As a Beatles fan and collector I felt it was ironic that very little was known about one of the most expensive (and largest) pieces of Beatles memorabilia in the world. What was more amazing was the fact that this valuable artifact was stored less than a mile from my home.
John Lennon's 1965 Rolls-Royce Phantom V had a fantastic story to tell and in 1999 I was fortunate enough to be given access to the vehicle (and a box or two of documents) by its caretaker, the Royal British Columbia Museum. It took over four months to piece together the story, from its conception in late 1964 to its retirement to Victoria in 1993. In the process some myths were laid to rest while other mysteries remained unsolved to this day. My brief affair with the Roller culminated with a spectacular photoshoot in several locations throughout the city. Photographer Brian Schofield and myself were shuttled between locations in the USD$2.2 million taxi while my boom box filled its spacious interior with the sounds of Sgt. Pepper and A Whiter Shade of Pale. The end result was a 9000+ word article, replete with fantastic photographs, in the November/December 1999 issue of Beatlology Magazine (pictured on the right).
I plan to add quite a bit of new material to this section in 2004 as well as provide some excerpts from the original article. In the meantime I've included a Timeline, photographs of the Phantom V from its first public appearance in British Columbia in 1986 and a couple of shots from our 1999 photoshoot.