Paul McCartney finds guitar stolen 51 years ago, reunited at last

Sir Paul McCartney has been reunited with the Höfner bass guitar he used on Beatles hits such as Love Me Do and She Loves You, 51 years after it was stolen from the back of a van in London. The instrument was discovered in a family's attic in Sussex, thanks to the efforts of a project called the Lost Bass.

Sir Paul purchased the guitar in 1961, and it was stolen in west London in 1972. A spokesperson for the former Beatle expressed his "incredible gratitude" for its return.

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Rediscovering Musical History

The bass was famously used on iconic Beatles tracks like Love Me Do and She Loves You. After the Lost Bass search project appealed for information, a family residing in a terraced house in Sussex reached out to the team, recalling they had an old bass guitar in their attic. The instrument was then reunited with Sir Paul in December.

According to his spokesperson, Paul's 1961 Höfner 500/1 bass guitar, stolen in 1972, has been returned following the launch of last year's Lost Bass project. The guitar has been authenticated by Höfner, and Paul is deeply grateful to all involved.

From Theft to Recovery

The guitar was recovered in late September and authenticated by experts to confirm its authenticity. Fortunately, the bass was found intact and still in its original case, although it will require some repairs to make it playable again.

 During their investigation, the team received leads about the theft, which occurred from the back of a van in Ladbroke Grove in October 1972. Subsequently, it was sold to a pub landlord in the area before eventually ending up in Sussex, where it was discovered in a family's attic.

Originally purchased for £30 in Germany in 1961, the guitar has not been appraised for its current value. However, the Lost Bass team believes it would likely exceed the price of the most expensive guitar ever sold—a Kurt Cobain guitar that fetched a record $6 million (£4.9 million) at auction in 2020. For context, John Lennon's stolen guitar sold for $2.4 million (£1.9 million) when it resurfaced half a century later.

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