Paul McCartney appeals for the return of a stolen guitar
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On October 10, 1972, Paul McCartney’s very first bass, a 1961 Höfner 500/1, was stolen from a truck parked overnight. Ian Horne, a roadie with Wings, explained that the bass was stolen sometime after 10 pm on that day from the Ladbroke Grove area of Notting Hill, west London.
Press pleas for its return were published the day after, but the bass disappeared for 51 years. The lost treasure was discovered abandoned in an attic in late 2023 and returned to Paul McCartney in February 2024.
If the thief stole it to sell it, he can sell it back to me!
Paul McCartney – From “The Beatles Diary Volume 2: After The Break-Up 1970-2001” by Keith Badman
McCartney robbed
£500 WORTH of musical equipment belonging to former Beatles Paul McCartney and his group Wings has been stolen from a parked lorry in Cambridge Gardens, Notting Hill.
From Evening Standard – October 11, 1972
BEATLES BOOTY
Paul McCartney appealed last night for the return of a favourite guitar he used at the height of Beatlemania. It was stolen from a van in London’s Notting Hill.
From Daily Mirror – Thursday 12 October 1972
Paul: Please please me
LONDON – Former Beatle Paul McCartney appealed to a thief yesterday to return his famous bass guitar because of its sentimental value. The guitar, shaped like a violin, was among equipment worth $1,250 which was stolen from McCartney’s pop group Wings in London Tuesday. McCartney has used the guitar since the birth of the Beatles.
From The Montreal Star, October 12, 1972
Last updated on February 18, 2024