Report: Paul McCartney’s Stolen 1961 Hofner Has Been Returned

There have been several mysteries of missing basses of historical importance. Jaco’s Bass of Doom was thankfully found, though James Jamerson’s Funk Machine has not surfaced. In September, there was a big push to find Paul McCartney’s original 1961 Hofner bass, and after 51 years the search is finally over. The former Beatle shared the news on his website.

“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,” a statement confirms. “The guitar has been authenticated by Höfner and Paul is incredibly grateful to all those involved.”

The news was first shared by Fab 5 on Facebook that the bass had been found and was returned to Sir Paul in September of 2023. “It was inherited by a 21yr old film student by the name of Rauidhri Guest and had been sitting in his attic in Hastings, England, apparently restrung right handed, and he not knowing who it once belonged to for all these years,” they wrote.

McCartney used the bass in the band’s early days in Hamburg and The Cavern Club. It was used on the first two Beatles LPs and all the way through the Let It Be sessions but was stolen in 1972.

As the bassist noted, The Lost Bass project helped lead the charge in finding the bass. They wrote an article for The Sunday Telegraph on September 2nd, 2023, that led to much publicity. It was then that someone remembered an old bass guitar that was in their attic.

McCartney and MPL Communications are expected to have a press conference to explain the whole story. Hofner Guitars has also said they will be issuing a press release.

We’ll keep you updated with more details as they become available.