The search for a bass guitar owned by singer and former Beatles frontman Paul McCartney has come to an end after a five-year search by the manufacturer of the instrument.
The search was helped by the efforts of a husband and wife team of journalists who helped McCartney get back his 1961 electric Höfner. The violin-shaped instrument went missing nearly 50 years ago and has an estimated worth of $12.6 million.
Seeking Help to Find the Guitar
McCartney requested help from Höfner to help find the instrument that helped the Beatles skyrocket to international stardom. Scott Jones, a journalist who teamed up with Höfner executive Nick Wass, was instrumental in tracking it down.
"Paul said to me, 'Hey, because you're from Höfner, couldn't you help find my bass?'" Wass said. "And that's what sparked this great hunt. Sitting there, seeing what the lost bass means to Paul, I was determined to solve the mystery."
The bass was originally purchased by McCartney in 1961 for $37 (30 pounds) during the timeframe in which the group was creating their signature style during a series of residencies in Hamburg, Germany.
It can also be heard on the first two Beatles records as well on such hits as "Love Me Do," "Twist and Shout," and "She Loves You." "Because I was left-handed, it looked less daft because it was symmetrical," McCartney once said. "I got into that. And once I bought it, I fell in love with it."
Was it actually stolen?
The instrument was rumored to have been stolen in 1969 when The Beatles were recording their final album, "Let It Be." But no one is completely sure when it actually went missing.
The search for the bass gained new wind in 2022 when Wass saw McCartney headline the Glastonbury Festival. "I was staggered, I was amazed," Jones said. "I think we live in a world where The Beatles could do almost anything and it would get a lot of attention."
They relaunched The Lost Bass Project in September and, within 48 hours, were inundated with 600 emails that contained the "little gems that led us to where we are today," Jones said.
The first breakthrough came from a sound engineer named Ian Horne, who worked for Paul when he performed with Wings. He told investigators that the instrument was stolen from the back of a van in Notting Hill, London, in 1972.
McCartney told him not to worry about the theft and that he continued working for him for another six years."But I've carried the guilt all my life," Horne said.
It was later found that a man had stolen the bass but panicked when he realized it was McCartney's bass. He ended up selling it to the owner of the Admiral Blake pub for a very small amount and a few beers.
