The Höfner bass guitar that was purchased by Paul McCartney for £30 back in 1961 has finally been retrieved and returned to the former Beatle after an international effort to locate the stolen instrument.
The distinctively shaped guitar, bought by McCartney before his rise to stardom and reportedly his favourite, was last seen around the time the Beatles were recording their final album to be released, Let It Be.
63 years ago, McCartney purchased a bass guitar for £30, which would be equivalent to around £800 in today’s currency.
The Lost Bass Project initiated a search for the elusive German-made Höfner 500/1, a violin-shaped bass that went missing last year. On Tuesday, a student named Ruaidhri Guest shared a photo of the instrument on social media.
The visitor stated that he had received it through inheritance and mentioned that it had been given back to the initial owner.
“I have recently inherited an item that has been returned to Paul McCartney, and I wanted to share this news with my friends and family,” he shared on X.
McCartney’s bass – which could now be worth as much as £10m – became synonymous with the versatile musician during the early days of the band. It was bought when the then unknown group were touring nightclubs in Hamburg, Germany, in the early 1960s.
According to a statement on McCartney’s official website, his 1961 Höfner 500/1 bass guitar, which was stolen in 1972, has been returned after the launch of the Lost Bass Project last year.
“The authenticity of the guitar has been confirmed by Höfner, and Paul expresses his deep gratitude to everyone who played a part in the process.”
Paul McCartney has stated in the past that he became enamored with the Höfner violin bass because of its symmetrical design, something that was not common among electric guitars. At the price of £30, the 81-year-old musician found the instrument and felt that it was a better fit for him as a left-handed player. This led to his love for the instrument and his decision to purchase it.
In the years 1961 to 1963, McCartney frequently utilized this item during live shows, eventually losing it close to the Beatles’ disbandment in 1970.
Höfner assisted in the Lost Bass Project’s unexpected quest to locate the instrument by developing the hashtag #tracingthebass, urging individuals from around the world to aid in its recovery.
Nick Wass, a Höfner executive, shared with the Sunday Telegraph: “I have collaborated extensively with Paul McCartney’s team and during my interactions with Paul, we have discussed the evolution of his first Höfner bass.”
Paul asked me if, being from Höfner, I could assist in locating his bass. This request sparked the start of our exciting search.
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Throughout his career, McCartney has consistently chosen this brand and it has greatly contributed to the company’s success thanks to the former Beatle’s endorsement. Since 1961, he has owned four Höfner basses and continues to play one that was gifted to him by the manufacturer.
According to Wass, the value of the bass can now be compared to that of a Van Gogh or a Picasso, rather than just being seen as an instrument. He also mentioned that this was the same bass that Paul played at Hamburg, the Cavern Club, and Abbey Road.
There have been many speculations about the fate of the instrument over time. Some rumors suggest that the thief took it from a closet at Abbey Road, while others believe it disappeared in the basement of the band’s Savile Row offices.
The last sighting of this event was days prior to McCartney and his fellow band members – John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr – performing their last live show on the rooftop of their Savile Row headquarters.
According to reports, during the Beatles’ Christmas concert in Finsbury Park in 1963, the guitar used by John Lennon to write the song “I Want to Hold Your Hand” went missing. After 51 years, it was rediscovered and sold for an astonishing £1.9m at an auction.
Source: theguardian.com
