A BASS guitar stolen from Sir Paul McCartney more than 50 years ago is back where it once belonged – after being returned to the Beatles legend.
Macca, 81, was reunited with the Hofner guitar – which helped to power Beatlemania – after it was found in a loft.
He bought the Hofner 500/1 electric bass for £30 in Hamburg in 1961 and played it on classics including Love me Do, She Loves You and Twist and Shout as the Beatles conquered the music world.
But the instrument – now thought to be worth more than £10 million - was stolen from a van in Ladbroke Grove west London on October 10, 1972, leaving Macca heartbroken.
A global search was launched for the guitar last September by makers Hofner – sparking the publicity that led to the guitar’s return.
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On Tuesday, a young student claimed the instrument was left to him as part of an inheritance, but has subsequently been returned its legendary owner.
Sharing a photo of the guitar on X, formerly Twitter, film enthusiast Ruaidhri Guest tweeted: "To my friends and family I inherited this item which has been returned to Paul McCartney. Share the news."
Macca and his team are understood to be in touch with the family, and likely to pay them a reward.
A source said: “Sir Paul is absolutely thrilled. It is an unbelievable turn of events and he is over the moon to be reunited with it.
“It was always close to his heart, and was known as his favourite instrument – so it is great that it has got back to where it once belonged!
“It shows there are some great people in the world as someone could have tried to sell it or cash in on it.
“It is wonderful that he has got it back at this time of his life, and Sir Paul will want to keep it for the rest of his days.”
Sir Paul – who played the instrument at the Top Ten Club inn Hamburg, Liverpool’s famous Cavern Club and on recordings at the Beatles’ Abbey Road studios – lives at a Sussex farm with wife Nancy Shevell, 64.
Sources said the family – who found the Hofner in a loft while clearing a house – are said to have approached Sir Paul and reps at his home.
The guitar has been inspected and authenticated as genuine.
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When it was found, the family are said to have had “no idea” at the treasure in their attic, at first.
A separate source said: “It is lucky it did not end up on eBay – it was very close to being sold online.
“The instrument was part of a collection but was gathering dust in a loft.
“Luckily, after it was found the family saw some publicity about Hofner’s Lost Bass project and looked into it.
“Apparently a relative had inherited it and had no idea where it had come from or its history.
“It is amazing to think it is so central to Beatlemania and part of history – and it was just lying in the loft.
“After hearing about the Lost Bass project, they took the guitar to Paul’s home in East Sussex.
“They live quite close to him – by coincidence – and they spoke to security there and that’s how it all got started.
“His people showed them pictures of the instrument they were looking for and it matched with what they had found.
BEATLEMANIA
The source added: “It is amazing – and they are thrilled it is back with its rightful owner, Sir Paul.
“His people eventually sent someone round to pick it up.”
Sources said the family wanted to “stay out of the limelight”.
After using the guitar as Beatlemania took off, Macca is said to have put it to one side for several years.
But in early 1969 he picked it up again while the band were in London recording the Get Back/Let It Be sessions.
The instrument could also be seen in Get Back, the Peter Jackson documentary which was released in 2021.
It was around the time of the sessions in January 1969 that the guitar went missing, a year before the band split up.
Speaking in a 1966 Beat Instrumental interview, McCartney said: "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!"
TREASURE HUNT
When the search was launched in September, those behind the project said they were searching for "the most important bass in history" and they call its disappearance "the greatest mystery in rock and roll".
Hofner said the instrument "powered Beatlemania and shaped the sound of the modern world".
The company said on its website: "The bass was in need of repairs and so it was sent to a firm in London, early in 1964, who carried these out. They resprayed the bass a darker three-part sunburst and fitted new knobs.
"Most significantly they custom-made an unusual single pickup frame to hold both pickups. It was very distinctive, no other 500/1 bass looks like this.
“Paul would be so happy if this bass could get back to him”
One of the people involved in the hunt is Nick Wass, a bass expert and Hofner executive, who said the guitar "was played in Hamburg, at The Cavern Club, at Abbey Road.
"Isn't that enough alone to get this bass back?"
"I know, because I talked with him about it, that Paul would be so happy - thrilled - if this bass could get back to him".
According to Hofner, McCartney kept his first violin bass until it went missing, using it as a back-up during the Beatles' world tours and playing it again in the Revolution promo video and during the filming of Let It Be.
A spokesperson for Sir Paul told The Sun: “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.”
