Hofner press release The three German built 500/1 Violin Beatle Basses on the current Höfner catalogue have received changes to the model names in order to more closely associate them with historical ...

Paul McCartney plays a Hofner violin bass guitar on Salisbury Plain in England during the filming of “Help” in May 1965. It is similar to the one that went missing.

The Hofner violin bass was last seen in 1972, having previously featured on some famous Beatles tracks such as Twist and Shout and She Loves You as well as hit including Love Me Do.

Now McCartney has confirmed via a spokesperson that he's been reunited with his long lost bass – reportedly originally stolen from the back of a van in London in 1972. "Following the launch of last ...

Paul McCartney was only 19 when he bought the Höfner 500/1 Violin Bass for £30. The Beatles were still finding their footing in the world of rock, and the bass guitar was eventually used to ...

So for about £30, I found this Hofner 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 ...

"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," read a brief statement on McCartney's website.

The Hofner 500/1 bass, which is now estimated to be worth £10m, went missing in 1972. It was allegedly stolen from the back of a van in Notting Hill, London.

He bought the Hofner 500/1 electric bass for £30 in Hamburg in 1961 and played it on classics including Love me Do, She Loves You and Twist and Shout as the Beatles conquered the music world.

The former Beatle has donated the instrument, an autographed Hofner bass violin guitar, to be sold at the 02 Silver Clef Awards which raise money for music therapy charity Nordoff Robbins.

“The limited edition Hofner 60th Anniversary Violin Bass is an extremely rare instrument. It has seldom been on display so it’s a real pleasure to have it here at The Beatles Story, especially ...