The Höfner bass, valued at a minimum of $20 million, has been returned to the former Beatle.
The Höfner bass, valued at a minimum of $20 million, has been returned to the former Beatle.
Sir Paul McCartney’s lost bass guitar has been found in a loft in East Sussex, 52 years after it was stolen from the back of a van.
The Höfner bass, valued by the company at a minimum of $20 million, has been returned to the former Beatle, who is “thrilled” by the find.
It was handed in by Cathy Guest, from Hastings, after she read that McCartney dreamed of being reunited with the instrument, which he bought for $60 in 1961 and kept throughout the Beatles years.
McCartney was reunited with the instrument in December, but it has taken a further two months to authenticate it.
Höfner had planned to announce the news, but Guest’s 21-year-old son Ruaidhri pre-empted the announcement by posting pictures of the bass on social media with the caption: “To my friends and family, I inherited this item which has been returned to Paul McCartney. Share the news.”
Ruaidhri, who runs a YouTube channel devoted to Doctor Who, posed with the guitar in one picture. In another, he balanced a hat on top of it.
The guitar’s journey from the back of a van to the Guest family loft was traced by a team that included Nick Wass, a Höfner executive, and investigators Scott and Naomi Jones, in what was dubbed the Lost Bass Project.
Ruaidhri Guest posted pictures of himself with the guitar on social media. Photo / X
The trail began when Ian Horne, a sound engineer with Wings, read of the search and came forward to say that the bass had been stolen from the back of his van in Notting Hill, west London, on October 10, 1972.
From there, the investigators identified the thief. Naomi Jones said: “The thief lived in Cambridge Gardens in Ladbroke Grove. From his top-floor flat, he could see the musicians coming and going down below, and where the roadies parked their vans.
“This man was an opportunist thief who stole to provide for his wife and three children. In 1972, Notting Hill was a poor place.”
The thief then sold the bass to Ron Guest, the landlord of his local pub.
Scott Jones said: “Days later, the landlord agreed to buy it and the bass that powered Beatlemania changed hands in a West London pub for ‘not much money’ - plus a few free pints.”
The bass then allegedly passed from Ron Guest to his eldest son Graham, who went to university in Nottingham and died in a car rally in 1976.
It was then given to Graham’s brother Hadyn, who died two years ago. Hadyn’s wife, Cathy, approached McCartney’s team with the news that the bass was in her possession.
All about that bass
A spokesman for McCartney 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.”
The investigators had expected the search to take them far and wide, and were amazed to find that the instrument had been in the hands of one family and ended up in a house only a few kilometres from McCartney’s home in Peasmarsh, East Sussex.
Jones said: “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.”
The bass can now be returned to Höfner in Germany for some minor repairs. Wass said: “Undoubtedly, this is the bass that was stolen from Paul McCartney in 1972.
“There are too many unique features that would be impossible to replicate. In particular, the odd tuners and the discoloured treble pick-up are obvious indicators. The overall spraying is entirely consistent with contemporary photographs. This would be extremely hard to mimic, with the sprayer having only one chance to get it right.
“As found, the bass has all the appearance of an instrument that has been stored for about 50 years.”
Horne, the sound engineer who had always felt guilty about the theft, said: “When it was stolen in 1972, Paul told me not to worry and I carried on working with him and Wings for another six years.
“But I’ve never forgotten about the bass and I’ve carried the guilt all my life. 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.”
