Paul McCartney’s Lost Höfner bass Is Back After 50 Years

Paul McCartney, a former member of The Beatles, has finally been reunited with his original Höfner bass guitar, which he bought in the early 1960s and was stolen in the 1970s. This happy news was confirmed by McCartney himself on Wednesday.

The Story Behind the Treasured Bass

McCartney got the left-handed Höfner 500/1 Violin Bass in 1961 while in Hamburg, Germany. It was his main bass during The Beatles’ performances at places like Hamburg’s Top Ten Club and Liverpool’s Cavern Club, and on early recordings. Later, it became his backup bass when he got a new Höfner in 1963.

In 2023, three big Beatles fans—Nick Wass, a former marketing manager and electric guitar developer for Höfner, along with Scott and Naomi Jones, both journalists—started the Lost Bass Project to get back McCartney’s stolen instrument. They looked for leads and shared updates on their progress.

A Big Discovery

In October, the team found out something important: they discovered that the bass had been stolen from a truck in London’s Notting Hill neighborhood in 1972. This was different from what they previously thought, which was that it was stolen during The Beatles’ “Get Back” sessions in 1969.

Ian Horne, a former sound engineer for McCartney, contacted the Lost Bass Project and told them about the 1972 theft. Horne felt sorry about what happened, and he talked about McCartney’s understanding and kindness even after losing the bass.

The Lost Bass Project worked hard to find out where the stolen bass went. They finally found it in the attic of a home on the south coast of England. The owner realized how important it was and gave it back to McCartney.

Even though McCartney’s 1961 Höfner bass was missing for many years, he kept using the 1963 model during The Beatles’ time. He stopped using it for a while but started again in the 1980s, thanks to encouragement from Elvis Costello. Today, McCartney still plays the ’63 Höfner in concerts and recordings, keeping its musical history alive.