The story of Paul McCartney‘s long-lost bass guitar is set to be told in an upcoming documentary.
- READ MORE: Inside ‘Now And Then’: With a little help from AI, The Beatles live again
The Höfner 500/1 bass guitar – which has been dubbed the most important bass in history for its role in recording numerous Beatles hits – was stolen from the musician in 1972, only to be returned to him last year.
The Höfner bass was the first bass the Beatles star ever bought. He had purchased it in 1961 for £30 ($38) in Hamburg, Germany. McCartney and longtime fans of The Beatles had attempted numerous times to recover the stolen instrument over the course of its 50-plus year absence – including the Lost Bass campaign, which began in 2018 but only began to make progress in 2023.
Now, Variety is reporting that the story of the bass’ decades-long journey back to Macca is due to be told through an upcoming feature-length documentary directed by Arthur Cary (Surviving 9/11, The Last Survivors).
The documentary is being titled The Beatle and the Bass, and has yet to receive a release date. McCartney himself has been confirmed to be part of the documentary, and has filmed interviews for the feature.
Macca said in a statement, per Variety: “I think anything that’s nicked, you want back, especially if it has sentimental value. It just went off into the universe and it left us thinking, where did it go? There must be an answer…”
The documentary – which will explore the mystery behind its theft and eventual return – will also include exclusive interviews with people with a personal connection to the historic bass guitar and McCartney. Among the people set to appear in the documentary are Paul’s brother Mike, their friend Klaus Voormann who witnessed the birth of the Beatles, Elvis Costello, journalists and fans who led the Loss Bass recovery project.
The bass guitar was originally believed to have disappeared in January 1969 when The Beatles were recording the ‘Get Back/Let It Be’ sessions. However, during investigations by the Lost Bass Project team, they discovered that it was instead stolen three years later. The now-recovered Höfner 500/1 Violin Bass is the same one that can be heard on classic hits including ‘Love Me Do’, ‘She Loves You’, and ‘Twist and Shout’.
Following the bass’ recovery last year, the following statement was issued on McCartney’s website: “Following the launch of [2023’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.”
