A SEARCH and rescue operation coined ‘The Lost Bass Project‘ has been launched to find the beloved electric bass guitar of Paul McCartney.
The instrument, which McCartney fondly referred to as his ‘favourite’ and ‘the ancient one’, was bought in 1961 for a mere £30 from Steinway Musikhaus in Hamburg by a then-hard-up McCartney during the days leading up to Beatlemania.
It played a significant role in the band’s early work, featuring in hits like ‘Love Me Do,’ ‘She Loves You,’ and ‘Twist and Shout’.
The last sighting was in 1969 in video footage of the band writing their last album Let It Be, the New York Time reports, and may have been stolen from Abbey Road Studios or the Apple Corps studio on Savile Row.
McCartney, 81, shared his love for the Höfner violin bass guitar, stating: “For about £30, I found this Höfner violin bass. 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.”
Nick Wass, the former marketing manager and electric guitar developer for Höfner who is now leading the hunt for it, echoed the importance of reuniting McCartney with his long-lost guitar. He said, “Isn’t that enough alone to get this bass back?”
He has launched a campaign along with two journalists, sharing pictures and tracing the history of the original bass, providing guidelines to filter out hearsay and knock-offs.
Wass added: “Paul would be thrilled if this bass could return to him. While the bass’s fate is largely unknown, it’s believed to have been stolen. However, someone out there knows the truth about this bass and its current location.”
McCartney expressed his love for the missing instrument, revealing: “I have had a Höfner ever since I started, but the ancient one is still my favourite.”
Those leading the hunt for the bass described it as ‘priceless’. However, the guitar that John Lennon used when composing ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’ mysteriously disappeared in 1963 during The Beatles’ Christmas show at Finsbury Park.
In a remarkable turn of events, the guitar emerged again after an extraordinary 51-year absence, eventually being sold at an auction for a whopping £1.9m.
