Paul McCartney plays his Hofner 500/1 bass guitar on stage during rehearsals for the ABC Television music television show ‘Thank Your Lucky Stars’ Summer Spin at Teddington Studios in London on 11th July 1964.
Paul McCartney has finally found his long-lost 1961 Höfner 500/1 bass guitar thanks to a little help from his friends.
In a statement released Thursday, the "Yesterday" singer confirmed that his first-ever bass guitar, which he had purchased in Hamburg, Germany, in 1961, had been found thanks to an effort called the "Lost Bass Project."
"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," a statement posted to McCartney's website read.
The bass guitar was used by McCartney as The Beatles came up from the clubs to recording their first two studio albums, which included classic hits such as "I Saw Her Standing There," "Love Me Do" and "All My Loving."
McCartney moved the 1961 Höfner 500/1 to backup status after 1963, but the bass guitar continued to travel with him until it was stolen in 1972.
The Lost Bass Project first launched in 2018 with the goal of finding McCartney's iconic bass guitar, but did not begin to pick up steam until 2023, according to the group's website.
The group, which includes "Nick Wass, a Höfner executive and the world’s leading expert on McCartney’s lost bass, and two investigative journalists, Scott and Naomi Jones," according to their website, said they were able to receive more than 100 leads, which then led them to eventually being able to narrow down the theft to specific details.
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"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 group writes on its website.
Then, after releasing their findings in September 2023, a family in England realized the old bass guitar in their attic was Paul McCartney's!
The group says the bass guitar has been returned to McCartney exactly the way it was when he lost it. However, it requires some repairs to be playable again.
"We are extremely proud that we played a major part in finding the Lost Bass. It has been a dream since 2018 that it could be done," the group said in its own announcement of the finding. "Despite many telling us that it was lost forever or destroyed, we persisted until it was back where it belonged. We want to thank everyone who helped with the search, all those who sent us leads and ideas and many who just wanted to lend their support to us. Thank you all so very much."
