Paul McCartney’s long-lost guitar which he bought in 1961 has been found after a global search.
The Beatles star had bought the Hofner bass guitar for $38 ($1000 in today’s currency) before he rose to fame with the group. The instrument, which has a distinctive shape, was last seen when the Beatles were recording their final album together, Let It Be.
A worldwide search to find the missing violin-shaped bass was launched last year by the Lost Bass Project. This week, a student shared a photo of the instrument, a German-made Hofner 500/1.
The student, Ruiadhri Guest claimed he inherited the bass, adding it has now been returned to its original owner.
He wrote on Twitter: “To my friend and family I inherited this item which has been returned to Paul McCartney. Share the news”.
It’s said the instrument could be worth $12.5 million and was bought when the group were touring nightclubs in Hamburg, Germany in the 1960s before rising to stardom. McCartney became synonymous with the bass in the early days of the group.
McCartney said he “fell in love” with it because, unlike other electric guitars, it had a symmetrical shape. He used it for live performances between 1961 and 1963, before it went missing before the Beatles broke up in 1970.
He said in a statement: “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.”
“For about £30, I found this Höfner violin bass,” said McCartney, 81, previously. “And to me, because I was left-handed, it looked less daft because it was symmetrical. I got into that. And once I bought it, I fell in love with it.”
Hofner helped with the Loss Bass Project and created a hashtag, #tracingthebass.
