Legendary lost Beatles’ guitar reunited with Paul McCartney after 50 years
By CNN
Paul McCartney’s iconic Höfner bass, which was stolen more than 50 years ago, has finally been reunited with its owner. The bass was a crucial part of The Beatles’ first two albums, featuring hits such as “Twist and Shout” and “Love Me Do,” and continued to be used as a backup bass during McCartney’s time with the band.
The guitar was stolen from the back of a van in Notting Hill, London in 1972, and was missing until the Lost Bass Project, led by Höfner executive Nick Wass and investigative journalists Scott and Naomi Jones, located it in Hastings, a town on the south coast of England.
With the wide publicization of their search, the family who had the guitar recognized its distinctive features and were able to confirm it was the missing bass. McCartney has expressed his gratitude to everyone involved in the recovery and has verified that it is indeed the same guitar he played in the ’60s.
The Lost Bass Project launched in 2018 after a conversation with McCartney, but it wasn’t until Scott and Naomi Jones joined the search that useful clues began to arrive. A crucial tip in October 2023 allowed the team to pinpoint the exact time and place the guitar was stolen, disproving previous rumors about its disappearance.
Despite being slightly damaged, the guitar will undergo repairs, and professionals believe they will be able to restore it. Wass stated, “This guitar is invaluable. In a sense, it has no value except to Paul McCartney and all the Beatles fans in the world… it’s priceless.”