MOSCOW, February 16 Former Beatles member Paul McCartney has been returned a bass guitar stolen from him more than 50 years ago, the Telegraph newspaper reports.
The instrument, purchased by McCartney in 1961 before the Beatles' rise to stardom, was stolen from his van on October 10, 1972.
The search for the missing guitar manufactured by the German company Höfner began in 2023 at the initiative of the manufacturer. As it turned out, the instrument was stolen by a poor resident of London's Notting Hill, who then sold it to the owner of a local pub. The guitar was found in the attic of the house where the innkeeper's family lives.
McCartney was reunited with the instrument in December, but it took another two months to establish its authenticity.
As noted, the guitar is currently valued by the company at a minimum of £10 million. McCartney himself bought it in 1961 for 30 pounds, and the thief who stole the instrument sold it for “a little money” plus a few pints of beer.