death, the members of ABBA commented: "The importance of his creative input in the recording studio as well as his rock solid guitar work on stage was immense". 2005 – Albin Hagström Memorial Award (Swedish: Albin Hagströms Minnespris) 2018 – Swedish Musicians' Union Studio Fox [sv] (Swedish: Studioräven) award 1976 – Electrocuted 1978 – Wellander & Ronander 1985 – Full hand 1987 – Tweed 1990 – Poker-face 1992 – Från Rickfors till Peterson-Berger 2018 – 2017/2018 1992 – Vingar/Anthem 2017 – Samba Loelek 2017 – Out of the shadows 2017 – Fri som en fågel (m. Lena Larsson) 2017 – The Parting Glass 2018 – Old School Boogie 2018 – Ut mot öppet hav 2018 – In My Heart And Soul – instrumental version 2018 – In My Heart And Soul (m. Stefan Nykvist) 2018 – Postludium (m. Sophisticated Ladies) 2019 – Anitra's Dance (Anitras dans) 2020 – Mellan hägg och syren 2020 – Is There A Chance (m. Lena Larsson) 2021 – Guitarism (inkl. Radio Edit-version) 2021 – Nostalgia 2021 – O helga natt 2022 – Overdrive 2022 – Merry-Go-Round 2022 – Oh Come, All Ye Faithful Sinmaz, Emine (10 April 2023). "Abba pay tribute as guitarist Lasse Wellander dies aged 70". Journal. The Guardian. London. p. 16. Archived from the original on 10 April 2023. Retrieved 11 April 2023. (Titles of print and online versions differ). Garcia, Thania (10 April 2023). "Lasse Wellander, ABBA's Longtime Guitarist, Dies at 70". Variety. Archived from the original on 11 April 2023. Retrieved 11 April 2023. "Lasse Wellander: Abba pay tribute to guitarist's 'musical brilliance'". BBC News. London. 11 April 2023. Retrieved 12 April 2023. "Lasse Wellander, Abba guitarist who played on such hits as Voulez-Vous and on the Mamma Mia! soundtrack – obituary". The Telegraph. London. 18 April 2023. Retrieved 12 May 2024. "ABBA-gitarristen Lasse Wellander död" [ABBA guitarist Lasse Wellander dead]. SVT (in Swedish). Stockholm. 11 April 2023 [9 April 2023]. Archived from the original on 14 April 2023. Retrieved 12 May 2024. Marten, Neville (February 2022). "Knowing Me: ABBA's Lasse Wellander". Guitarist. No. 481. pp. 50–54. ISSN 0953-7023. "Abba: Vi minns Wellanders briljans och leende" [Abba: We remember Wellander's brilliance and smile]. Nerikes Allehanda (in Swedish). Örebro. 10 April 2023. ISSN 1103-971X. Retrieved 12 May 2024. Saad, Nardine (16 April 2023). "Lasse Wellander, guitarist who played 'integal role in the ABBA story', dies at 70". In Depth. Miami Herald. Vol. 120, no. 214. p. 3C. Kungl. Musikaliska Akademien Årsskrift 2005 [Royal Academy of Music Yearbook 2005] (PDF) (in Swedish). Stockholm: Royal Academy of Music. 2005. ISBN 9189038304. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 September 2022. Retrieved 11 April 2023. "Årets Studiorävar utsedda" [This year's Studio Foxes selected]. Sveriges Radio (in Swedish). Stockholm. 8 January 2018. Archived from the original on 16 June 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2023.