Paul McCartney’s original bass guitar, which the legendary musician used in The Beatles’ early years, has been found
and returned after it was stolen more than five decades
ago (1972).

The 81-year-old singer-songwriter was reunited with the
left-handed Höfner 500/1 Violin Bass after its manufacturer
and a husband-and-wife team of journalists embarked on
a search for the missing instrument in 2018 that later
became a crowdsourcing campaign called The Lost
Bass Project.

A statement shared Wednesday on McCartney’s website confirmed that the guitar had been discovered and was 
returned to its original owner.

In this photo released by The Lost Bass Project, Nick Wass,
an executive with Hoefner, inspects Paul McCartney’s 1961 violin-shaped Hoefner bass, stolen from the Beatle more
than 50 years ago and recently returned. (AP)