Sir Paul McCartney reunited with ‘stolen’ Hofner guitar after 50 years thanks to go looking pushed by The Lost Bass Project

Feb 16, 2024 at 8:18 PM
Sir Paul McCartney reunited with ‘stolen’ Hofner guitar after 50 years thanks to go looking pushed by The Lost Bass Project

Sir Paul McCartney has been reunited together with his bass guitar, on which he strummed the well-known tunes Twist And Shout and She Loves You for The Beatles, after it went lacking greater than 50 years in the past.

The Hofner 500/1 bass, which is now estimated to be value £10m, went lacking in 1972.

It was allegedly stolen from the again of a van in Notting Hill, London.

Its whereabouts had been unknown for many years however in 2018 a bunch intent on monitoring down the German-made instrument, The Lost Bass Project, launched a seek for it.

The tempo of the search was initially gradual however picked up after worldwide media protection and shortly the mission acquired dozens of leads and a whole lot of individuals prepared to assist.

Receiving the tip-off that it had been stolen, the group – which incorporates Hofner govt Nick Wass – found the violin-shaped bass was allegedly offered to a pub landlord within the Ladbroke Grove space.

The mission suspected it had remained within the landlord’s household.

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After quite a few TV interviews and media protection, the group stated the instrument had ended up within the attic of a home in Hastings, on the south coast of England.

Due to the widespread publicity, the proprietor realised that they had the extremely sought-after merchandise and returned the bass to Sir Paul’s firm in December, after which it was authenticated.

The Beatles in 1962. Pic: Black Country Images/Alamy
Image:
The Beatles in 1962. Pic: Black Country Images/Alamy

The bass continues to be full and in its unique case however will want some repairs to make it playable once more, the mission added in a press release.

A spokesperson for the previous Beatle stated he’s “incredibly grateful” for many who had been concerned within the hunt for it.

Now thought-about one of the crucial iconic devices of all time, Sir Paul purchased the bass for £30 in Hamburg, Germany, in 1961.

Speaking in a 1966 Beat Instrumental interview, McCartney stated: “I have had a Hofner ever since I started. I’ve got three models but the ancient one is still my favourite. It has seen so much work that some of it is held with sellotape!”

He used it in his decade-long profession with the band, together with on their first two albums, Please Please Me and With The Beatles.

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The Hofner was ultimately dubbed the “Beatle bass”.

An announcement from The Lost Bass Project stated the group had been “extremely proud” of taking part in a component in fixing the thriller.

It added: “It has been a dream since 2018 that it could be done. Despite many telling us that it was lost forever or destroyed, we persisted until it was back where it belonged.

“We wish to thank everybody who helped with the search, all those that despatched us leads and concepts and plenty of who simply needed to lend their help to us. Thank you all so very a lot. Very a lot certainly! We did it!”