A Stranger Called John Lennon a Swine for the Way He Painted His Car: ‘Like Putting Graffiti on Buckingham Palace’
In 1965, John Lennon spent his hard-earned Beatles money on a new car. He didn’t yet have his driver’s license, but it didn’t matter; he wanted a Rolls-Royce and now had the means to afford one. Once it was in his possession, Lennon customized it, much to the horror of the public. A stranger was so offended by the car’s new paint job that she insulted Lennon and tried to hit the car with her umbrella.
John Lennon painted his car to make an artistic statement
Lennon’s Phantom V limousine was bright yellow with colorful curls, floral designs, and the Libra symbol. It was shiny and psychedelic and utterly against the sensibilities of other car enthusiasts. One woman made this quite clear to Lennon as he drove past.
“You swine!” she yelled at him, per Rolling Stone. “How dare you do that to a Rolls-Royce!”
When Lennon told the story, he claimed she hit the car with her umbrella. Another person reportedly called the car an “Ugly, uncharming and pretentious bit of anti-taste” (via Montecristo Magazine).
Lennon had the car painted partly because he’d used it while filming How I Won the War in Spain, and the rocky roads left scuff marks on the paint. He’d also simply grown bored of a plain black car. Many felt that he was making a joke of an iconic British vehicle.
“I can imagine this lady felt, ‘How dare you?! This is one of those things you cannot do!’” Giles Taylor, former design director for Rolls-Royce, said. “It’s like putting graffiti on Buckingham Palace. You’re getting close to the nerve of British elegance, British politeness and good British manners.”
The psychedelic Rolls-Royce had some admirers
While some found the car distasteful, Taylor admired it.
“It’s pure art,” Taylor said. “John Lennon chose an automotive piece as his canvas, using all the symbols of wealth and other messages that go along with the Rolls-Royces of that period. He was certainly getting fed up with conforming at that time. It was a classic artistic statement.”
Lennon donated the car to the Cooper-Hewitt Museum at the Smithsonian Institute in 1977 to get a tax credit. It sold for over $2 million in 1985 and has since gone on display a number of times. These days, it is worth upwards of $5 million.
“With a work of art like this, one only knows when it goes to auction,” Dr. Lorne Hammond, the curator of Human History at the Royal British Columbia Museum, said. “Given the increased stature of John Lennon and collectability of all things associated with him and the Beatles, we can only assume that in the future it’s value will only grow. However, its value as a piece of cultural history has become priceless.”
John Lennon couldn’t even drive the car when he bought it
Lennon found the car highly impressive, so much so that he bought it before he could drive it.
“I’d never bothered because I wasn’t very interested in driving, but when the others passed I thought I’d better do it or I’d get left,” he explained.
He received his license in 1965. By all accounts, though, he was not a good driver even with a license. According to his bandmates and others who knew him, Lennon was far too distracted, and his vision was poor. Luckily, he didn’t do too much damage to the car.
