ABBA guitarist Lasse Wellander dead at 70

foxnews.com:

Swedish pop group ABBA is mourning the death of one of their own. The group announced to their social media that longtime guitarist Lasse Wellander had passed away.

He was 70 years old. "Lasse was a dear friend, a fun guy and a superb guitarist.The importance of his creative input in the recording studio as well as his rock solid guitar work on stage was immense," members Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Anni-Frid (Frida) Lyngstad and Benny Andersson wrote. "We mourn his tragic and premature death and remember the kind words, the sense of humor, the smiling face, the musical brilliance of the man who played such an integral role in the ABBA story."           View this post on Instagram                       A post shared by ABBA (@abba) "He will be deeply missed and never forgotten," the pop stars wrote beneath a black-and-white photo of Wellander performing with the band.

Born in the small Swedish village of Skrekarhyttan, Wellander took to music at a young age, learning to play guitar after watching The Beatles perform on television in 1963.

Wellander joined ABBA in 1974, after Björn and Benny inquired if he would be interested in playing guitar for their group. "It came to develop into a long collaboration," Wellander said of his role within the group, per his website, translated from Swedish to English.