harrisonstories:Mary Wilson (of The Supremes) standing in front of the stretch Mercedes Benz she bou
harrisonstories:Mary Wilson (of The Supremes) standing in front of the stretch Mercedes Benz she bought from George Harrison (originally owned by John Lennon).It was during this trip that we purchased ex-Beatle John Lennon’s custom-made stretch Mercedes limousine from George Harrison. Pedro was very sociable, striking up fast friendships with people I had known for years and yet never been close to. In England Pedro went out a lot with Peter Lawford, Ringo Starr, and George Harrison, who invited Pedro and me to visit him and his girlfriend (now wife) Olivia at their home.It was one of the most beautiful places I’d ever seen. George’s grounds were like a huge park. I recall one especially beautiful swan-filled lake. The house resembled a small palace, decorated with precious objects from all over the world. Except for George’s extensive guitar collection, everything reminded me of a scene out of a fairy tale. George had just finished building a recording studio in the house, and he proudly gave us a tour of it.While Olivia prepared dinner, he asked me countless questions about Motown and how we made our records, how we got that sound. It was a very relaxing day. What struck me about George was how happy he seemed. It made me realize how few people I knew, especially performers, who were content and at peace. After this I became a great fan of George’s music, especially its spiritual aspect. George showed us the Mercedes limousine that had been custom-built for John Lennon. The moment Pedro saw it he had to have it. That it had belonged to John Lennon meant nothing to me or Pedro. It was a beautiful, rare car, that’s all. Although we got it for a very, very low price – cheap, actually – it was still more than we could afford. I tried persuading him not to buy it. We already had the Rolls. What did we need with two luxury cars?As fate would have it, the Mercedes limousine later assumed a life of its own too. We brought it back to the States, but after a year returned it to England because we were there so often and could use it for touring. Following John’s assassination in 1980, anything connected with him skyrocketed in value. I stored the limo in a garage, from which it was stolen in 1984. Next thing I heard, it was up for auction. After retrieving it from the selling block, the British High Court ruled that I was the rightful owner, and I had it auctioned off at Christie’s in London in 1989. I can honestly say I wasn’t all that sad to see it go.- Mary Wilson, Dreamgirl and Supreme Faith: My Life as a Supreme -- source link