Paul McCartney’s bass guitar has made its way into the record books while on tour with The Wings. The Yamaha BB-1200 McCartney formerly possessed surpassed the world record for the most expensive bass when it sold for $496,100 (£374,905) at a recent auction. It smashes the previous record of $384,000 (£290,190) set by Bill Wyman’s 1969 Fender Mustang bass, which was sold by The Rolling Stones last year. U2’s The Edge and producer Bob Ezrin organized the auction for their charity Music Rising, which aims to “help artists in the Gulf South” following the “devastation the COVID-19 pandemic has caused on musicians and artistic communities.”
The bass played by Paul McCartney was not the only world-record-breaking instrument sold at the auction. Eddie Vedder’s Lake Placid Blue Fender Telecaster, which he famously smashed during a performance, set a new record for the most expensive damaged guitar when it sold for $266,200 (£201,168). Instruments from Elton John, Pearl Jam, Rush, Tom Morello, Joan Jett, Bruce Springsteen, Lou Reed, Kings Of Leon, Johnny Marr, Green Day, Radiohead, and Win Butler of Arcade Fire were also given to the auction. The entire amount raised was $2 million (£1.5 million).
McCartney recently joined Foo Fighters at the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony in October to perform “Get Back,” a Beatles classic.
