Rock ‘n’ Rolls-Royce - Phantom takes swimming pool plunge

• Rolls-Royce Phantom turns 100
• Phantom famously driven into swimming pool by The Who’s Keith Moon back in 1967
• Scene recreated at Art Deco Tinside Lido, Plymouth
• Other Phantom owners include Elvis Presley, John Lennon and Sir Elton John

Rolls-Royce has celebrated the 100th anniversary of its legendary Phantom limo by recreating one of the most famous rock ‘n’ roll incidents of all time.

Legend has it that, back in 1967, The Who’s famously raucous drummer Keith Moon was celebrating his 21st birthday when he plunged his Rolls-Royce into a swimming pool at the Holiday Inn in Flint, Michigan, US.

Did it actually happen? Accounts differ (read below for more of that) but, either way, the mishap went down in musical infamy.

Indie band Oasis famously recreated the supposed event for the cover of their 1997 album Be Here Now (even though the Roller in question wasn’t a Phantom but a knackered 1972 Silver Shadow instead).

And now Rolls-Royce itself has paid homage to the incident by dunking a Phantom into the famous Art Deco Tinside Lido in Plymouth.

A new Rolls-Royce Phantom would set you back a cool £450,000 to buy new - and whacking one in water would be very foolish indeed.

Thankfully, the one you see submerged here is a retired prototype destined for recycling.

Speaking about the chosen location, a Rolls-Royce spokesperson explains: “Linked to John Lennon, one of Phantom’s most famous clients, the Lido served as a backdrop to a photograph of The Beatles taken on 12 September 1967 during their visit whilst filming for The Magical Mystery Tour. That same year, Lennon unveiled his yellow, hand-painted Phantom V, further cementing the nameplate’s place in music legend.”

Getting the photos was no mean feat, with Rolls-Royce having to crane the Phantom into the lido by boat while employing a submerged metal rig to keep the car’s nose above water.

Chris Brownridge, Chief Executive, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, adds: “From the Golden Age of Hollywood to the rise of hip-hop, over the last 100 years, music artists have used Phantom to project their identity and challenge convention. Their motor cars often became icons in their own right, with a lasting place in the history of modern music. This enduring connection reminds us that Rolls-Royce and the extraordinary people who are part of the marque’s story are united by one ambition: to make their presence felt.”

Here’s a run-down of some key celeb owners - starting with that notorious Keith Moon drama.

Keith Moon

Accounts of what really happened that night in 1967 differ wildly. In an interview with Rolling Stone in 1972, Moon stated the motor car was actually a Lincoln Continental belonging to another hotel guest, not a Rolls-Royce, adding that he let off the handbrake and rolled the car into the pool. Other party guests maintain that no motor car ended up in the pool at all.

^{(Phantom 1, above)}

Marlene Dietrich

When megastar Dietrich travelled to Hollywood in 1930 to shoot romance drama Morocco, Paramount Studios greeted her with the gift of a green Rolls-Royce Phantom I. The flick earned Dietrich an Academy Award nomination – and her Phantom also took its share of the spotlight, appearing in the film’s closing scenes and publicity images.

^{(Elvis' Roller, above)}

Elvis Presley

In 1963, at the height of his fame, ‘The King’ bought a Midnight Blue Phantom V with a host of bespoke features - including a microphone, a writing pad in the rear armrest, and a mirror. The original mirror-polished paint famously attracted the attention of Elvis’s mother’s chickens, which would peck at their reflection in the coachwork. In the end, Elvis had to repaint it in a lighter Silver Blue hue that did not show the chips!

^{(John Lennon's Flower Power Rolls-Royce, above)}

John Lennon

In December 1964, John Lennon rewarded himself for The Beatles’ A Hard Day’s Night by commissioning a Phantom V. The motor car was entirely black, including the windows, bumpers and hub caps; it also boasted a cocktail cabinet and a television, as well as a refrigerator in the boot. In May 1967, however, just before Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band was released, the motor car was resprayed yellow, then hand-painted with swirls of red, orange, green and blue, with floral side panels and Lennon’s star sign, Libra, completing the motor car’s new persona.

Lennon flogged the car in 1985 for $2,299,000; it was, at the time, the highest price ever achieved for a motor car sold by auction.

Besides the flower power Roller, Lennon also owned another - a Phantom V he bought in 1968 before turning it white, both inside and out. It featured in the Beatles film Let It Be.

Sir Elton John

Rocket Man Elton has owned multiple Rolls-Royce Phantoms. In 1973, en route to a concert in Manchester in his white Phantom VI, Sir Elton saw a newer example in a showroom window. He instructed his chauffeur to stop, bought the car, and used it to complete his journey to the venue. He later updated his Phantom to include, among other things, an audio system so powerful he had to have the rear windscreen strengthened to stop it shattering!

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