Karin Glenmark dead: Music icon who worked with ABBA legends dies

Singer Karen Glenmark, who worked closely with ABBA icons Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, has died at the age of 73, her family have confirmed. No cause of death was given but they said she "died peacefully" at her hometown Ystad on 30 October. Along with her brother Anders she formed the duo Gemini, who recorded two albums produced by Benny and Björn in the 1980s. She also perfomed in Chess in Concert in 1984 and 1994, and at Benny and Björn concerts in the 1990s.

One of her most famous songs is the title song to the 1997 film Mio min Mio 1987, which she performede as part of Gemini and was written by Björn and Benny who also produced the albums Gemini 1985 and Geminism 1987. Her association with the ABBA included singing the role of Svetlana on the concept album and in the concert tour of their musical Chess, which has recently been revived on Broadway.

In a famous moment during the show in 1984, which has been preserved in clips available on YouTube, she saved the performance after a soloist suffered from stage fright. She stepped in directly from her place in the choir and performed the role without missing a beat.

She was also one of the singers who performed on Benny's 1990 solo album Klinga Mina Klocker.

Away from her association with the pair she also played Fantine in the first Swedish production of the musical Les Misérables.

Her last solo album, with songs by Michael Saxell and Jacques Werup, was released in 1996, but in recent years the mum of three, Lisa, Nils, and Anton, had partially stepped back from her artistic career and worked in the healthcare industry in her hometown.

Tributes flooded in for the star as fans learned the news. Taking to Facebook one simply wrote: "Rest in peace, Karin, your music lives on."

Another added: "I have been listening to Karin a lot over the last few weeks for some reason. A great loss. My thoughts are with her family and friends. Rest in peace."

A third chimed in: "Bizarrely I joined a Gemini Facebook group yesterday. But I have been listening to Gemini and Karin for over 30 years. This is so so sad Her voice will continue to live on."

Meanwhile a fourth shared: "I saw her as Svetlana in Chess in its world premiere in the Barbican - she was wonderful and took the audience by storm. We were all peering into our programmes to find out who she was and the newspaper reviews the next day called her the singing housewife from Sweden who saved the show! Deepest condolences to her family and loved ones. RIP Karin - you are famous the world over."