Paul McCartney has been reunited with his famed Hofner Bass guitar, after 50 years.
This guitar was returned to McCartney last week, having been stolen from him in 1972.
It has been hailed as one of the most important bass guitars in history, due to its role in several Beatles hits in that time.
Such hits include ‘Twist And Shout’, ‘Love Me Do’, and ‘She Loves You’.
According to a statement posted via the music legend’s official website, the guitar was returned to him, and authenticated by Hofner.
“Following the launch of last year’s Lost Bass project, Paul’s 1961 Höfner 500/1 bass guitar, which was stolen in 1972, has been returned. The guitar has been authenticated by Höfner and Paul is incredibly grateful to all those involved”, the statement read.
Campaign Launched To Find Missing Paul McCartney Bass
This guitar was found via the Lost Bass campaign, which began in 2018, but only began to gather pace last year.
Hofner’s Nick Wass headed this campaign to locate the missing bass, alongside husband and wife team Scott and Naomi Jones, who are journalists and TV producers.
It was believed that the guitar had initially disappeared in January 1969, when the Beatles were in London recording the ‘Get Back/Let It Be sessions.
However, following further investigations, the Lost Bass Project soon realised that this took place three years later in 1972.
This was also the first guitar purchased by Paul McCartney in 1961, buying it for £30 ($30) in Hamburg, Germany.
“We received information about the actual theft, that it had been stolen from the back of a 3 ton van during the night of 10th October 1972, in the Notting Hill area of London. This was the breakthrough we needed”, the campaign wrote on their website.
Speaking of McCartney, last month, the singer revealed that Johnny Cash inspired him to form Wings, having come to a crossroads after the Beatles split up.
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