Sir Paul Mccartney - Restoration Work On Motown Piano Begins

The former Beatles star asked if he could play the 1877 Steinway during a recent trip to the record label's museum in Michigan and he was disappointed when his guide informed him the instrument was no longer in use.

MCCartney got in touch with restorers at Steinway & Sons, who picked up the piano on Monday (31Oct11) and plan to have it all tuned up by next spring (12).

In a post on his website, MCCartney writes, "When I visited the Motown Museum, I remembered listening to records as a kid in Liverpool, learning the songs You Really Got a Hold on Me (by the Miracles) and Money (by Barrett Strong). I said to myself, 'Wow! This is the Holy Grail!'"

The piano has been shipped to New York, where it will be professionally restored by experts at the Steinway Restoration Center - the only place where a Steinway piano can be restored to guarantee Steinway authenticity.

A spokesman for the company says, "Steinway & Sons is honoured to restore the historic Steinway piano that was used by such legends as Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson and Stevie Wonder - and to do so in the very same New York factory where it was originally built in 1877."