BEATLES legend Sir Paul McCartney strummed his beloved bass guitar for the first time in more than 50 years at a gig this week.
Macca wowed fans as he bashed out Get Back alongside Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood.
At the finale of his world tour at London’s O2 Arena on Thursday he told how he was reunited with the four-string Höfner earlier this year.
Sir Paul, 82, explained: “I had a bass that was stolen 50 years ago. I got it back, and here to make its first stage appearance in 50 years is my original bass.
“I haven’t played it in 50 years . . . it sounds like a bass.
“And what’s more we’ve got a special guest for you here — Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood.”
Macca later performed Beatles songs Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and Helter Skelter with fellow moptop, drummer Ringo Starr, 84.
In February we revealed the remarkable story of how the bass — Macca’s favourite guitar — had been returned to him.
He bought the Höfner 500/1 electric bass for £30 in Hamburg in 1961.
Macca used the bass on tracks including Love Me Do and Get Back.
The instrument, now worth up to £10million, was stolen from a van in London’s Ladbroke Grove in 1972 and later sold to a pub landlord for “not much money plus a few free pints”.
It was later given to the late husband of Cathy Guest.
The 53-year-old, of Hastings, East Sussex, found the bass guitar while clearing her loft last year and realised it was Sir Paul’s after spotting an online appeal for its return.
Macca later wrote a thank you note to Cathy and paid her a six-figure sum as a reward.
His world tour, which has raked in £154million, has taken in 59 shows across four continents including a Glastonbury headline slot.
When Ronnie joined Sir Paul, it was the first time a Beatle and Stone played together in public on stage.
By Simon Cosyns
It’s been a hard year’s touring and Paul McCartney has been working like a dog . . .
So it was appropriate that he began the final night of his Got Back world trek with the mightiest chord in pop.
The Beatles’ immortal A Hard Day’s Night ushered in a magical (if not-so-mysterious) tour through Macca’s storied back catalogue.
It was a stunning display of showmanship and musicianship by the 82-year-old knight of this realm.
In a set dominated by Beatles classics, he rolled back the years in thrilling style, his voice strong and true.
Let It Be retained its wistful beauty, Live And Let Die was loaded with drama (and very loud pyrotechnics) and EVERYONE sang, “Na na-na-na na-na-na-na, na-na-na-na, hey Jude”.
There were so many lovely touches — among them a “duet” with a filmed John Lennon on I’ve Got A Feeling and a country-tinged In Spite Of All The Danger, a song predating The Beatles, first sung when Paul, John and George were members of The Quarrymen.
McCartney produced a blizzard of instruments which he employed with consummate ease — his go-to bass, his “Magic Piano”, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, mandolin and ukulele (the latter notable for a stellar revision of George Harrison’s Something).
It was also a night of surprise appearances, the first being the Höfner violin bass which graced so many iconic Beatles records. Stolen more than 50 years ago, now returned to its rightful owner.
“Sounds like a bass,” said Macca before launching into Get Back (what else?) in the company of lovable Rolling Stones rogue Ronnie Wood.
Then we had the drummer, announced by his old bandmate as “the mighty, the one and only, Ringo Starr”.
“Get on your kit, la,” ordered Macca, and, for a couple of rollicking songs, the surviving members of the world’s greatest band “got back”.
