The Mystery of Paul McCartney's Missing Bass Guitar: A 50-Year Search
- Rob Joyce
- Feb 23, 2024
- 3 min read
Paul McCartney’s bass went missing over 50 years ago. Back in 1972, the Höfner violin bass, which was a staple in the Beatles early recordings was suddenly gone. This was the instrument McCartney played on the recordings of such hit songs as “Love Me Do,” “She Loves You” and “Twist and Shout.”
McCartney bought the bass in Hamburg, Germany when the band went there in 1961. He had become the bassist in the Beatles rather urgently. John's friend, Stu Sutcliffe became less interested in music once he fell in love and didn't make the trip. So Paul needed to find a suitable instrument and for the right price (the Höfner cost him the equivalent of 30 pounds at the Steinway shop).
The instrument may have been cheap, but it had a great deep tone. Paul recalled in a 1993 interview with Guitar Magazine, “And once I bought it, I fell in love with it,” he said. “For a light, dinky little bass, it has a very rich sound.” This was the instrument that traveled with the band to America, the Philippines, through Europe and beyond. It was the bass that Paul played at the Cavern Club in Liverpool as the group was cutting their teeth on hits by Little Richard, the Isley Brothers and Fats Domino.
But the search to find one of the more famous bass instruments in history never really ended. Thanks to two journalists and a bass expert.
If you view the Let It Be footage of the band filmed in 1970, it would be the last public sighting of the Höfner bass before it was lost sometime in 1972. That’s when it disappeared… that is until last week.
Using their channels of communication they asked the public to speak up with headlines such as -- “Paul McCartney wants to know, ‘Have you seen his missing bass and important piece of history?’” Within 48 hours they had around two hundred responses and a few solid leads.
Apparently, one person who responded knew that the bass left in the back of a van used to transport instruments from the studio and that it was broken into by thieves. Another person provided the clue that the bass guitar had been stolen in the neighborhood and sold to a pub owner for a small amount of cash and a few free pints of beer.
They went on to name the pub owner who had since passed away. Shortly thereafter, the family of the deceased man, living in the town of Hastings, in southeast England, reached out to Mr. McCartney’s company and wondered if the guitar that was in their attic might be the missing instrument? It sounds as though the instrument had been handed down through the years, and that the original thieves had no idea whatsoever that the instruments they stole from the van that night were those belonging to Paul McCartney. And the pub owner had no idea it was a stolen instrument that belonged to the legendary musician either.
The family turned the bass over to authorities and a Höfner expert authenticated the instrument as the famous musician’s axe. The color as well as the “left-handed” parts made it an almost instantaneous identification process. The guitar had sustained some damage to the neck and required some repairs, but it had been found.
The two journalists said that they were shocked that the instrument had been located, five decades since its disappearance. “The Lost Bass Project” as it was called, was a success. They hope that in return for finding the lost Höfner, Paul McCartney will perform with the instrument and post it online for all to enjoy.
Sir Paul’s response upon receiving his newly repaired bass last week after a 50-year mystery? He was thrilled to finally reconnect with the instrument and was “incredibly grateful to all those involved.”
This story has gone viral since it was reported last week. Thank you to the New York Times and the BBC for online information about this incredible story.
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