How Paul McCartney's Stolen Legendary $12.5M Bass Was Found After 51 Years: A Tale of Redemption and Reunion

The 1961 H?fner 500/1 bass guitar, purchased by McCartney as a teenager in Hamburg for a mere $37 before achieving fame, was stolen from the back of a van transporting the band's equipment on the night of October 10, 1972, in Notting Hill. This information comes from H?fner executives, who initiated an investigation into the disappearance of the instrument.

“To my friends and family, I inherited this item which has been returned to Paul McCartney. Share the news,” he wrote on X Tuesday.

The bass, famously used by McCartney to record hits such as "Twist and Shout," "All My Loving," and "Love Me Do," along with other singles from the Beatles' first two albums, was discovered in a dusty attic in Hastings. Remarkably, the homeowners were unaware that it was McCartney's beloved bass, reportedly valued at $12.5 million.

The revelation of the instrument's rediscovery came from the family's 21-year-old son, Ruaidhri Guest, who shared a photo of himself holding the iconic bass on social media.

Guest's mother, Cathy, had learned about the campaign to locate the Beatles' missing bass, known as the Lost Bass Project and led by H?fner executive Nick Wass, in September. It was then that she realized the possibility that the legendary instrument might be tucked away in her own home.

She reached out to Wass, who verified the authenticity of the bass and confirmed that it was indeed the same instrument played by McCartney that had disappeared five decades earlier.

After undergoing some repair and restoration, the long-lost bass was reunited with the renowned musician.

“Following the launch of last year’s Lost Bass project, Paul’s 1961 H?fner 500/1 bass guitar, which was stolen in 1972, has been returned,” McCartney’s team said in a statement.

“The guitar has been authenticated by H?fner and Paul is incredibly grateful to all those involved.”

How did the bass, belonging to one of the most revered artists of all time, end up gathering dust in a family's attic?

According to the New York Post, investigative journalists Scott and Naomi Jones, who were part of the project, managed to trace its journey and even identify the thief—whose identity has not been publicly disclosed—thanks to witness accounts.

The Beatles' former sound engineers, Trevor Jones and Ian Horne, informed the Lost Bass Project that they had parked the equipment van on the street near Jones' residence. They awoke the next morning to find the heavy padlock cut and the van's doors smashed open.

“We knew there was huge padlock on the back doors, but when I got up in the morning and saw the van, with the broken padlock lying in the road, I knew it was bad news. I looked inside and the bass, along with one other guitar and two Vox AC30 amps, had gone,” Horne told the project.

He stated that they reported the theft to the police and canvassed the neighborhood, asking if anyone had witnessed anything, suspecting that someone living nearby was responsible.

Despite their efforts, they were unable to locate the bass, and had to break the unfortunate news to McCartney.

“He told us not to worry, and we kept our jobs. He’s a good man, Paul. I worked for him for six years after the bass went missing,” Horne said.

“But I’ve carried the guilt all my life.”

The team leading the Lost Bass Project eventually identified the thief, a local resident, and discovered that he had sold the instrument to the owner of a pub in the Notting Hill area.

“This man was an opportunist thief who stole to provide for his wife and three children. In 1972, Notting Hill was a poor place,” Naomi Jones told the Telegraph.

The pub landlord happened to be Ron Guest, the grandfather of Ruaidhri Guest, who inherited the bass after his grandfather's passing. It remained within the family throughout those years.

“This bass echoes with the sound of some of the most famous and important songs ever written. And then it ended up, like so many unused or unwanted possessions, up in the loft, in a typical house, on an ordinary British street,” Jones added.

Wass mentioned that the quest to recover the stolen bass was spurred by Sir Paul McCartney himself. McCartney had asked Wass for his help in finding the instrument when they met a few years back.

The singer-songwriter expressed his fondness for the instrument, stating that he "fell in love" with it because of its symmetrical shape, which sets it apart from most electric guitars.

“For about ￡30 ($37), I found this H?fner violin bass,” McCartney previously mentioned, as reported by The Guardian.

“And to me, because I was left-handed, it looked less daft because it was symmetrical. I got into that. And once I bought it, I fell in love with it.”

However, McCartney wasn't the sole individual thrilled by its rediscovery.

Horne expressed that he continuously dwelled on the bass that was stolen while he was in charge of the equipment.

“But I’ve never forgotten about the bass, and I’ve carried the guilt all my life,” he conveyed to the Telegraph.

“It was stolen on my watch so to help get the bass back today, I’m thrilled. It’s a huge weight off my mind.”