Paul McCartney reunited with stolen 1961 H?fner bass after more than 50 years

Paul McCartney and his famed H?fner bass guitar have been reunited after more than 50 years.

The 1961 H?fner bass, stolen in 1972, has been returned, the former Beattle, 81, confirmed in a statement shared on his website Wednesday.

"Following the launch of last year's Lost Bass project, Paul’s 1961 H?fner 500/1 bass guitar ... has been returned," the website stated, adding the guitar has been authenticated by H?fner. "Paul is incredibly grateful to all those involved."

The Lost Bass project search, created to find the famous bass, has been ongoing since 2018, according to its website.

"Despite many telling us that it was lost forever or destroyed, we persisted until it was back where it belonged," a statement on the website read. "We want to thank everyone who helped with the search, all those who sent us leads and ideas and many who just wanted to lend their support to us. Thank you all so very much."

The statement said McCartney's bass is still with its original case but will "need some repairs to make it playable again."

The group says it was able to track down who stole the bass from a van in October 1972 in the Notting Hill area of London, and alleges that it was sold to Ronald Guest, the landlord of the Admiral Blake pub in Ladbroke Grove, London.

The search group was highlighted in The Sunday Telegraph last September, which the project said helped the search gain more traction.

"As a result of the publicity someone living in a terraced house in Hastings on the south coast of England contacted Paul McCartney’s company and then returned the bass to them," according to the website.

The group believed the bass stayed in Guest's family for the last five decades. On Tuesday, Ruaidhri Guest, @RassilonP, wrote on X, formerly Twitter: "To my friends and family, I inherited this item which has been returned to Paul McCartney."

Guest posted on X Friday that his family had been "unindated (sic) with media wanting to know our story" and said the family will be "releasing details in due course."

The left-handed Ho?fner bass is a trademark for McCartney. The 1961 bass was used on a number of Beatles hits, including "She Loves You."

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Paul McCartney's stolen H?fner bass, used on Beatles hits, returned