Rolls-Royce has pulled a nice PR stunt based on a rock star urban legend, and we thought it was a fine time to look into it and set the record straight because, well, why not?
Let’s introduce the characters involved: Moon the Loon, otherwise known as Keith Moon, drummer for The Who. If you ever wondered why drummers are the ones that keep on dying in Spinal Tap, the inspiration goes to Keith though, admittedly, drummers have a reputation of being among the craziest of the bunch. Folklore suggests that Keith drove a Rolls-Royce into a pool for a fun prank during his 21st birthday in Flint, Michigan. The story has come from Keith, with various aspects being pieced together from others who claim to have been present.
Responding to this legend, and as part of Rolls-Royce Phantom’s 100th anniversary, the most hallowed of automakers has planted a Phantom Extended in a swimming pool at Tinside Lido in Plymouth, England. Credit goes to Car and Driver for bringing this to our attention—it even used the proper word “apocryphal” to describe Moonie’s story.
However, in recent years, I recall reading a different, more honest story. I tried to find it online, with one resource saying Huffington Post got down to the truth of the matter, but that story is no longer available online. However, the author of the missing story does claim the following:
Keith Moon definitely did not drive his Rolls Royce into the swimming pool either at his home, as is sometimes suggested, or at the Holiday Inn in Flint, Michigan, where it is also reported to have happened during the drummer’s twenty first birthday party. “What he did do though,” says author Steve Grantley, “is reverse it by accident into his garden pond one morning and then had to ask the AA to tow it back out for him.“
The story that I recall is that someone needed a car—a Lincoln—moved in the hotel parking lot, and Keith volunteered, only to accidentally end up in the pool due to a mishap that was all his. It is quite possible I’m also conflating things the same way that history has also done over the years.
We at The ClassicCars.com Journal enjoy setting the record straight—witness our myth-busting on the history of the term “muscle car” and Daytona/Superbird misinformation that refuses to die—but this Keith Moon story is one that will have to remain speculative for us for the time being. Nonetheless, we should offer kudos to Rolls-Royce marketing for thinking creatively with this endeavor.