ABBA mourns the death of an “incredible guitarist” who died of cancer at the age of 70

Lacey Wilander, guitarist for the band ABBA, died last Friday of cancer, according to international press.

The family announced the death of the 70-year-old Swedish man, and added that Wilander died “among his loved ones” after the disease spread. “I was an amazing musician, down to earth like few others, but above all an amazing husband, father, brother, uncle and grandfather,” reads the statement from the guitarist’s family, which was posted on social networks.

Wilander began working with ABBA on the Swedish band’s self-titled album, released in 1975, and became lead guitarist on subsequent albums. He played on themes like “Know Me, I Know You”, “Thank You for the Music” and “Winner Takes All”.

Meanwhile, the Swedish band shared a tribute to the guitarist: “Lacey was a dear friend, funny guy and an amazing guitarist,” ABBA’s statement read.

“The significance of his contribution to the recording studio as well as his hard work on stage was immense. We mourn his tragic and untimely death and remember his kind words, sense of humor, smile on his face and wonderful music from the man who played an instrumental role in the history of ABBA. He will be sorely missed and never forgotten,” affirms. Statement by Bjorn Olpheus, Benny Andersson, Agnetha Waltzkog and Annie-Fried Lyngstad.

Wilander was active with ABBA from 1975 to 1980 and played on the soundtrack to the 2008 movie “Mama Mia” and its 2018 sequel “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again”.

He also appeared on two of Agnetha Faltskog’s solo albums and played with ABBA on her 2021 comeback album, “Voyage”.

As a guitarist and producer, he is associated with over 63,000 songs written by various artists, having also been signed to several solo albums.