John Bunnings Hofner Bass

Paul McCartneys Hofner Bass History Continued, or: When Is Pauls Bass NOT Pauls Bass?

You may have heard the story of the 1964 Hofner 500/1 bass the Selmer Company planned to present to Paul McCartney in late '64. You also may have heard Paul may have been presented with the bass, but never actually took ownership of it. You may also have heard that bass wound up at auction as McCartneys bass, but was proven a fraud. But heres what you might not have heard: The bass did find its way into the hands of a musician in England, who today has

John Bunnings current Hofner bass. Not one played by McCartney, but a beauty! (c) John Bunning

quite a story to tell... his name is John Bunning. When John was 14 he decided, like many other kids in the 60s, to begin playing a musical instrument. Problem was, Bunning was 'hampered' by being a left-hander in a age not exactly built for southpaws! He wound up making his own bass guitar and was asked to join a local band, Cliff and the Cliff Tops. Although the bass sounded okay, John says after awhile, the bands vocalist told him he couldn't possibly continue with the home-made model, as it "sounded as if my fingers were stuck to the fret-board!". So all he needed was a proper instrument, to which fate lent a hand (a left one, it seems...). Upon going into the bands usual music shop, John was told he actually could get not only a lefty bass, but a prized Hofner Violin bass! Bunning took delivery of a gold plated 500/1 that was rumoured to have been made for one Paul McCartney... but Bunning says he was under the impression that if indeed Paul had any connection, the bass had only been intended as a spare. The guitar did not even initially come with a case, as John remembers taking it home in a plastic bag! He wound up returing the bass after a week or so later due to 'manufacturing imperfections' (or as John puts it, it was "shop soiled'!).

Thats John Bunning at 14 years old on your far left, holding his gold plated Hofner bass. Hes seen with the band he was in at the time (1966?) Cliff and the Cliff Tops. (c) John Bunning

John says playing the Hofner was great, especially after dealing with that original home made one! (many of us have been there, John!). But this bass was obviously something very special, as it had features not on other Hofners. The gold plating on the tuning machines, etc. was actually a fairly weak plating. But other than that, and rumours and possiblilties, John continued playing the Hofner until he swapped it with a friend some years later. The next person to own the Hofner was Stephen Boyce, (see below) who Bunning believes removed the scratch plate along with changing the machine heads due to normal wear and tear. Unfortunately, Boyce died some time ago, so we don't know what happened to those valuable spare parts. The next time John Bunning was aware of his old bass was 31 years after he'd owned it: "(I was )..reading the Daily Mail , and what do I see but my old bass up for auction in Tokyo for an estimated price of 150,000 pounds! I didn't sleep for a week!" No one, however, would believe this was Bunnings old bass...except for a certain ex-Beatle....

John Bunnings old bass makes it to Bonhams Auction in Tokyo...but does not sell as advertised...

John believes the bass wound up being sold by the person he swapped it with to Jim Marshalls music shop in Bletchley, Buckinghamshire. This is how Boyce came into its possession. The next Bunning knew, it was in Bonhams Tokyo "Beatles Auction of the Century" in 1997. The Bonhams catalog claimed the bass was used by McCartney from 1964 thru the 60s. Of course, this was not true, as there is no evidence Paul ever played the bass (although, as John Bunning points out, Paul probably at least plucked the strings at Selmers original presentation, as any musician would do with a new instrument). The bass had wound up at a music store in England in 1994, who stripped it down and, upon noticing the gold plating, knew there was something special about this guitar. As indeed there was. However, the bass went to auction as Pauls bass, and when the truth was discovered, the sale ended abruptly.

Heres the real thing with Paul McCartney in 1966. (C) Gordon Baer Photography

The History Behind the 500/1:
The bass as once owned by John Bunning has a odd history of its own before it wound up in his hands. It seems Hofner/Selmer knew it had a hot ticket on its hands in 1964, with every bass player on Earth wanting one of their violin basses. And Paul McCartneys use of that bass was the main reason. Beatles manager Brian Epstein didn't usually consent to the boys shilling for or promoting any product personally. However, an exception was made, sort of, in this case. Epstein made a deal with Selmer for Paul to be seen 'endorsing' the basses by way of a 'swing-tag' on each new guitar that showed Paul giving the famous Macca thumbs-up, along with the quote "Wishing you every success with this guitar!". In return, Epstein got a piece of the action (around 5 pounds a bass)

And when is one of 'Maccas Basses' NOT one of Maccas Basses? When its this one! You can see the original case as given to John Bunning.

and Paul would get a nice, new uber-Hofner to use on tour. Andy Babiuk, in his highly recommended book "Beatles Gear", says after Selmer made a big deal of presenting Paul with the guitar (including photographing the event, although none of the photos exist today) Selmer then had the bass make the rounds at trade shows. Babiuk believes the bass then got sent back to Paul, but got stolen somewhere along the way, either at NEMS offices (quite possible) or at Abbey Road (unlikely). John Bunning also believes it may simply have been put back into stock, whether on purpose or accident, who knows. As John rightly admits: "Well, it was damaged, how could they send Paul a faulty instrument?". McCartney actually mentioned the bass once in an interview, which seems to indicate he at least thought he had it. The guitar next appeared in a Luton music shop, and was bought by, you guessed it, John Bunning.
Fast forward to many years later, and John had a story on his hands no one seemed to buy. Thats when he made contact with Paul McCartneys company, MPL Communications. Paul read the letter John sent, and said he knew Bunning was telling the truth. A British TV show "Watchdog" also found out the truth, as Bonhams auction of the century was getting under way. They revealed, with Johns help, the true origins of the bass Bonhams was selling as a true Beatle bass. And although the bass did initially sell, the final sale never went thru. The infamous Hofner is currently still owned by Music Ground in England, the same store that bought the bass in 1994 and discovered its gold plated secrets.

Far left and right, John Bunnings old Hofner bass, with Paul McCartneys second Hofner in the middle for comparison.

Today, John Bunning owns another Hofner 500/1 (see photo) but he has definite ideas on what should happen with the gold-plated model. "What I would love to see is my old bass returned to Paul. He has the cash to have it refurbished at Hofner or Mandolin Brothers, but I can't see him purchasing it. I think it is a matter of principle to him. Really, the condition of it is now really tatty; it appears some idiot has taken 90 grit sandpaper to the pickups!" Matter of fact, John says the current owners have stated Paul would indeed like the bass...for free. However, at this time the bass is locked away in a vault somewhere , which John feels is quite sad: "It is really sad, it needs to sing. Really it should be played". But at least we know the true story of the bass, and apparently McCartney doesn't hold a grudge at John for playing the bass made for Paul first! John says Paul sent an autographed photo to his son

Johns current Hofner, on display with the story of the gold plated Hofner around it for a feature John did on the Sixties for the Leighton Buzzard.In front of the bass you can see the book Beatles Gear, turned to the page with the gold Hofner. (c) John Bunning

Alex. John calls Paul " a real gent", which I'm sure he is, as is John Bunning! John still however hopes Paul gets the bass meant for him someday: "That battered old bass could be returned to Paul; lets face it, morally it is his". Today John is still playing both six and four string guitar, and has used his Hofner (along with several other guitars) on a recent CD that paid tribute to his late mother (something I'm sure Paul would approve of). He also is searching for any more information anyone has on the bass. As John says, "There's been a lot of fairy tales in the past and I would like to set the record straight." Hopefully this webpage is a good step in that direction! John Bunning says it best himself: "It's a great story." As it is.

Update October 2009: The gold plated Hofner has come out of hiding! It's currently being shown at the British Music Experience Exhibition being held at the O2 in North Greenwich, England. For more info, or just to see another picture of the bass, as well as more Beatles memorabilia on display, click here! This news comes to us thanks to...you guessed it, John Bunning himself! Thanks John.

Do you have any additional information on the gold plated Hofner? email us, and it will be forwarded to John Bunning.

If you've enjoyed this article, then you can also read the history of that other famous Hofner bass by clicking here...

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