A scooter which featured prominently in the iconic British youth film Quadrophenia has been sold at auction for a stunning £36,000.
Originally a concept album by The Who, the story saw the band return to their roots on the London Mod scene. Teenage creatures fired up by fashion, pills and R&B Mods cut a swathe through early 60s England.
One of the band’s greatest artistic achievements, the album was turned into a film in 1979. Starring Phil Daniels as the young Mod ‘Jimmy’ the film became an enormous success. never before had British you watched their life on celluloid, with many people leaving the cinema with their lives changed forever more.
The story still resonates, with a new stage musical currently touring the UK. Sticking closely to the story it has won great reviews and introduces Modernist culture to an entirely new generation.
Amongst the most famous details of the Mod lifestyle is there love of scooters. Cheap and efficient, they also reeked of Italian cool and stood diametrically opposed to the greasy bikes ridden by rival rockers.
The scooter ridden by Jimmy in the film version of ‘Quadrophenia’ has become a cult object in its own right. According to auction dealers Bonhams:
“After filming finished, the ‘Jimmy Bike’ was sold to scooter dealers Rafferty Newman and put on display in the window of their shop in Portsmouth. It was subsequently purchased by Eddie Harris who then sold it on to Paul Marsh, both these owners being Portsmouth residents.”
The bike was then restored and still attends rallies and other events around the country and beyond. When ‘Quadrophenia’ was re-released in 1997 the bike attended the film’s premiere where it was re-united with Phil Daniels, who of course rode it in the original film.
The iconic Lambretta bike was put up for auction recently by its owner. Sold by Bonhams in London it grabbed a winning bid of £36,000 – rather more than a Lambretta Li model cost on its introduction in 1958.
Of course, film buffs will know that ‘Quadrophenia’ ends with Jimmy becoming completely disillusioned with the Mod lifestyle. Travelling down to Brighton, he rushes towards the cliffs and throws his scooter into the sea.
Watch what happens below…
