the lost 1961 cavern bass....

HOFNERのHPで、所謂CAVERN BASS捜索のキャンペーンが行われております。どう言う形にせよ見つかるといいですね^^！

実物、写真でもいいから見てみたい！

…こと楽器に関しましては、最近なんとな〜く少しだけ解ってきたのですがコレクト用のものも勿論さることながら、何より長年 ライブ・演奏を共にした一本の愛着は何より格別！と言う事です。前記事の'82製 320はディテイル的にはマニアのそれではないが海外で17年、ライブのメインで使用し続けた思い出の重みは、コレクタブルな'58製 325の希少性とも個人的には…であります。

きっと年齢を經られたSir.も初期の活動の記憶と共に本当に戻ってきたら文面にあるように'幸せ'に違いない...と思います♪ 以下、email addのところ除き原文のままです。




The Campaign to Find Paul McCartney's Lost Bass

One of the most important musical instruments in the world vanished, it’s widely presumed to have been stolen at sometime after early 1969, and has never been seen since. What happened to it? Does it still exist? Where is it? The instrument is Paul McCartney's first bass guitar, a Höfner 500/1 model that he purchased in 1961.

Here is a short history of this bass and what happened:

In April 1961 The Beatles were back in Hamburg playing a 3-month residency at the Top Ten Club. The bass player, Stuart Sutcliffe, had just left the band and the job of playing bass was handed to Paul McCartney. Having no bass he went to a nearby music shop, Steinway Musikhaus, and purchased a Höfner 500/1 Violin Bass. (In fact, he ordered one since there were no left-hand models - his was the first-ever made.) This became his one and only bass up until October 1963 when Höfner produced another one for him, the one you see him play today.
The first bass was in need of repairs and so it was sent to a firm in London, early in 1964, who carried these out. They resprayed the bass a darker 3 part sunburst and fitted new knobs. Most significantly they custom made an unusual single pickup frame to hold both pickups. It was very distinctive, no other 500/1 bass looks like this.

After the repairs, the bass was used as the backup on tours but not often played. In 1969 The Beatles were at Twickenham Studios recording and filming. For these sessions, Paul used the bass on some songs. It can clearly be seen in the film. After this it vanished.

What happened? The problem is nobody knows. It seems very likely that someone stole the bass. To this day it has remained a mystery. There have been rumours over the years, but this is all they amount to: rumours.
Someone, somewhere, knows what happened to this bass and someone knows if it still exists and where it is now. This information is out there if only someone would provide it.

We strongly believe that it is time for this bass to return to its owner, Paul McCartney if it still exists. It is such an important instrument, we all deserve to see it again. This was THE bass you hear on all the Beatles recordings up until 1964. It's the one you hear on "She Loves You, "I Want to Hold Your Hand", it was played in Hamburg, at The Cavern Club, at Abbey Road, isn't that enough alone to get this bass back! I know, because I talked with him about it, that Paul would be so happy, thrilled if this bass could get back to him.

So we offer the following to anyone who can positively give information about the bass:

We would handle any information in total confidence.
We do not need to know your identity if you prefer.
We can collect the bass from anywhere.
Total anonymity.
No recriminations.
No question of the authorities being involved.

Please, is it not time to give this bass back? Or at the very least to tell us what happened to it? It should not remain lost forever.

If you have definite information (and can provide some proof of this) you can contact us by sending an email to a postbox set up especially for this matter.

email: thelostbass@hofner.com

Please do not send me or call me with your own conspiracy theories. These aren't going to help. Please do not waste our time.

(The short history above is just that. Please do not contact me about this.)

Nick Wass

Marketing Manager at Höfner GmbH & Co KG.