global hunt has been launched to find The Beatles’ legend Sir Paul McCartney’s missing bass guitar – which he bought for £30 but could now be worth over £10 million.
McCartney regularly took the violin-shaped Höfner 500/1 electric bass on stage from 1961 to 1963 until it disappeared just before the band broke up at the end of Beatlemania.
McCartney, now 81, purchased the instrument while the band were in residency in Hamburg, Germany.
He previously said he “fell in love with it” because its shape looked more symmetrical as he played left-handed.
It was last seen in the days before McCartney, Ringo Starr, John Lennon and George Harrison climbed on to the roof of their Savile Row offices in 1969 for a final performance.
Ever since, the Help! superstar has been on the hunt for the Höfner.
Though he briefly put it to one side during his time in the band, he picked it up again for recording sessions in London when the group were recording hit Let it Be.
ir Paul McCartney in concert last month
/ AFP via Getty ImagesThe guitar can also be spotted in Get Back, Peter Jackson’s documentary released in 2021.
Now, Höfner have stepped in to help the musician with his desperate search for the instrument, which is now valued at around at least £10m due to its extensive musical history.
The search has been launched online with the hashtag #tracingthebass inviting people from around the world to help track it down.
Höfner executive Nick Wass told the Sunday Telegraph: “I’ve worked closely with Paul McCartney’s team over the years, and when I’ve met Paul we’ve talked about his first Höfner bass and where it could be today.
“Paul said to me, ‘Heh, because you’re from Höfner, couldn’t you help find my bass?’ And that’s what sparked this great hunt.”
Rumours vary from a thief taking the bass from a closet at Abbey Road to a story that it vanished from the basement of the Beatles’ Savile Row offices.
Mr Wass added that the bass could be valued “more like a Van Gogh or a Picasso than just an instrument”, adding: “This is the bass Paul played in Hamburg, at the Cavern Club, and at Abbey Road.
“Paul would be so happy, thrilled, if this bass could get back to him.”
