Sir Paul McCartney’s long-lost Höfner violin bass guitar, which meant missing in 1972 from the back of a van, has finally been returned to its owner.
The then-Beatle purchased the Höfner violin bass for £30 in Germany in 1961 during one of the band’s stints on the infamous Reeperbahn.
Sir Paul played the bass through The Beatles’ touring years, and it can be heard on most of their recordings.
The bass was returned to the ex-Wings frontman in December 2023 by a 21-year-old university student in Hastings.
In a post on their Twitter, the student said that the instrument had been passed down through his family, and along the way had been restrung to be a right-handed playing instrument.
In 2022, a search was launched by McCartney and his team in order to locate the guitar.
A spokesperson for Paul said: “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.”
Featured image (c) Creative Commons
