Photo: Iconic Auctioneers
Noel Gallagher’s Rolls-Royce will be offered at auction with something many celebrity motors lack, namely the paperwork and photos to back up the tale. Iconic Auctioneers will offer the Oasis-licious 1978 Silver Shadow II at the NEC’s Classic Motor Show 2026 next month, carrying an estimate of £25,000 to £30,000 before taxes.
Tack on the auction house’s 15 percent buyer’s premium, and the potential £30,000 hammer price morphs into £34,500 before storage and transport. Plated DEV 851T nowadays, the car is a right-hand-drive example of the breed with nearly 64,000 miles on the clock. Although the Silver Shadow II isn’t particularly collectible, the paperwork accompanying chassis number SRH 35177 certainly is.
An older V5C registration certificate, which is also known as a logbook in British English, lists “Oasis Music” and the artist’s name. Of course, it also carries the musician’s signature. This alone distinguishes SRH 35177 from a plethora other Silver Shadow IIs. While many famous people owned interesting cars over the years, the documents connecting them to the registration are often lost.
As for the car, the guitar-playing brother had mentioned wanting a choco-brown Roller once Oasis had made it. The man who signed them, specifically Alan McGee of Creation Records, remembered the remark. Two years after McGee signed Oasis, the British outfit became international superstars due to the commercial success of the (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? album.
McGee secretly bought said Rolex, presenting it to Noel at a Christmas party in 1995. Other members of the band received actual Rolex watches. There was, however, one practical issue. As it happens, Noel could not drive. Had he not been swarmed by fans during a driving lesson, maybe he would have a driver’s license today.
Photo: Iconic Auctioneers
That became a part of the vehicle’s story, and that also explains why its history includes a lot of chauffeur work. SRH 35177 found a much larger stage in July 1997, with the brown Roller taking Noel and company to 10 Downing Street for Tony Blair’s Cool Britannia reception. Photographs from that day include Noel with Blair and the R-R serving as part of the scenery.
And that’s the thing about the brown-painted Silver Shadow II previously owned by Noel Gallagher. It became associated with a very specific time and place in British culture, where the Britpop movement, politics, and the New Labour government all interacted.
That has more significance than it seems. While a celebrity link can fray in no time once the famous owner moves on, a car that appears in a photograph that instantly takes you back to a certain time in history has a much better chance to keep the story alive.
The current owner acquired this Rolex in 2012, taking care of it as intended. The current owner also invested some considerable money in it, including a professional respray in the period-correct Chestnut Brown color, a new Everflex roof, and new carpets. Since 2012, chassis number SRH 35177 has been regularly serviced by an ex-Rolls-Royce mechanic.
Iconic Auctioneers also reports that DEV 851T is currently at its fourth owner, and beyond the old V5C, the car also comes with the original manuals and owner’s handbook. Its fifth owner will pay for the history, for sure, yet £30,000 before the premium is nothing for such a charismatic classic. For reference, the most affordable internal combustion Mercedes-Benz CLA available today in the UK carries an OTR starting price of £38,715.
