Inspired by The Who’s Keith Moon and his rock and roll story.

A Rolls-Royce Phantom mysteriously parked up in Plymouth’s Tinside Lido in Devon for some secret filming this week has now been unveiled as a part of a centenary celebration of the iconic car and its enduring relationship with the world of music – including rock, hip-hop, jazz and R&B. The £500,000 car has been embraced by artists from Marlene Dietrich to Sir Elton John, John Lennon and 50 Cent – and of course, Keith Moon. Legend has it that, while celebrating his 21st birthday, the gifted but fatefully self-destructive drummer of The Who, Keith Moon, plunged his Rolls-Royce into the swimming pool at the Holiday Inn in Flint, Michigan, creating one of rock ‘n’ roll’s most enduring legends.

Picture credit: Rolls Royce

To mark Phantom’s centenary and the motor car’s place in rock ‘n’ roll mythology, Rolls-Royce brought legend to life by submerging an extended body shell – a retired prototype destined for recycling – into the Plymouth lido pool – itself a celebrated Art Deco landmark next to the English Channel. Accounts of what really happened on the night of Keith Moon’s tale differ wildly. In an interview with Rolling Stone back 1972, Moon said the motor car was a Lincoln Continental belonging to a hotel guest; he said he let off the handbrake and rolled the car into the pool. Other party guests maintain that there was no motor car in the pool at all. Whether a car ended up in the pool or not, the myth is so potent that it has become the definitive image of rock ‘n’ roll indulgence.

Picture credit: Rolls Royce

“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” said Chris Brownridge, Chief Executive at Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. Linked to John Lennon, one of Phantom’s most famous clients, the Plymouth Lido also 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.

Picture credit: Rolls Royce

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