1 00:00:00,190 --> 00:00:02,349 Hey, guys. 2 00:00:07,622 --> 00:00:10,142 The missing bass. 3 00:00:10,902 --> 00:00:14,122 There's a story in that. It's really something. 4 00:00:14,582 --> 00:00:19,882 This was my first bass guitar, that I bought in Hamburg... 5 00:00:21,787 --> 00:00:23,547 very long ago. 6 00:00:24,049 --> 00:00:26,129 So I was attached to it. 7 00:00:26,609 --> 00:00:31,169 He just disappeared, somewhere in the universe. 8 00:00:31,549 --> 00:00:35,389 Where had he gone? There had to be an answer to that, right? 9 00:00:36,545 --> 00:00:38,205 Someone has it. 10 00:00:44,362 --> 00:00:47,763 GERMANY, 1961 11 00:00:55,687 --> 00:00:59,822 A BASS GUITAR IS BEING BUILT FOR AN UNKNOWN 18 YEAR OLD 12 00:01:04,370 --> 00:01:07,181 HIS NAME IS PAUL McCARTNEY 13 00:01:19,643 --> 00:01:25,338 WITH HIS BASS, PAUL WILL TOGETHER WITH THE BEATLES CHANGING THE MUSIC FOREVER 14 00:01:47,309 --> 00:01:50,420 BUT IF THE BEATLES BREAK UP... 15 00:01:53,497 --> 00:01:56,815 THE BASS DISAPPEARS WITHOUT A TRACE 16 00:02:04,461 --> 00:02:09,636 THIS IS THE STORY OF THE QUEST TO THE HOLY GRAIL OF ROCK AND ROLL 17 00:02:19,051 --> 00:02:25,990 McCARTNEY THE SEARCH FOR THE MISSING BASS 18 00:02:36,540 --> 00:02:39,340 They sat here very often write songs. 19 00:02:39,663 --> 00:02:42,306 Then they skipped school and ate fried eggs. 20 00:02:42,590 --> 00:02:47,060 There's something about fried eggs. They always ate fried eggs. 21 00:02:47,340 --> 00:02:50,079 That was probably very popular after the war. 22 00:02:50,459 --> 00:02:52,239 This is where we lived. 23 00:02:53,406 --> 00:02:58,545 Our humble abode on Forthlin Road, Allerton, Liverpool. 24 00:02:59,083 --> 00:03:03,379 We lived here with the family. 25 00:03:04,234 --> 00:03:08,499 There are people there. What are they doing there? 26 00:03:10,563 --> 00:03:12,263 That's why we left. 27 00:03:14,003 --> 00:03:16,583 Lots of wonderful memories. 28 00:03:17,443 --> 00:03:21,083 Not enough about my mother... 29 00:03:21,443 --> 00:03:26,363 But I remember the smells from the kitchen when she prepared dinner on Sundays. 30 00:03:26,643 --> 00:03:30,843 Then she cut a piece of lamb or beef... 31 00:03:31,203 --> 00:03:36,682 and she secretly gave it to us. "Don't tell Dad." 32 00:03:40,082 --> 00:03:44,322 When I talk about my mother, is that always dangerous... 33 00:03:44,882 --> 00:03:47,682 for here she left us. 34 00:03:49,485 --> 00:03:51,742 This was Paul's room. 35 00:03:52,322 --> 00:03:59,201 I haven't had anyone here for years let in... 36 00:03:59,361 --> 00:04:05,861 because it was too important for me and my brother. 37 00:04:09,917 --> 00:04:12,401 I was twelve and my brother was fourteen... 38 00:04:12,870 --> 00:04:16,481 and then she died of cancer. 39 00:04:17,361 --> 00:04:21,740 When you're twelve and fourteen don't you understand? 40 00:04:23,440 --> 00:04:27,420 You have to continue living. You have to go through it. 41 00:04:28,155 --> 00:04:32,340 Because my father himself was in a band... 42 00:04:32,800 --> 00:04:38,500 he always had in the back of his mind that that was an outlet. 43 00:04:38,960 --> 00:04:45,100 So he bought me a banjo and a Spanish guitar for my brother. 44 00:04:47,519 --> 00:04:49,959 I took it from the back window. 45 00:04:50,239 --> 00:04:52,659 Our boy was in the backyard. 46 00:04:53,119 --> 00:04:59,119 In another world. Completely absorbed in his guitar. 47 00:04:59,599 --> 00:05:02,859 My brother was fourteen in that photo. 48 00:05:03,519 --> 00:05:06,659 Six years later, Beatlemania broke out. 49 00:05:11,602 --> 00:05:16,838 When I'm in a bad mood, it's really nice to pick up a guitar. 50 00:05:17,353 --> 00:05:23,178 Because you hold it close to you and that gives comfort. 51 00:05:23,838 --> 00:05:28,658 You sit in a room by yourself and the guitar tells you what's bothering you. 52 00:05:28,976 --> 00:05:32,218 It's like a cheap psychiatrist. 53 00:05:32,878 --> 00:05:37,177 Then everything turns around and the guitar gives it back to you. 54 00:05:37,837 --> 00:05:39,837 And then it comes back as a song. 55 00:05:42,010 --> 00:05:45,650 From Liverpool here are The Beatles. 56 00:05:46,477 --> 00:05:49,357 Kansas City. Come on, George. 57 00:05:52,317 --> 00:05:55,597 It started in Hamburg. 58 00:06:01,757 --> 00:06:07,756 You had gangsters, pimps, prostitutes... 59 00:06:07,916 --> 00:06:10,916 everything you can imagine. 60 00:06:11,676 --> 00:06:15,596 Hamburg reverberates with the invasion of the latest British beat bands... 61 00:06:15,676 --> 00:06:17,756 who have taken over. 62 00:06:20,865 --> 00:06:25,196 I heard the music through a basement window. 63 00:06:25,676 --> 00:06:29,115 I wanted that rock 'n' roll music just see. 64 00:06:30,715 --> 00:06:34,515 The next band came on and that was The Beatles. 65 00:06:36,878 --> 00:06:42,995 Paul came up and he spoke first to the audience, because he spoke German. 66 00:06:43,275 --> 00:06:46,835 Hello. Who geht's? Guten Tag. 67 00:06:47,157 --> 00:06:49,915 That was very sweet. 68 00:06:52,315 --> 00:06:58,894 We were young boys. George was 17. And I was a little older. 69 00:06:59,354 --> 00:07:06,074 We became friends and they came at my house. They got good food. 70 00:07:06,954 --> 00:07:08,894 We gave them a bath. 71 00:07:09,607 --> 00:07:14,314 For they had neither father nor mother who took care of them. 72 00:07:15,005 --> 00:07:18,153 A friendship grew. 73 00:07:22,393 --> 00:07:23,953 Message 1. 74 00:07:24,460 --> 00:07:28,813 Saturday April 8, 6:30 PM. 75 00:07:29,147 --> 00:07:32,433 Thanks Schön. Hey Klaus, it's Paul. 76 00:07:32,713 --> 00:07:38,253 I called because I wanted to talk to you. 77 00:07:38,713 --> 00:07:42,393 I'll try again. The best. 78 00:07:44,712 --> 00:07:50,632 He is still the same little Paul which he was at 19. 79 00:07:51,054 --> 00:07:53,272 The same boy. 80 00:07:54,472 --> 00:07:59,692 I am a graphic designer. I made the cover of Revolver 81 00:08:00,152 --> 00:08:01,552 And I'm a bass player. 82 00:08:01,912 --> 00:08:05,272 But I can't play chords play more without cramping. 83 00:08:05,352 --> 00:08:10,391 This hand is cramped. I can't make a fist anymore. 84 00:08:10,551 --> 00:08:12,951 That just doesn't work. 85 00:08:14,791 --> 00:08:18,071 Luckily I can use my pencil still holding on. 86 00:08:18,631 --> 00:08:22,991 I'm going to make drawings at the story of the bass. 87 00:08:25,271 --> 00:08:31,751 I want to start with the Top Ten. That's where I saw the bass for the first time. 88 00:08:38,952 --> 00:08:45,590 What do you want to talk about? - About you as a bassist actually. 89 00:08:46,070 --> 00:08:49,110 Here I have Paul's guitar. 90 00:08:49,270 --> 00:08:53,910 And this is Stuart Sutcliffe's guitar. 91 00:08:54,070 --> 00:08:59,109 My days as a bass player are going back to the time when Stuart still played bass. 92 00:08:59,269 --> 00:09:02,869 Stuart had fallen in love on a girl named Astrid 93 00:09:03,029 --> 00:09:08,769 Stu decided to stay in Hamburg. So we no longer had a bass player... 94 00:09:09,247 --> 00:09:12,869 and John and George both said: I'm not going to do that. 95 00:09:13,349 --> 00:09:15,029 So I was left. 96 00:09:15,989 --> 00:09:23,289 Finally I found a nice store in the center of Hamburg. 97 00:09:23,642 --> 00:09:29,322 And there I saw a bass in the shop window hang. A violin bass, a Höfner. 98 00:09:30,009 --> 00:09:33,608 It wasn't very expensive. 30 pounds or so. 99 00:09:34,468 --> 00:09:38,228 When I had my own bass, I was the bass player. 100 00:09:53,107 --> 00:09:59,987 I remember it was the last day that the band played at the Top Ten Club. 101 00:10:00,289 --> 00:10:04,287 And it was the last night that Stuart played along. 102 00:10:06,147 --> 00:10:12,167 We sat outside. The sun was shining. I think it was Sunday morning. 103 00:10:12,947 --> 00:10:16,506 And we were all pretty stoned. 104 00:10:16,786 --> 00:10:20,226 I mean, covered in pills and all. 105 00:10:20,306 --> 00:10:23,426 And just talk, talk, talk. 106 00:10:23,586 --> 00:10:30,306 John sat next to me and I said: As Stuart no longer participates, I can play bass. 107 00:10:30,466 --> 00:10:33,906 Then he said: Sorry Klaus, Paul has already bought a bass. 108 00:10:34,066 --> 00:10:36,746 He will be our new bass player. 109 00:10:37,426 --> 00:10:42,145 That could have been your moment. Then you would have been Beatle number five. 110 00:10:47,025 --> 00:10:50,785 Don't know. I don't even want to think about it. 111 00:11:02,065 --> 00:11:06,644 I lived in Hamburg through my brother's letters. 112 00:11:08,144 --> 00:11:13,724 And then one day he suddenly came home with that Höfner. 113 00:11:14,704 --> 00:11:16,764 He is so unique. 114 00:11:21,104 --> 00:11:27,184 We were the roadies. I have that thing probably had it in my hands. 115 00:11:28,464 --> 00:11:32,583 And then our boy bought a Ford Classic. 116 00:11:33,263 --> 00:11:34,863 To look cool. 117 00:11:39,743 --> 00:11:43,103 And then there was their music. 118 00:11:43,889 --> 00:11:46,083 When they went to The Cavern. 119 00:11:46,863 --> 00:11:50,463 The difference was unbelievable. 120 00:11:50,623 --> 00:11:54,543 Like: Wow, what happened? 121 00:11:56,352 --> 00:12:01,502 We knew it was going somewhere. We felt we had something special. 122 00:12:04,676 --> 00:12:10,522 You had John Lennon. A very witty guy. 123 00:12:11,582 --> 00:12:14,922 And then me. I stood my ground. 124 00:12:15,331 --> 00:12:19,262 And George. That was spectacular. 125 00:12:19,742 --> 00:12:22,601 And to top it off you still had Ringo. 126 00:12:23,195 --> 00:12:25,475 So there was a certain magic 127 00:12:27,148 --> 00:12:32,034 The first filmed Beatles performance 128 00:12:47,340 --> 00:12:50,060 I'm not technical at all. 129 00:12:50,620 --> 00:12:53,660 So I don't know what I'm doing. 130 00:12:53,820 --> 00:13:00,440 I just play it. It's delicious instrument. Easy to play. 131 00:13:01,388 --> 00:13:05,340 I got used to it and loved it. 132 00:13:33,019 --> 00:13:36,798 That Höfner bass fit very well with Paul's playing style. 133 00:13:37,178 --> 00:13:41,178 Very rhythmic, but at the same time very melodious. 134 00:13:51,178 --> 00:13:55,538 You hear a lot of songs which are very simple... 135 00:13:55,818 --> 00:14:00,538 where the bass is much more agile than the other instruments. 136 00:14:08,701 --> 00:14:12,597 I'm a big fan of James Jamerson, the bassist of Motown. 137 00:14:12,857 --> 00:14:15,017 Normally a bass goes like this: 138 00:14:17,657 --> 00:14:19,417 But he played like this: 139 00:14:21,257 --> 00:14:24,457 I thought that was a great way to play bass. 140 00:14:26,216 --> 00:14:31,576 That was liberating. Great. I could come up with melodies. 141 00:14:31,736 --> 00:14:34,776 So while everyone else played the basics... 142 00:14:34,936 --> 00:14:39,516 I tried something imaginative to submit. 143 00:14:40,296 --> 00:14:45,176 That was a great feeling. I still remember that moment: Bingo. 144 00:15:02,325 --> 00:15:05,942 BAVARIA 145 00:15:16,614 --> 00:15:21,074 I first heard of The Beatles when I was about nine years old. 146 00:15:21,654 --> 00:15:25,454 My clearest memory is... that I saw them on the news... 147 00:15:26,011 --> 00:15:29,994 and that the girls were standing shouting in front of the cinema and all that. 148 00:15:30,640 --> 00:15:36,234 They played electric guitars and, let's be honest, they are very sexy. 149 00:15:36,694 --> 00:15:40,374 My mother found an electric guitar not a good idea. 150 00:15:40,534 --> 00:15:42,053 That was something for naughty boys. 151 00:15:46,373 --> 00:15:50,913 Years later I became a manager electric guitars at Höfner... 152 00:15:51,493 --> 00:15:54,473 a small German guitar manufacturer. 153 00:15:55,333 --> 00:15:57,773 That's how I met Paul McCartney... 154 00:15:58,133 --> 00:16:00,873 in his studio in the south of England. 155 00:16:02,016 --> 00:16:04,793 I came in and he said: You are Mister Höfner. 156 00:16:05,253 --> 00:16:07,512 Do you know where my old Höfner is? 157 00:16:07,972 --> 00:16:12,692 I knew immediately what he meant: that bass from 1961. 158 00:16:15,892 --> 00:16:20,032 We had years looking for my old bass. 159 00:16:20,692 --> 00:16:26,452 But that's what happened to Nick. We had about it and I said I was looking for him. 160 00:16:26,612 --> 00:16:29,492 And that I didn't know if I would ever find him. 161 00:16:30,733 --> 00:16:34,611 I couldn't say anything else than: I have no idea where he is. 162 00:16:35,171 --> 00:16:36,991 It's a mystery. 163 00:16:37,651 --> 00:16:42,171 It's the most important bass ever. 164 00:16:42,931 --> 00:16:46,851 If ever anyone is totally associated with an instrument... 165 00:16:47,411 --> 00:16:52,931 it is McCartney with the Höfner bass That's a kind of soul bond. 166 00:16:57,330 --> 00:17:01,670 This is the old Höfner factory in Bavaria. 167 00:17:02,850 --> 00:17:06,330 That old building is still there. 168 00:17:09,570 --> 00:17:15,910 Here, in this building the bass was built all those years ago. 169 00:17:16,770 --> 00:17:21,370 That moment, that turning point in history... 170 00:17:22,050 --> 00:17:26,449 You must have experienced it to feel that energy that hung in the air. 171 00:17:31,809 --> 00:17:34,929 I was bored on a rainy Wednesday... 172 00:17:35,089 --> 00:17:38,749 and then I have that web page made on the Höfner website. 173 00:17:39,329 --> 00:17:43,389 The well-known work: If you have any information, please email us. 174 00:17:43,732 --> 00:17:49,434 Cathy then came up with the name 'tracethebass' with a hashtag in front of it. 175 00:17:50,180 --> 00:17:52,020 It was you, wasn't it? - That's right. 176 00:17:52,373 --> 00:17:55,133 See. Genius. It tastes good. 177 00:17:55,583 --> 00:17:57,686 Genius. 'Trace the bass', track down the bass. 178 00:17:58,062 --> 00:18:02,142 Throughout our marriage, the past 20 years... 179 00:18:02,461 --> 00:18:06,522 Cathy supported me with one crazy plan after another. 180 00:18:06,833 --> 00:18:10,513 She was a branch manager at the bank. She is good at filing. 181 00:18:10,873 --> 00:18:14,032 We've talked about it endlessly. 182 00:18:16,825 --> 00:18:20,072 There were even more reasons to find the bass. 183 00:18:20,432 --> 00:18:23,792 There were 100 million fans walking around... 184 00:18:23,952 --> 00:18:28,112 who would love it if that thing was found. 185 00:18:29,037 --> 00:18:32,192 So it was for everyone, not just for Paul. 186 00:18:41,979 --> 00:18:46,331 I lived in Liverpool, so I went to every game if I could afford it. 187 00:18:47,054 --> 00:18:52,674 The Kop had room for 27,000 people. That atmosphere did something to you. 188 00:18:56,343 --> 00:19:00,803 I didn't play an instrument yet and I especially remember that singing. 189 00:19:01,383 --> 00:19:05,622 I can no longer get Paul's register but as a boy. 190 00:19:10,422 --> 00:19:15,402 We cut the shape of the guitars that we liked made from cardboard. 191 00:19:16,262 --> 00:19:18,322 And then we drew the buttons on it. 192 00:19:18,675 --> 00:19:22,282 And then we would play along to the record. 193 00:19:23,009 --> 00:19:28,901 A wonderful exercise for that Top of the Pops. Pretend you were playing. 194 00:19:30,341 --> 00:19:35,921 The most difficult was the Höfner bass, with that long piece of cardboard for the neck. 195 00:19:36,298 --> 00:19:38,341 I was nine or so at the time. 196 00:19:48,402 --> 00:19:52,741 The Höfner is very light and that's great. 197 00:19:54,020 --> 00:19:56,100 That's much easier. 198 00:19:56,748 --> 00:20:00,628 That's the bass which is on all those early Beatles records. 199 00:20:01,023 --> 00:20:04,423 It was a very fruitful time. For the music, for us... 200 00:20:04,783 --> 00:20:07,223 and especially for making records. 201 00:20:14,185 --> 00:20:19,704 That bass was used an incredible amount and it started to fall apart. 202 00:20:20,524 --> 00:20:27,184 We don't know exactly when that was, but they ordered a new Höfner bass. 203 00:20:27,864 --> 00:20:33,024 We believe he died on October 4, 1963 got his hands on. 204 00:20:34,664 --> 00:20:39,584 They performed on an old TV show Ready Steady Go. 205 00:20:40,344 --> 00:20:43,583 There are images of him during rehearsal... 206 00:20:44,263 --> 00:20:48,063 and images of the final performance. 207 00:20:48,423 --> 00:20:50,763 Both basses can be seen there. 208 00:20:51,816 --> 00:20:54,243 The one from 1961 from Hamburg. 209 00:20:54,803 --> 00:20:56,983 There are the two elements close together. 210 00:20:58,199 --> 00:20:59,823 And he has the new one. 211 00:21:00,583 --> 00:21:03,403 There is this element moved closer to the bridge. 212 00:21:04,076 --> 00:21:08,463 And in some shots he holds the new bass is stuck and there is no strap on it. 213 00:21:09,030 --> 00:21:13,722 So we suspect that he arrived that same day. 214 00:21:14,102 --> 00:21:18,902 And the bass from '61 goes on the spare bench, the poor thing. 215 00:21:21,942 --> 00:21:29,062 A few months later, in February, they play to 70 million people in the US. 216 00:21:44,941 --> 00:21:47,581 Meanwhile, the bass from 1961 repaired. 217 00:21:51,461 --> 00:21:54,441 Our roadie Mal took him away... 218 00:21:54,821 --> 00:21:59,540 and he picked it up like new again... 219 00:21:59,853 --> 00:22:03,280 but painted completely differently. 220 00:22:04,999 --> 00:22:08,280 When he came back, it was completely repainted. 221 00:22:09,024 --> 00:22:13,267 It came back with a sunburst finish in three colors... 222 00:22:13,611 --> 00:22:15,700 black, red and yellow. 223 00:22:16,593 --> 00:22:19,813 That is very striking if you see that bass now. 224 00:22:23,380 --> 00:22:27,239 For me it was an instrument lost all its charm. 225 00:22:28,909 --> 00:22:33,565 I don't know how Paul felt about it. I don't think he was happy about it either. 226 00:23:07,129 --> 00:23:12,218 As for appearance, the one from 1963 was nicer. 227 00:23:12,498 --> 00:23:14,318 And maybe better too. 228 00:23:14,577 --> 00:23:17,997 Better pickups, better sound, louder. 229 00:23:20,492 --> 00:23:24,411 He actually just plays on the bass from '63. 230 00:23:24,897 --> 00:23:27,017 You never see him play the '61. 231 00:23:27,217 --> 00:23:30,577 He didn't alternate or anything. 232 00:23:31,537 --> 00:23:35,237 In 1965 they returned to America. 233 00:23:35,879 --> 00:23:40,256 And there the '61 is used as a spare, but he doesn't play it. 234 00:23:41,696 --> 00:23:46,556 If you look closely, you'll see Shea Stadium Ringo sitting on the dais with the drums. 235 00:23:46,816 --> 00:23:49,856 And below him, behind the amplifier, is the bass. 236 00:23:50,416 --> 00:23:53,216 August 15, 1965 You have to look very closely, but there he is. 237 00:23:58,656 --> 00:24:01,556 What happened to it afterwards is a mystery. 238 00:24:02,218 --> 00:24:07,775 It's a matter of luck and looking at grainy black and white photos a lot. 239 00:24:10,815 --> 00:24:14,815 You'll just see him again in a short shot at the coffee table... 240 00:24:14,975 --> 00:24:18,955 during the Let it Be sessions. And then we don't see him again. 241 00:24:19,535 --> 00:24:21,295 He's just gone. 242 00:24:31,537 --> 00:24:36,520 JANUARY 1969, THE BEATLES PERFORM IN FRONT OF THE PUBLIC FOR THE LAST TIME 243 00:24:39,525 --> 00:24:43,694 This is so important that historians might see it someday... 244 00:24:43,854 --> 00:24:47,074 as a benchmark in the decline of the British Empire. 245 00:24:47,711 --> 00:24:49,614 The Beatles break up. 246 00:25:01,576 --> 00:25:05,379 SPRING 1970 THE BAND BREAKS UP 247 00:25:09,648 --> 00:25:13,933 When they parted, all came resentment above. Lawyers showed up. 248 00:25:14,292 --> 00:25:16,173 It was chaotic. 249 00:25:17,293 --> 00:25:22,892 The guitars were throwing around and everywhere no one took care of the items. 250 00:25:24,014 --> 00:25:28,332 The striking thing is that after the end of The Beatles... 251 00:25:28,568 --> 00:25:32,972 no one has seen that bass again. He just wasn't there anymore. 252 00:25:34,972 --> 00:25:40,592 I've never been able to be certain determine when he disappeared. 253 00:25:41,052 --> 00:25:46,051 I immediately admit that I am here I started from scratch... 254 00:25:46,331 --> 00:25:48,151 and had no idea how to do it. 255 00:25:48,531 --> 00:25:51,051 So I was a little handicapped. 256 00:25:51,531 --> 00:25:54,811 And I had no experience with it at all. 257 00:25:56,075 --> 00:26:01,411 Ultimately, I needed someone who I could do this better than I could to get further. 258 00:26:08,225 --> 00:26:14,710 It was June 2022 when I met Paul McCartney saw her headline act at Glastonbury. 259 00:26:15,370 --> 00:26:19,570 At some point the whole stage went dark... 260 00:26:19,930 --> 00:26:25,090 except for one spot which put Paul's Höfner bass in the spotlight. 261 00:26:25,770 --> 00:26:31,450 It shone on the varnish and the wood and for a moment it shone like gold... 262 00:26:31,610 --> 00:26:36,229 and I thought: Is that the original Höfner bass? 263 00:26:36,585 --> 00:26:39,469 Then I Googled him and I saw that that was not the case. 264 00:26:40,180 --> 00:26:44,569 The original bass from '61 was missing... 265 00:26:44,828 --> 00:26:50,629 and I immediately started googling more to find out more about that. 266 00:26:54,089 --> 00:26:58,349 But it really became an investigation. I wanted to find that thing. 267 00:26:58,809 --> 00:27:03,448 I thought: If no one else does it and that bass guitar is so important... 268 00:27:03,608 --> 00:27:06,688 we must do it. - Who are we? 269 00:27:07,048 --> 00:27:09,468 My wife and I. We did it together. 270 00:27:10,335 --> 00:27:15,128 And we said that to each other we might not find the bass... 271 00:27:15,288 --> 00:27:20,168 but stories about the bass and what the bass meant to people. 272 00:27:20,664 --> 00:27:23,608 A bit in the atmosphere of Beatlemania. 273 00:27:25,368 --> 00:27:28,647 Sometime in July 2023... 274 00:27:28,807 --> 00:27:33,607 I saw that Höfner in Bavaria had conducted a search. 275 00:27:34,319 --> 00:27:37,227 I was very curious about what they knew. 276 00:27:37,607 --> 00:27:40,947 So I wrote a very polite introductory email... 277 00:27:41,228 --> 00:27:45,907 with the idea that it was a German went. I adapted my English to it. 278 00:27:46,963 --> 00:27:51,346 And within 24 hours I realized that Nick was from London. 279 00:27:51,606 --> 00:27:54,446 He called and we sat and chatted like old friends. 280 00:27:54,726 --> 00:27:59,006 I thought: These are exactly the people that I've been looking for all this time. 281 00:27:59,366 --> 00:28:03,286 We agreed and I said: Scott, I have a lot of emails. 282 00:28:03,532 --> 00:28:09,446 So I gave them to him so he had an idea got what we were dealing with. 283 00:28:09,885 --> 00:28:15,606 You noticed that all those tips came from people who have been walking around with it for a long time. 284 00:28:15,766 --> 00:28:18,645 But nothing was right. 285 00:28:19,845 --> 00:28:22,805 Someone who claimed that he had a bass from Paul... 286 00:28:22,885 --> 00:28:28,045 has it in a pawn shop trying to sell in Las Vegas. 287 00:28:28,325 --> 00:28:32,645 It can be seen in the TV program Pawn Stars. Hopefully this is of some use to you. 288 00:28:32,805 --> 00:28:37,085 I saw the bass in the mid 80's at an auction of music equipment in London. 289 00:28:37,549 --> 00:28:41,924 It sold for £100 to a music rental company. 290 00:28:42,084 --> 00:28:46,484 I heard the bass is in possession from a Japanese banker. 291 00:28:47,044 --> 00:28:52,484 I know this from someone who was The Beatles and knows the website with their equipment. 292 00:28:52,644 --> 00:28:57,684 I had such an image in mind. I said to people: I know what happened. 293 00:28:57,844 --> 00:29:02,164 A rich German stole it. 294 00:29:02,324 --> 00:29:05,644 He lives in a large castle in the Bavarian mountains. 295 00:29:05,924 --> 00:29:11,683 He invites you over and after a few drinks he says: Let me show you something. 296 00:29:11,843 --> 00:29:16,323 And above that the mantelpiece hangs my bass. 297 00:29:19,363 --> 00:29:20,803 It was treasure hunting. 298 00:29:20,963 --> 00:29:26,463 But people love The Beatles and from Paul McCartney and they wanted to help. 299 00:29:46,562 --> 00:29:49,602 I have Paul McCartney as bass player always admired. 300 00:29:50,082 --> 00:29:52,962 He likes the bass made a cool instrument. 301 00:29:53,835 --> 00:29:58,874 Beatles fans know the bass is gone. No one knows where he went... 302 00:29:59,069 --> 00:30:06,561 so it would be great if someone found him. Because it is history. 303 00:30:17,041 --> 00:30:21,761 I have been a Beatles fan for as long as I can remember. There's only one band for me. 304 00:30:21,841 --> 00:30:26,800 The first album I opened was Sgt. Pepper. They all have a mustache. 305 00:30:27,280 --> 00:30:31,280 And I thought: When I grow up I also grow a mustache. 306 00:30:31,760 --> 00:30:34,880 I bought it second hand for £80. 307 00:30:34,960 --> 00:30:36,960 Not much more than Paul, I think. 308 00:30:37,120 --> 00:30:40,880 Can you play something on it? A piece of Day Tripper. 309 00:30:44,480 --> 00:30:47,120 A very small piece. I need a guitar pick 310 00:30:47,600 --> 00:30:51,359 I always wanted to play guitar. I tried that for years. 311 00:30:51,519 --> 00:30:55,279 I thought bass was easier. That's just four strings. 312 00:30:57,191 --> 00:30:58,759 Here's the Vox. 313 00:30:59,839 --> 00:31:03,279 You must have a Vox That's part of The Beatles. 314 00:31:05,759 --> 00:31:09,679 Don't know. It's broken. Stop. 315 00:31:25,518 --> 00:31:26,878 He does it. 316 00:31:45,997 --> 00:31:49,997 Still succeeded. - Yes, practice makes perfect. 317 00:32:06,076 --> 00:32:08,156 Schools start. 318 00:32:09,196 --> 00:32:13,436 I have been working in the ambulance for 23 years now. 319 00:32:13,716 --> 00:32:17,816 I do patient transport, so the non-urgent work. 320 00:32:18,396 --> 00:32:24,076 I work with Steve, a very nice guy. I've known him for about two or three years now. 321 00:32:24,236 --> 00:32:29,115 We always have fun when we serve together have. We get along well. 322 00:32:33,115 --> 00:32:36,875 I always look at guitars online... 323 00:32:36,955 --> 00:32:40,955 and came by accident once on the Höfner website. 324 00:32:41,115 --> 00:32:45,495 There I saw that Nick Wass was looking. 325 00:32:46,630 --> 00:32:50,075 That was for me - the holy grail. 326 00:32:50,555 --> 00:32:54,234 Paul McCartney's bass is like looking for the Bible. 327 00:32:54,394 --> 00:32:56,554 For a fan that's great. 328 00:33:00,714 --> 00:33:03,814 I was with Steve once and I said: 329 00:33:04,439 --> 00:33:07,514 I have a bass just like that like Paul McCartney's. 330 00:33:07,674 --> 00:33:10,374 Then he said, I know where his is. 331 00:33:11,034 --> 00:33:13,354 So I said, You're kidding. 332 00:33:16,394 --> 00:33:20,953 I say to him: I might know where it is. 333 00:33:23,320 --> 00:33:27,220 He looked at me and I said, OK. 334 00:33:28,053 --> 00:33:33,500 I'm going to tell you something. I don't know if it's true. I just heard it too. 335 00:33:34,360 --> 00:33:36,860 Where, he said? I don't know, I said. 336 00:33:37,640 --> 00:33:40,760 But I think that he was stolen from a house in London. 337 00:33:42,143 --> 00:33:49,399 I said to Steve, Can I tell Nick? what you told me? 338 00:33:50,919 --> 00:33:54,679 Just don't mention me, I said. He said: Do you know what we do? 339 00:33:54,839 --> 00:34:01,519 I send an email and tell a patient told us that in the ambulance. 340 00:34:02,199 --> 00:34:05,739 Those emails contained all kinds of things. 341 00:34:06,163 --> 00:34:11,318 One came from two guys who rode on an ambulance. 342 00:34:11,670 --> 00:34:14,518 They came up with some bullshit story... 343 00:34:14,776 --> 00:34:18,858 about a client they have in their ambulance had transported. 344 00:34:19,084 --> 00:34:22,738 A patient? - Nowadays they say client, right? 345 00:34:23,268 --> 00:34:28,838 She had told him a story that the bass had been stolen. 346 00:34:30,998 --> 00:34:37,677 And that he met a guy in a pub was given, in Ladbroke Grove in London. 347 00:34:38,837 --> 00:34:42,217 And I thought: More nonsense. 348 00:34:43,077 --> 00:34:45,257 But I wrote a polite response. 349 00:34:45,637 --> 00:34:49,857 That sounds like a very good book: Stories from the ambulance. 350 00:34:50,837 --> 00:34:52,677 And I left it at that. 351 00:35:00,790 --> 00:35:04,570 I got a call from someone from The Telegraph. He was looking for copy. 352 00:35:04,914 --> 00:35:09,357 So I said: We are looking to Paul McCartney's missing bass. 353 00:35:10,037 --> 00:35:13,796 He immediately commissioned an article... 354 00:35:14,880 --> 00:35:19,656 It appeared in The Telegraph on Saturday September 2. 355 00:35:19,957 --> 00:35:22,037 It came online at 4am. 356 00:35:23,188 --> 00:35:26,116 Within a few minutes the BBC got in touch. 357 00:35:26,543 --> 00:35:29,476 They wanted us on the breakfast program 358 00:35:29,636 --> 00:35:35,636 We're going to talk to Nick Wass, an expert on the Höfners area and missing basses. 359 00:35:35,796 --> 00:35:38,736 The man behind many of Paul McCartney's legendary instruments. 360 00:35:39,040 --> 00:35:45,216 Lots of interviews, radio interviews. Day and night. 361 00:35:45,876 --> 00:35:50,515 I realized why being famous must be terrible. 362 00:35:50,675 --> 00:35:56,595 The difference with the missing bass is that Paul had it renovated in 1964. 363 00:35:56,675 --> 00:36:01,115 The elements are now mounted on a black wooden plate. 364 00:36:01,460 --> 00:36:06,055 But when I show the viewers what we are looking for... 365 00:36:06,387 --> 00:36:09,261 This is him. - The point is... 366 00:36:09,427 --> 00:36:12,587 that he is very recognizable. 367 00:36:12,947 --> 00:36:17,986 But maybe it was destroyed. Or thrown away. 368 00:36:18,146 --> 00:36:22,306 Someone at Apple Records can do it have brought along. We don't know. 369 00:36:22,386 --> 00:36:25,006 No, that's the problem. 370 00:36:25,186 --> 00:36:29,186 It has probably been put away after the recording of Get Back. 371 00:36:29,346 --> 00:36:33,866 And after that, no one knows exactly what happened. 372 00:36:34,146 --> 00:36:40,065 Where it was stored. Who was there. That is unclear. 373 00:36:47,451 --> 00:36:54,305 More than 1,000 registered in the first 24 hours ten major newspapers and radio and TV channels. 374 00:36:54,465 --> 00:37:00,865 NBC in the US The New York Times, Le Monde, Der Spiegel in Germany. 375 00:37:01,025 --> 00:37:07,024 It went on and on. And then there were names completely unknown TV channels contact us. 376 00:37:07,184 --> 00:37:11,704 From Brazil and other countries. 377 00:37:12,183 --> 00:37:17,824 We felt like we had the spirit of The Beatles had called for. 378 00:37:18,877 --> 00:37:26,717 As if we had made contact with that positive vibe of peace and love... 379 00:37:26,950 --> 00:37:29,990 and with some music for people meant. 380 00:37:32,135 --> 00:37:38,649 In the first 48 hours we received 600 emails They just kept coming in. 381 00:37:39,109 --> 00:37:42,069 Then the journalist took in us take control... 382 00:37:42,365 --> 00:37:46,569 and we made a selection of what could be relevant. 383 00:38:07,828 --> 00:38:14,928 We read Ian Horne's email and knew immediately that we had to speak to him. 384 00:38:16,948 --> 00:38:22,767 Lance's tip was the only one that stated: I know Paul McCartney. 385 00:38:23,577 --> 00:38:27,817 And the only one that said: I worked for Paul McCartney. 386 00:38:40,393 --> 00:38:45,797 After breaking up with The Beatles we bumped into each other. 387 00:38:46,195 --> 00:38:50,536 Paul definitely wanted to go back in the saddle, as I call it. 388 00:38:50,983 --> 00:38:55,016 That was a big step, for he had gone into hiding for a while. 389 00:38:56,612 --> 00:39:00,196 It was quite depressing. 390 00:39:00,512 --> 00:39:03,736 You had broken with your friends for life. 391 00:39:04,423 --> 00:39:06,636 You wouldn't see them again. 392 00:39:07,303 --> 00:39:09,076 It was depressing. 393 00:39:09,775 --> 00:39:14,095 I didn't know if I should continue in music. 394 00:39:14,589 --> 00:39:17,975 I didn't feel good about it. It just didn't work out. 395 00:39:19,651 --> 00:39:24,855 But Linda said: You have to do it all get it in order and start doing something. 396 00:39:25,170 --> 00:39:28,735 So that's when we founded Wings. 397 00:39:30,693 --> 00:39:37,994 If I kept playing Beatles songs, and I knew that's what people wanted... 398 00:39:38,232 --> 00:39:41,014 then I would be a Beatles tribute band become. 399 00:39:41,273 --> 00:39:44,713 That didn't seem very nice to me 400 00:39:48,073 --> 00:39:51,273 He experimented with new things. 401 00:39:51,500 --> 00:39:53,900 A Yamaha bass, a Fender bass. 402 00:39:54,060 --> 00:39:57,420 He tried all the basses that people played on. 403 00:40:16,459 --> 00:40:20,059 We went on tour. What a tour. - Tell me. 404 00:40:20,219 --> 00:40:24,899 Normally you book for a tour at least the hotels. 405 00:40:25,956 --> 00:40:27,578 Everyone does that. 406 00:40:27,658 --> 00:40:30,818 But we tackled it as street musicians. 407 00:40:31,098 --> 00:40:34,818 We had a Ford Transit and we just drove onto the highway. 408 00:40:35,098 --> 00:40:39,018 With the kids, a few dogs, the whole band, all the instruments. 409 00:40:39,178 --> 00:40:44,418 There was another rental van driving behind with the roadies. 410 00:40:44,698 --> 00:40:49,618 And we just knocked on our door universities. Nottingham was the first. 411 00:40:49,948 --> 00:40:53,937 And then we said... I didn't say anything. I stayed in the van. 412 00:40:54,217 --> 00:40:56,777 One of us, Ian Horne, went in. 413 00:40:56,937 --> 00:41:01,657 'Paul McCartney is sitting outside. Can he perform tomorrow around lunchtime?' 414 00:41:02,217 --> 00:41:07,577 'Really and truly? Just check. Yes, that's good. Bring it on.' 415 00:41:17,656 --> 00:41:20,616 He loved it to get back in the saddle. 416 00:41:22,136 --> 00:41:26,856 He never played at the Höfner, before as far as I know. We did have him with us. 417 00:41:29,816 --> 00:41:34,696 So he was constantly carried away. - That was more my fault than his fault. 418 00:41:37,736 --> 00:41:40,936 If he asked for it, I would have it. 419 00:41:55,015 --> 00:42:00,275 The university tour was over and we... were recording Red Rose Speedway. 420 00:42:06,775 --> 00:42:09,754 That day we had been in the studio. 421 00:42:10,214 --> 00:42:13,774 We didn't leave until quite late, so we drove back to Trevor. 422 00:42:14,134 --> 00:42:18,014 Trevor is my brother-in-law He was my assistant. 423 00:42:18,374 --> 00:42:24,614 We had a bus full of equipment, the Höfner, acoustic guitars, amplifiers. 424 00:42:30,854 --> 00:42:35,853 I couldn't park in front of Trevor's door, because opposite there was a school. 425 00:42:36,133 --> 00:42:38,713 So you weren't allowed to park there. 426 00:42:39,395 --> 00:42:45,773 A little further on there is a T-junction That's Cambridge Gardens. 427 00:42:46,533 --> 00:42:49,853 There was a parking lot there and there I put it down... 428 00:42:50,213 --> 00:42:53,573 with the back of the bus clearly visible. 429 00:42:56,133 --> 00:43:01,572 It had a sturdy padlock on it and a roller shutter. 430 00:43:02,308 --> 00:43:04,612 So it felt safe. 431 00:43:05,972 --> 00:43:08,912 I walked back to Trevor's house and we went to sleep. 432 00:43:10,063 --> 00:43:14,132 The next morning the nightmare started. 433 00:43:15,648 --> 00:43:18,112 The padlock was off. 434 00:43:18,772 --> 00:43:22,891 I thought: My god. I broke out in a cold sweat. 435 00:43:23,171 --> 00:43:29,411 So I raised the shutter and immediately saw that things were missing. 436 00:43:30,851 --> 00:43:35,871 A couple of amps, two guitars, including the Höfner bass. 437 00:43:37,651 --> 00:43:43,891 I was out of my mind. Of worry, anger and sadness. 438 00:43:44,851 --> 00:43:50,570 Right in front of the back of the bus was 100 Cambridge Gardens. 439 00:43:50,930 --> 00:43:53,710 At the time that seemed okay. 440 00:43:54,290 --> 00:44:00,710 But there were many hippies living in squats in Lancaster Road and Cambridge Gardens. 441 00:44:01,090 --> 00:44:03,570 Lots of musicians. 442 00:44:04,450 --> 00:44:07,590 And of course there were thieves among them. 443 00:44:08,655 --> 00:44:12,350 Trevor found a certain Dik Mik quite suspicious. - Why? 444 00:44:12,530 --> 00:44:16,729 I don't know. They pointed at him. I didn't have anyone in mind. 445 00:44:17,009 --> 00:44:22,729 I had a feeling it was one of them was. They knew we worked for Paul. 446 00:44:23,409 --> 00:44:28,009 So we went armed, in case things got out of hand. 447 00:44:28,289 --> 00:44:30,369 What would get out of hand? 448 00:44:30,529 --> 00:44:35,289 I decided to visit that guy to resolve the matter immediately. 449 00:44:35,649 --> 00:44:38,608 We went in looking rather menacing. 450 00:44:38,768 --> 00:44:41,848 Dik Mik was still in bed and farts in his pants. 451 00:44:42,208 --> 00:44:44,688 We looked around. Nothing to be found. 452 00:44:46,688 --> 00:44:50,288 In the end we had to Paul tell the news. 453 00:44:52,152 --> 00:44:54,568 I knock on the door. He opens the door. 454 00:44:54,928 --> 00:45:01,568 'The bus has been broken into. The Höfner was stolen and some other stuff.' 455 00:45:02,419 --> 00:45:06,987 I took a deep breath and wondered how he would respond. 456 00:45:07,567 --> 00:45:11,727 It was incredible. He walked away and said, It doesn't matter. I have another one. 457 00:45:13,967 --> 00:45:16,847 I still thought: Would he think I did it? 458 00:45:18,327 --> 00:45:19,647 I called the police. 459 00:45:22,087 --> 00:45:24,847 They weren't very concerned. 460 00:45:26,527 --> 00:45:29,986 All newspapers had contacts at the police. 461 00:45:30,366 --> 00:45:34,886 A friend in the newsroom. Maybe they got some money. 462 00:45:35,246 --> 00:45:38,606 In this case the Standard got here's a tip about it. 463 00:45:38,686 --> 00:45:42,586 They didn't know much about it. Not even if it was true. 464 00:45:45,052 --> 00:45:51,186 The one who could best confirm whether his guitar was stolen, of course he was. 465 00:45:52,180 --> 00:45:56,685 I went to his house. I didn't feel comfortable with it. 466 00:45:56,765 --> 00:46:01,165 This wasn't that kind of journalism that I wanted to do. 467 00:46:01,725 --> 00:46:06,685 And if he were to open it, he would be stuck telling us to fuck off. 468 00:46:08,976 --> 00:46:13,545 An hour passed I was chatting with the photographer. 469 00:46:14,125 --> 00:46:20,204 And then suddenly the wooden gate opened and there was Paul. 470 00:46:22,204 --> 00:46:27,504 I remember exactly what he said first: What do you want, boys? 471 00:46:28,364 --> 00:46:33,644 The first thing I asked him, was as if the guitar had been taken... 472 00:46:33,724 --> 00:46:36,184 and it was so, so that was the confirmation. 473 00:46:36,364 --> 00:46:40,964 And it was the original bass which he had bought in Hamburg. 474 00:46:41,298 --> 00:46:44,403 I knew about that because I had followed The Beatles. 475 00:46:44,683 --> 00:46:49,723 So then I suddenly realized that I... was in the middle of a very big story. 476 00:46:49,883 --> 00:46:56,203 The most famous or legendary instrument of that time was stolen... 477 00:46:56,363 --> 00:46:58,283 and I spoke to the owner. 478 00:47:00,123 --> 00:47:02,823 He wanted to talk about it. 479 00:47:03,003 --> 00:47:09,442 He posed for the photographer and we talked for about four or five minutes. 480 00:47:09,722 --> 00:47:16,842 And then our presence began to stand out. Some people were crowding together. 481 00:47:17,112 --> 00:47:21,162 So he politely thanked us, opened the gate closed and went back inside. 482 00:47:26,922 --> 00:47:29,642 It was my first meeting with a Beatle. 483 00:47:29,801 --> 00:47:32,201 Their music has enriched my life enormously. 484 00:47:32,602 --> 00:47:39,021 And this may sound a bit obsequious, but I would have liked to say to him: 485 00:47:39,794 --> 00:47:43,361 'Thank you for everything you've done. Your music is great. 486 00:47:43,641 --> 00:47:45,621 I will always carry it with me.' 487 00:47:46,048 --> 00:47:49,801 Something like that. Just a thank you. That would have been nice. 488 00:47:49,961 --> 00:47:52,681 But I was in a hurry and that never happened. 489 00:47:59,519 --> 00:48:04,440 Paul had something at the time told a newspaper. 490 00:48:04,912 --> 00:48:07,560 So we thought he remembered that. 491 00:48:07,640 --> 00:48:10,680 It was his favorite bass and it was stolen. 492 00:48:11,400 --> 00:48:16,040 Nick wondered why no one had told him that. 493 00:48:16,200 --> 00:48:18,440 Why he that information had not received. 494 00:48:19,160 --> 00:48:22,700 I have to assume that he had forgotten. 495 00:48:23,366 --> 00:48:26,999 It's someone who has done a lot. 496 00:48:27,079 --> 00:48:29,719 He's been everywhere. 497 00:48:30,199 --> 00:48:33,559 Maybe it didn't stick. Don't know. 498 00:48:33,776 --> 00:48:38,659 There are rumors that you're dating again want to do with The Beatles. Is that correct? 499 00:48:39,141 --> 00:48:42,919 No. I don't think either of us is waiting for that. 500 00:48:47,959 --> 00:48:52,338 Maybe the bass was in 1972 not that important to Paul... 501 00:48:52,518 --> 00:48:56,918 like when he asked Nick to look for it. 502 00:48:57,212 --> 00:48:59,738 If you look at how The Beatles have done it. 503 00:49:00,198 --> 00:49:03,118 It started from scratch and it became something huge. 504 00:49:03,398 --> 00:49:08,678 I don't think anyone is there who wants to make it even bigger. 505 00:49:11,030 --> 00:49:15,917 The Höfner was a Beatles bass and he was no longer a Beatle. 506 00:49:19,666 --> 00:49:24,037 I can't blame him. They had had a rough life. 507 00:49:24,497 --> 00:49:27,977 Despite the fame and money they had gone through a rough time. 508 00:49:30,330 --> 00:49:33,637 And the Höfner was part of it. 509 00:49:34,810 --> 00:49:37,157 They wanted to put that behind them. 510 00:49:42,836 --> 00:49:47,236 Ian thought the bass had gone in at 100 Cambridge Gardens. 511 00:49:47,396 --> 00:49:51,956 So we wanted to find out more about that Dik Mik. 512 00:49:52,116 --> 00:49:56,936 Because certainly Trevor and also Ian suspected him at the time. 513 00:49:57,316 --> 00:50:01,876 Dik Mik was a roadie and he was a pot dealer. 514 00:50:02,545 --> 00:50:08,335 We found out that in the basement from Cambridge Gardens 100... 515 00:50:08,508 --> 00:50:14,508 the band Hawkwind and some of its members of The Pink Fairies attended. 516 00:50:25,715 --> 00:50:27,655 Good girl. 517 00:50:31,634 --> 00:50:35,074 Trevor and Ian were good friends of mine. 518 00:50:35,850 --> 00:50:41,074 The next day I saw Trevor and he said: 519 00:50:41,234 --> 00:50:46,014 Paul's bass is at Cambridge tonight Gardens stolen from the van. 520 00:50:46,194 --> 00:50:47,754 I said: What? 521 00:50:48,434 --> 00:50:55,813 They said: Keep your ears open and see if people are talking about it. 522 00:50:56,637 --> 00:50:58,413 Who was Dik Mik? 523 00:50:58,673 --> 00:51:03,553 Dik Mik was part of it of Hawkwind's original line-up. 524 00:51:05,233 --> 00:51:09,533 Unfortunately, Dik was Mik most of the time tripping on Mandrax. 525 00:51:09,732 --> 00:51:15,332 But he may be outside stood smoking against the bus... 526 00:51:15,593 --> 00:51:20,333 and someone asked: Who owns that bus? 'From Wings.' 527 00:51:21,952 --> 00:51:25,752 I've heard of Hawkwind equipment was also lost. 528 00:51:26,112 --> 00:51:28,192 But that's the tip of the iceberg. 529 00:51:28,372 --> 00:51:34,292 Everything that happened around Hawkwind was quite problematic. 530 00:51:40,909 --> 00:51:43,089 In May 1972... 531 00:51:43,462 --> 00:51:49,101 there was £10,000 worth of equipment stolen from Hawkwind's bus. 532 00:51:49,787 --> 00:51:55,087 And old newspaper articles showed that they were no longer welcome at the BBC... 533 00:51:55,384 --> 00:51:58,061 because they stole a microphone. 534 00:51:58,261 --> 00:52:03,781 They also have an anti-Beatles song written... 535 00:52:03,941 --> 00:52:06,701 so that all sounded very anarchic. 536 00:52:07,381 --> 00:52:13,220 It looked like Hawkwind had a motive. And that they were capable of it. 537 00:52:14,820 --> 00:52:18,600 Ladbroke Grove was quite alternative. 538 00:52:19,940 --> 00:52:25,700 You had the hippies. There were the fruit and vegetable stalls. 539 00:52:27,620 --> 00:52:33,080 A lot of scum came to Portobello Road and then it went downhill. 540 00:52:33,860 --> 00:52:38,259 It got rougher. People started spraying there. 541 00:52:38,819 --> 00:52:41,619 Things were stolen. 542 00:52:47,619 --> 00:52:51,759 Paul Rudolph described a place where there was a lot of poverty. 543 00:52:52,019 --> 00:52:55,019 Many people who head kept just above water. 544 00:52:55,699 --> 00:53:02,178 It wasn't surprising if something came out of a bus was stolen. That happened very often. 545 00:53:05,138 --> 00:53:11,258 It felt like that was the last place on Earth was where that bass should be. 546 00:53:12,738 --> 00:53:19,218 He had to stay far away those poorly lit streets. 547 00:53:21,378 --> 00:53:27,077 With all those political slogans on sheets hanging from the windows. 548 00:53:27,537 --> 00:53:30,577 And anarchists and theft. 549 00:53:35,676 --> 00:53:38,657 If you like the bass in that area suggests... 550 00:53:39,137 --> 00:53:43,857 do you actually want him there? just save from it. 551 00:53:53,296 --> 00:53:55,856 But then the penny dropped and I thought: 552 00:53:56,216 --> 00:54:01,476 I suffered for six months received an email from someone... 553 00:54:01,856 --> 00:54:06,276 who said the bass in Ladbroke Grove had been stolen. 554 00:54:06,656 --> 00:54:11,816 So I started digging through that pile of emails again and then I found him. 555 00:54:12,096 --> 00:54:14,656 It belonged to Andrew Dickinson. 556 00:54:16,089 --> 00:54:21,608 So I reached out and said that something had happened. I didn't say anything. 557 00:54:21,819 --> 00:54:27,659 But new information had emerged and if they could tell us more. 558 00:54:30,256 --> 00:54:34,659 I honestly didn't think so that we would hear anything again. 559 00:54:34,939 --> 00:54:38,079 It wasn't all that big of a deal. 560 00:54:39,215 --> 00:54:41,339 What bothers you? - My neck. 561 00:54:41,499 --> 00:54:44,178 He was really pressing hard on it. 562 00:54:44,458 --> 00:54:50,578 With his elbow, I think. They do a lot with their elbow. Press hard. 563 00:54:51,301 --> 00:54:55,638 Did you have a 'happy ending'? - No, no point. 564 00:54:56,535 --> 00:55:00,918 I went back to Steve and said: That Nick emailed me again. 565 00:55:01,109 --> 00:55:02,458 Next time. 566 00:55:02,756 --> 00:55:08,457 It's your story. Would you like to say more about it? 567 00:55:10,815 --> 00:55:14,617 I immediately thought: I have my mouth shut opened. He doesn't let go. 568 00:55:17,484 --> 00:55:22,857 I didn't want that to be known my first house at Ladbroke Grove was... 569 00:55:23,600 --> 00:55:25,297 not far from Grenfell Tower. 570 00:55:26,156 --> 00:55:29,757 It was very busy there a coming and going of people. 571 00:55:30,702 --> 00:55:36,961 I was told who you could talk to and where you were allowed to come. 572 00:55:37,741 --> 00:55:41,281 There were limits where you were and were not allowed to come. 573 00:55:41,741 --> 00:55:46,221 So you went with a limited number of people. 574 00:55:47,224 --> 00:55:48,963 My father had a few jobs. 575 00:55:50,604 --> 00:55:53,404 He played football a lot. Saturday and Sunday mornings. 576 00:55:55,004 --> 00:55:59,823 His friends always said how good my father was as a semi-professional. 577 00:56:00,283 --> 00:56:02,103 Because he was good. 578 00:56:03,483 --> 00:56:07,503 There was a pub, The Admiral Blake. 579 00:56:08,283 --> 00:56:12,223 There went my father and his friends always go. 580 00:56:12,890 --> 00:56:15,563 Sometimes I was allowed to come along. 581 00:56:16,443 --> 00:56:19,543 It was a good place. For information and relaxation. 582 00:56:19,775 --> 00:56:26,914 Good for social contacts and to know what was going on. 583 00:56:27,772 --> 00:56:29,652 Illegal things happened. 584 00:56:30,012 --> 00:56:36,292 If you needed a prong or a shovel, there were a few in a truck. 585 00:56:37,365 --> 00:56:42,272 If you didn't lose something, you always found someone who wanted it. 586 00:56:46,412 --> 00:56:51,871 We weren't always on duty together, so I got the information piecemeal. 587 00:56:55,291 --> 00:57:00,491 If at some point I schedule it saw, I thought: Oh no, with him again. 588 00:57:05,199 --> 00:57:09,451 I need a bit of a smokescreen pull up, because he won't let go. 589 00:57:10,971 --> 00:57:17,690 He heard it had been stolen on the street where they lived. 590 00:57:18,170 --> 00:57:22,650 They sold it to the bartender and then he was thrown into the canal. 591 00:57:23,130 --> 00:57:26,650 It belonged to Paul McCartney. They didn't lose them. 592 00:57:28,163 --> 00:57:33,063 We grabbed the street book. I said: That's the pub and there's the canal. 593 00:57:33,303 --> 00:57:37,922 He asked: Where do you think? Don't know. I wasn't there. 594 00:57:38,275 --> 00:57:43,555 But if I lived in that pub I would walk to the bridge and throw him in. 595 00:57:43,815 --> 00:57:49,375 And then he said: Do you think we? search with a boat? No, I said. 596 00:57:49,735 --> 00:57:56,235 Andrew replied and said he would ask his colleague. 597 00:57:56,811 --> 00:57:59,115 And then I got an email from Steve. 598 00:57:59,575 --> 00:58:03,255 We now had a strong lead that it was stolen... 599 00:58:03,415 --> 00:58:05,434 and ended up in that pub. 600 00:58:05,699 --> 00:58:09,474 According to the email he had been thrown into the canal. 601 00:58:10,302 --> 00:58:12,294 That was a real low point. 602 00:58:12,774 --> 00:58:18,634 That that bass had been dumped in the water there. 603 00:58:22,134 --> 00:58:26,334 I remember not doing this found the desired result. 604 00:58:26,694 --> 00:58:30,613 But we knew now where Paul McCartney's bass was. 605 00:58:30,773 --> 00:58:35,173 Unfortunately he was at the bottom of the canal and he was gone forever. 606 00:58:55,732 --> 00:58:59,012 My manager got a call by Paul's manager. 607 00:58:59,337 --> 00:59:03,172 "Richard wants you to work with Paul." I thought it was a joke. 608 00:59:03,652 --> 00:59:10,452 I was 33 at the time. Not some 8 year old who was a member of the fan club. 609 00:59:17,332 --> 00:59:20,591 We had a flying start. 610 00:59:24,851 --> 00:59:29,751 We just recorded with two guitars and singing. It was a lot of fun. 611 00:59:35,491 --> 00:59:38,551 There is a version of My Brave Face where I sing the lead. 612 00:59:39,127 --> 00:59:42,751 So Paul could enjoy himself on the bass. 613 00:59:43,011 --> 00:59:45,570 But you didn't actually hear the vocals. 614 00:59:47,970 --> 00:59:52,290 Because that bass just sounded too present. 615 00:59:54,770 --> 00:59:58,730 At some point I asked where the Höfner was. 616 00:59:59,296 --> 01:00:01,310 And suddenly he was there. 617 01:00:01,890 --> 01:00:06,390 Elvis Costello said: Why don't you try your Höfner bass, your violin bass? 618 01:00:06,770 --> 01:00:11,329 I said: That's possible but he gets upset rather quickly. 619 01:00:11,809 --> 01:00:15,089 That's really true, because it is not an expensive instrument. 620 01:00:15,649 --> 01:00:20,749 So I stopped recording it. There I used more modern instruments for that. 621 01:00:21,009 --> 01:00:24,049 But he said: It has such a beautiful sound. Come on. 622 01:00:25,963 --> 01:00:31,689 But that wasn't the missing '61 bass. This was the one from '63. 623 01:00:32,049 --> 01:00:36,848 But I think there was at that point something changed for Paul. 624 01:00:45,568 --> 01:00:51,148 The recordings were very good. He has a nice sound for a small bass. 625 01:00:54,528 --> 01:00:56,728 It felt like confirmation. 626 01:00:57,008 --> 01:01:00,487 You heard very clearly its own character. 627 01:01:01,247 --> 01:01:06,167 He had the right sound. As if someone was singing 628 01:01:12,287 --> 01:01:16,727 Elvis Costello suggested to use that '63 bass. 629 01:01:17,087 --> 01:01:23,167 Maybe that's that thought again asked: Where did the first one go? 630 01:01:24,962 --> 01:01:29,886 Around '89, '90 we would going on a very big world tour. 631 01:01:30,046 --> 01:01:35,786 And then Paul said: Those people come to a performance. What do they want? 632 01:01:36,623 --> 01:01:41,766 They want The Beatles. They want some big moments. 633 01:02:14,884 --> 01:02:18,124 Paul is into certain things very nostalgic. 634 01:02:19,197 --> 01:02:21,164 They are important to him. 635 01:02:21,324 --> 01:02:24,844 Not from a collecting point of view, but emotional. 636 01:02:25,004 --> 01:02:27,704 They are part of its history and his life... 637 01:02:28,169 --> 01:02:33,184 and he probably missed the bass. He just wanted it back. 638 01:02:34,924 --> 01:02:38,444 If something is stolen, you want it back 639 01:02:38,604 --> 01:02:42,363 Especially if you are attached to it. 640 01:02:42,523 --> 01:02:47,643 And I found it annoying that someone told him had stolen. 'How dare you? Give back. 641 01:02:50,085 --> 01:02:52,923 Research often results in a breakthrough... 642 01:02:53,159 --> 01:02:56,863 where you do something gets on a silver platter. 643 01:02:59,163 --> 01:03:05,642 Who is Stephen? Who is that man? And why does he know so much about that theft? 644 01:03:07,408 --> 01:03:12,268 I did research to 100 Cambridge Gardens. 645 01:03:12,442 --> 01:03:15,002 Who is there in the electoral register? were registered. 646 01:03:16,394 --> 01:03:21,994 I went through the list and then we came across the name Glenister. 647 01:03:25,147 --> 01:03:29,540 His parents were registered in 102 the electoral register at 100 Cambridge Gardens. 648 01:03:44,248 --> 01:03:47,608 We were on holiday in Spain when my phone rang. 649 01:03:48,488 --> 01:03:49,948 "Steve Glenister?" Yes. 650 01:03:50,211 --> 01:03:53,071 'With Nick Wass from the missing bass.' 651 01:03:54,051 --> 01:03:56,291 Oh yes. Hello. 652 01:03:59,756 --> 01:04:05,776 I think you know more than you're letting on. Are you willing to tell something? 653 01:04:05,951 --> 01:04:09,211 Not really, I said. That's all I know. I think so, he said. 654 01:04:09,454 --> 01:04:11,714 I knew I had to ask him. 655 01:04:12,412 --> 01:04:17,694 I said, Listen, Steve. Just tell me what happened. 656 01:04:18,018 --> 01:04:21,733 I know you know. Otherwise you wouldn't have sent all that to me. 657 01:04:22,013 --> 01:04:25,473 I know you lived there. What happened? 658 01:04:27,321 --> 01:04:29,921 My father often came to watch when I played football. 659 01:04:30,807 --> 01:04:35,087 He never gave compliments. There was always something that could have been better. 660 01:04:35,767 --> 01:04:40,007 He rode along once and I had the car radio on. 661 01:04:41,668 --> 01:04:42,968 How old were you then? 662 01:04:43,155 --> 01:04:46,954 The children had just arrived so mid twenties. 663 01:04:48,630 --> 01:04:53,190 They dialed a number. I said: The Beatles. I like that one. 664 01:04:53,350 --> 01:04:58,670 I did that often. The louder the radio was on, the less he could say. 665 01:04:58,950 --> 01:05:02,630 I was a bit fed up so I turned up the radio. 666 01:05:07,305 --> 01:05:09,245 He said: 667 01:05:11,538 --> 01:05:14,337 Did I ever tell you about that guitar? 668 01:05:17,237 --> 01:05:19,037 I said: What guitar? 669 01:05:19,697 --> 01:05:22,077 He said: Paul McCartney's. 670 01:05:23,617 --> 01:05:26,377 No, I said and he laughed So I turned down the radio. 671 01:05:27,057 --> 01:05:30,877 He said: I stole that. 672 01:05:31,937 --> 01:05:34,337 What do you mean, stolen? 673 01:05:36,577 --> 01:05:41,356 He said: I didn't even know it was one guitar was. I broke open that bus. 674 01:05:42,016 --> 01:05:44,476 When I realized it, I thought: 675 01:05:45,966 --> 01:05:49,266 It belongs to Paul McCartney. It was that shape. 676 01:05:52,012 --> 01:05:54,752 I could remember his face completely imagine. 677 01:05:55,132 --> 01:05:59,112 What do you do if you steal the Mona Lisa? You can't sell it. 678 01:06:00,092 --> 01:06:02,411 It was that family on the top floor. 679 01:06:02,971 --> 01:06:05,411 Ian and Trevor had them overlooked. 680 01:06:05,771 --> 01:06:09,231 No one went to them with pliers. 681 01:06:09,611 --> 01:06:12,771 We have them in the beginning also overlooked. 682 01:06:12,990 --> 01:06:17,790 That is the most exceptional thing of this whole story 683 01:06:19,139 --> 01:06:24,218 The bass came from the bar owner from The Admiral Blake rightly so. 684 01:06:25,645 --> 01:06:28,177 His name was Ron. 685 01:06:29,159 --> 01:06:34,627 My father said to Ron: Give it to one of your children. In exchange for some drinks. 686 01:06:35,069 --> 01:06:40,669 I asked: How much then? He said: I was in the lorem all day. 687 01:06:41,235 --> 01:06:46,855 Ron got that guitar and he came to one of his children, Graham. 688 01:06:49,389 --> 01:06:54,507 He was with a pub owner ended up, Ron Guest. 689 01:06:55,468 --> 01:06:59,228 We knew he was him to his son Graham... 690 01:06:59,388 --> 01:07:02,828 the one in a terrible car accident had died. 691 01:07:03,308 --> 01:07:06,548 Then we went to the other children go see... 692 01:07:06,914 --> 01:07:11,834 and I was able to make contact with Elaine Guest, the youngest child. 693 01:07:12,108 --> 01:07:13,888 And I talked to her. 694 01:07:16,413 --> 01:07:21,307 This is me on the roof with the two dogs. The roof was our garden. 695 01:07:21,692 --> 01:07:24,372 I don't know any better than Graham always had a bass. 696 01:07:24,854 --> 01:07:27,812 I can't remember that it was suddenly there. 697 01:07:28,692 --> 01:07:32,612 It was always Graham's bass and he used to play it all the time. 698 01:07:33,212 --> 01:07:37,012 He didn't mind me being with him plopped down and sat down to listen. 699 01:07:38,169 --> 01:07:42,649 Where was he here? - In the small bedroom. 700 01:07:45,314 --> 01:07:48,194 He didn't know that it belonged to Paul McCartney? 701 01:07:48,754 --> 01:07:51,874 Absolutely not. 702 01:07:52,274 --> 01:07:58,834 You're not normal if you hear the bass from buy Paul McCartney and give it to your son? 703 01:07:59,387 --> 01:08:03,847 That you take him somewhere and someone says: That's from Paul McCartney. 704 01:08:04,733 --> 01:08:06,073 But no, so. 705 01:08:06,876 --> 01:08:11,935 Would you have liked to play it? - Now that I know it was his, yes. 706 01:08:14,315 --> 01:08:16,115 Were you a Beatles fan? - No. 707 01:08:16,539 --> 01:08:21,499 I found The Beatles always a band for girls. 708 01:08:23,973 --> 01:08:31,199 After Graham's death, her brother took Hayden brought the bass from the parental home. 709 01:08:31,784 --> 01:08:34,698 Hayden divorced in the 1990s. 710 01:08:35,024 --> 01:08:39,078 He remarried and had settled in Hastings. 711 01:08:41,221 --> 01:08:44,718 He left his wife and children for another. 712 01:08:45,098 --> 01:08:48,738 That's why there is no more contact been with him. 713 01:08:52,507 --> 01:08:57,577 As far as I know, the bass was down in the attic of the house in Hastings. 714 01:09:06,668 --> 01:09:10,097 We were in Los Angeles, rehearsing. 715 01:09:11,677 --> 01:09:16,437 I got a call from a colleague who said: 716 01:09:16,697 --> 01:09:19,997 Someone has been to the farm with a bass. 717 01:09:20,377 --> 01:09:24,516 It would be Paul's. That missing bass what everyone is talking about. 718 01:09:24,776 --> 01:09:26,696 Because it had been in the press. 719 01:09:27,256 --> 01:09:32,076 She had left some photos and took the bass back. 720 01:09:32,651 --> 01:09:35,956 I received the photos by email and I felt... 721 01:09:36,136 --> 01:09:40,636 I felt it immediately. I thought: This is very interesting. 722 01:09:41,166 --> 01:09:45,876 The next day I was with Paul in the morning and I had my laptop with me. 723 01:09:46,352 --> 01:09:49,955 We were going to the studio and I said: I have to tell you something. 724 01:09:50,215 --> 01:09:53,475 And he was shocked: Is it something bad? No, it's okay. 725 01:09:53,735 --> 01:09:57,295 I opened my laptop and I was really shaking. 726 01:09:57,655 --> 01:10:01,475 I saw the suitcase he was in and immediately I thought: 727 01:10:01,850 --> 01:10:04,795 I have it back. Dear help. 728 01:10:05,386 --> 01:10:08,315 I checked everything and thought: That's him. 729 01:10:09,139 --> 01:10:14,774 The finish. It was definitely the suitcase. I remember wearing it in there. 730 01:10:15,424 --> 01:10:18,214 So I arranged for someone to pick him up. 731 01:10:20,047 --> 01:10:25,894 I said: Do you have it? He said: Yes, he is here. 732 01:10:26,371 --> 01:10:30,734 And then I said: Keep him with you. Don't let anyone... Put it away. 733 01:10:38,309 --> 01:10:41,253 We didn't lose sight of him. 734 01:10:57,048 --> 01:11:00,073 I was sitting on the couch at home. 735 01:11:00,623 --> 01:11:03,545 Cathy sat there. And then my cell phone rang. 736 01:11:03,813 --> 01:11:09,972 And I hear a voice: The bass is back. We have the bass. 737 01:11:10,591 --> 01:11:12,972 And I thought: Who is this? 738 01:11:13,332 --> 01:11:17,652 Then I realized it. That Liverpool thing accent. It was Paul McCartney. 739 01:11:18,212 --> 01:11:22,392 We didn't know against whom we had to say it. 740 01:11:22,772 --> 01:11:27,732 For some reasons we had to keep it a secret for a while... 741 01:11:27,892 --> 01:11:33,551 until everything was in order and everyone confirmed it was my bass. 742 01:11:33,811 --> 01:11:36,191 People like Nick. 743 01:11:36,851 --> 01:11:42,071 So it was really nice to be able to have him call and say: You'll never guess. 744 01:11:42,897 --> 01:11:47,371 It was unbelievable. I thought: Wow. Really and truly? 745 01:11:47,731 --> 01:11:52,331 I think I said to Paul, Here I would like to drink a cold beer. 746 01:11:52,611 --> 01:11:57,190 And he said: Me too. Is that one of those? German beer I drank in Hamburg? 747 01:11:57,688 --> 01:12:01,910 It was great, because I could hear what Paul was saying to Nick. 748 01:12:02,290 --> 01:12:04,270 That was just great. 749 01:12:04,530 --> 01:12:07,570 It was so fantastic to think... 750 01:12:07,730 --> 01:12:13,170 that Nick was in Germany and Paul in LA and that the bass were in Sussex. 751 01:12:13,482 --> 01:12:14,850 And we succeeded. 752 01:12:18,310 --> 01:12:22,629 I have in the past year had two strokes. 753 01:12:23,307 --> 01:12:27,209 That really affects our lives changed. 754 01:12:27,853 --> 01:12:34,409 And the bass has that situation absolutely illuminated for us. 755 01:12:34,769 --> 01:12:37,089 You can focus on something. 756 01:12:49,246 --> 01:12:54,906 Paul McCartney's beloved bass from the early days of The Beatles... 757 01:12:55,066 --> 01:12:56,746 had disappeared without a trace. 758 01:12:57,127 --> 01:13:00,366 But now, 51 years later, he has been found. 759 01:13:01,252 --> 01:13:06,832 James Dunham visited the woman who didn't realize what she had to offer. 760 01:13:07,059 --> 01:13:10,385 I wash the many guitars I have organizing. 761 01:13:11,165 --> 01:13:14,585 When I googled him, he immediately came forward. 762 01:13:15,165 --> 01:13:18,245 I panicked and went straight to his house. 763 01:13:18,605 --> 01:13:20,945 Because I knew he lived nearby. 764 01:13:21,405 --> 01:13:24,285 I finally found it somewhere between the meadows. 765 01:13:24,653 --> 01:13:27,873 It had been in the news that we were looking for that bass... 766 01:13:28,040 --> 01:13:32,520 and maybe that's why Cathy thought: Let me give it back. 767 01:13:33,364 --> 01:13:40,279 He has had a completely different life with all those people I don't know. 768 01:13:42,277 --> 01:13:44,399 And finally, he is ended up with Cathy 769 01:13:49,297 --> 01:13:54,039 Remember, this is Paul's bass. He is very fond of it. 770 01:13:54,423 --> 01:13:57,839 If you leave a guitar in the attic, that is disastrous. 771 01:13:59,163 --> 01:14:01,258 You have to put it all together... 772 01:14:02,270 --> 01:14:06,358 putting the strings on and that first thing agree and hope it's right. 773 01:14:07,105 --> 01:14:11,958 That's where the craftsmanship comes in look. And Martin is an old-fashioned professional. 774 01:14:12,205 --> 01:14:14,785 Guitar craftsman. The way he works and does things. 775 01:14:15,567 --> 01:14:20,485 Those poor people, it does mean something to them something, but they don't worry about it. 776 01:14:21,017 --> 01:14:23,845 They say: It's just a guitar. 777 01:14:24,125 --> 01:14:29,264 And I understand that now, but still not completely. 778 01:14:29,724 --> 01:14:34,684 Just stay away from it. Stealing is not something to be proud of. Period. 779 01:14:35,009 --> 01:14:38,304 But we've all done it. 780 01:14:39,431 --> 01:14:47,084 But it is the legendary guitar that he had in his hands. 781 01:14:48,832 --> 01:14:53,743 The implications, the magnitude... 782 01:14:56,293 --> 01:15:00,653 its meaning for Paul McCartney and others... 783 01:15:01,333 --> 01:15:05,093 that's all so huge... Jesus. 784 01:15:05,573 --> 01:15:07,413 Overwhelming. - A little bit. 785 01:15:07,893 --> 01:15:15,033 I don't want people to think that my father was not a nice guy. 786 01:15:15,317 --> 01:15:18,212 Because he was a very nice guy. 787 01:15:20,212 --> 01:15:23,212 But we had home not a receipt for everything. 788 01:15:24,292 --> 01:15:27,892 We had to anyway trying to make ends meet. 789 01:15:31,172 --> 01:15:37,172 I don't blame him too much. It's really just petty theft. 790 01:15:38,182 --> 01:15:41,591 Something we have in Liverpool could have done. 791 01:15:42,051 --> 01:15:48,231 It's there and I can see it. push back, so that's what I do 792 01:15:49,520 --> 01:15:56,131 We were able to put that behind us quite quickly, because The Beatles took over... 793 01:15:56,621 --> 01:15:58,621 and we found an honest profession. 794 01:15:58,993 --> 01:16:03,193 But I can sympathize with people who are not so lucky. 795 01:16:04,033 --> 01:16:06,472 So I don't really blame him. 796 01:16:13,611 --> 01:16:18,071 I don't feel comfortable with it. I'm not happy with it. 797 01:16:20,437 --> 01:16:27,057 You still get your father's name through the mud and that is not right. 798 01:16:30,117 --> 01:16:32,996 My father never said that before that he loved me. 799 01:16:33,667 --> 01:16:37,527 Not that that bothered me. That's just how it was. 800 01:16:40,039 --> 01:16:45,147 When my son was born... 801 01:16:45,637 --> 01:16:48,467 I called home and he... 802 01:16:57,502 --> 01:17:01,646 He never said that. I know it from my mother. 803 01:17:02,523 --> 01:17:05,366 But I heard later that he was crying. 804 01:17:06,779 --> 01:17:12,726 My father never did that. I never saw a tear in his eye. 805 01:17:14,466 --> 01:17:16,526 Not that I know of. 806 01:17:17,195 --> 01:17:21,305 But he had to cry, because the name would not be lost. 807 01:17:32,625 --> 01:17:37,725 Have you seen that one? that I sent you? With that glue? 808 01:17:38,305 --> 01:17:40,925 No, just the one with the buttons. 809 01:17:41,185 --> 01:17:45,385 I sent you another one on which Martin glues the neck 810 01:17:46,145 --> 01:17:48,844 Great. Is that Martin? - Yeah, just say hi to him. 811 01:17:49,104 --> 01:17:53,064 Hello, Paul. Your bass has been saved. 812 01:17:53,830 --> 01:17:57,670 I know. Thanks, it's great. - Don't mention it. 813 01:17:57,952 --> 01:18:03,024 Nice workshop too. - Yes, beautiful. And you should see his garden. 814 01:18:03,504 --> 01:18:06,744 Sure. - Nice, huh? 815 01:18:07,504 --> 01:18:09,844 With a pond. - Beautiful. 816 01:18:10,224 --> 01:18:13,603 I can't wait to play it. - Won't be long. 817 01:18:13,983 --> 01:18:16,683 All the best, Paul - Thank you. 818 01:18:21,914 --> 01:18:27,743 I have a feeling that Paul has spent the last few years twenty years have come to realize more... 819 01:18:27,903 --> 01:18:33,503 how good they and their songs were. When he plays them, he really enjoys them. 820 01:18:33,743 --> 01:18:38,502 'What a good song. Good for us.' Then he is so proud of their achievements. 821 01:18:38,981 --> 01:18:43,362 It is important that he acts on it for him. He loves it. 822 01:18:44,308 --> 01:18:46,762 The circle has come full circle for him. 823 01:18:50,382 --> 01:18:52,682 We can take a break. 824 01:18:53,262 --> 01:18:57,462 Fine. I want to show you something. - You have something for me. 825 01:18:58,829 --> 01:19:03,029 I think you'll want to see it. Just come along for a moment. 826 01:19:06,914 --> 01:19:08,534 There he is. 827 01:19:08,975 --> 01:19:12,135 You must see. Then look. 828 01:19:12,815 --> 01:19:15,595 He did a fantastic job. 829 01:19:21,018 --> 01:19:24,775 I wanted to show you that. A note from Martin. 830 01:19:26,442 --> 01:19:31,521 I have been able to get music back many times bring in old, broken instruments. 831 01:19:32,189 --> 01:19:34,849 To do that with your bass, was a real pleasure. 832 01:19:35,229 --> 01:19:39,249 Thank you. Hopefully you're happy with it. Just keep going. 833 01:19:39,529 --> 01:19:44,969 Thank you, Martin. Beautiful work. I love those kinds of guys. 834 01:19:59,228 --> 01:20:02,028 Fifty years ago that you last played it. 835 01:20:03,556 --> 01:20:05,316 Insane. - That's really true, isn't it? 836 01:20:05,685 --> 01:20:08,305 More than fifty years. Insane 837 01:20:08,621 --> 01:20:13,041 I'm curious what you did then. - Rehearsing for something. 838 01:20:13,327 --> 01:20:16,581 And if they had parked the bus... It's been a long time. 839 01:20:16,861 --> 01:20:20,740 The bus is there and those guys go for a beer. 840 01:20:21,275 --> 01:20:27,240 And they decide to leave it alone to pick it up the next day. 841 01:20:28,200 --> 01:20:30,120 Mistake. - Big mistake. 842 01:20:30,300 --> 01:20:35,740 He's being stolen and ends up at the local pub. 843 01:20:39,521 --> 01:20:43,339 It has a stronger, fuller sound, I think. 844 01:20:55,736 --> 01:20:57,579 There she is. 845 01:20:58,651 --> 01:21:00,391 Welcome home, baby. 846 01:21:01,134 --> 01:21:02,991 Just look. 847 01:21:03,851 --> 01:21:05,931 Crazy story. 848 01:21:08,411 --> 01:21:13,970 You have to go way back to find someone who didn't grow up with The Beatles. 849 01:21:14,730 --> 01:21:20,870 There's something about the relationship between us ordinary people and The Beatles. 850 01:21:21,130 --> 01:21:25,210 You think you know them, because you know their music. 851 01:21:28,570 --> 01:21:30,530 The music went all over the world. 852 01:21:31,290 --> 01:21:34,349 But the bass took that crazy route. 853 01:21:34,729 --> 01:21:38,329 When he got off that bus at Cambridge Gardens disappeared... 854 01:21:38,709 --> 01:21:42,589 he entered that ordinary British world rightly so. 855 01:21:43,449 --> 01:21:46,049 Here he got lost. This is where he ended up 856 01:21:46,625 --> 01:21:51,449 In ordinary streets, ordinary pubs, in ordinary families. 857 01:21:52,009 --> 01:21:55,069 And that in itself has something very incredible. 858 01:22:10,408 --> 01:22:16,388 In all modesty I think so was an important piece of the puzzle. 859 01:22:17,048 --> 01:22:21,468 If I hadn't been a Beatles fan and hadn't met Steve... 860 01:22:22,522 --> 01:22:26,387 and didn't play guitar, all those things that fell into place... 861 01:22:26,567 --> 01:22:28,967 then he might never have been found. 862 01:22:29,269 --> 01:22:33,207 To your father. On that old one. And to absent friends. 863 01:22:35,687 --> 01:22:40,507 We didn't find him alone for Paul, but for all Beatles fans. 864 01:22:40,887 --> 01:22:44,267 So that all those boys from back then boys like me... 865 01:22:44,647 --> 01:22:47,247 who are all old geezers now... 866 01:22:47,427 --> 01:22:50,386 could see that bass one more time. 867 01:23:12,979 --> 01:23:16,517 The logo is completely different. - That's the old logo. 868 01:23:16,733 --> 01:23:19,945 The old logo, of course. 869 01:23:20,405 --> 01:23:22,465 How does he feel? - Great. 870 01:23:23,057 --> 01:23:25,525 Come on, let's open the doors. 871 01:23:32,245 --> 01:23:36,025 How nice to see you. - Great to see you. 872 01:23:36,485 --> 01:23:39,365 For the first time. - Finally we meet. 873 01:23:39,679 --> 01:23:42,464 Maybe he plays the bass. Who knows? 874 01:23:55,121 --> 01:23:58,056 I have to tell you a story. 875 01:24:00,404 --> 01:24:05,903 I had some time ago next to this bass another one. 876 01:24:06,400 --> 01:24:09,023 My original bass. 877 01:24:09,683 --> 01:24:11,883 And it was stolen. 878 01:24:12,243 --> 01:24:16,323 We've been looking for it for fifty years. 879 01:24:17,523 --> 01:24:19,203 I have it back. 880 01:24:21,290 --> 01:24:25,383 And here's to his first appearance in fifty years... 881 01:24:26,200 --> 01:24:28,083 my original bass. 882 01:25:09,334 --> 01:25:13,181 We'd like to see you hold it. If you wanted to get him. 883 01:25:13,361 --> 01:25:15,521 I have it here. 884 01:25:16,801 --> 01:25:20,240 There she is. My old darling. 885 01:25:21,120 --> 01:25:23,740 Do you think about things more? now that you're getting older? 886 01:25:23,960 --> 01:25:27,540 Yes, I think so. Certainly. 887 01:25:28,449 --> 01:25:31,180 Because it is so special. 888 01:25:31,846 --> 01:25:33,726 I don't have an amplifier. 889 01:25:39,680 --> 01:25:44,000 We were just four guys in Liverpool, who did not know each other. 890 01:25:44,810 --> 01:25:48,459 I met John through a school friend 891 01:25:49,119 --> 01:25:51,379 And I really liked him. 892 01:25:51,839 --> 01:25:53,499 Plays wonderfully. 893 01:25:54,159 --> 01:25:57,919 I knew George from the school bus. 894 01:25:58,479 --> 01:26:02,999 John was looking for someone to play guitar. 895 01:26:03,759 --> 01:26:08,739 Then I said: I do have a boyfriend and it's pretty good. 896 01:26:09,760 --> 01:26:12,538 You can come all the way here. Normally you don't do that. 897 01:26:12,798 --> 01:26:15,218 I said to George: Play, because he is watching. 898 01:26:15,678 --> 01:26:20,518 George took his guitar out of the case and played the song Raunchy. 899 01:26:21,278 --> 01:26:23,478 He did a great job. 900 01:26:24,238 --> 01:26:26,618 Suddenly we had three Beatles together. 901 01:26:27,121 --> 01:26:30,398 Then only Ringo had to yet to appear... 902 01:26:30,958 --> 01:26:33,658 and then we were complete.