London:
Piano Queen frontman Freddie Mercury composed nearly all of his best songs, and the original manuscript for “Bohemian Rhapsody” was bought for more than $3 million on Wednesday when they went under the hammer in London.
The auction room at Sotheby’s echoed the sound of the song “We Will Rock You” before bidding began on the evening black-tie auction.
The items were among more than 1,400 Mercury memorabilia up for grabs over the next week, with the famed auction house’s facade adorned with a huge moustache for the occasion.
The 59 lots sold on Wednesday raised £12,172,290, Sotheby’s said, adding that they all fetched more than double the estimated price.
Mercury’s Yamaha quarter-tail piano cost £1,742,000 ($2,198,927), including buyer’s premium and fees, while the manuscript for the epic hit “Bohemian Rhapsody” fetched £1,379,000.
Auctioneer Oliver Barker called the lyrics to “Bohemian Rhapsody”, contained in 15 pages of notes in pencil and biro, a “modern cultural icon”.
The manuscript also reveals that Mercury, who died of AIDS in 1991, originally intended to name the song “Mongolian Rhapsody”.
Mercury’s beloved baby grand piano was bought by the charismatic star in 1975 after an exhaustive six-month search for “the ideal instrument to bring his compositions to life”.
A record 2,000 bidders from 61 countries registered to participate in the sale.
A portion of the proceeds will go to the Mercury Phoenix Trust and the Elton John AIDS Foundation, two organizations involved in the fight against AIDS.
“I miss Freddie to this day. He was an amazing friend, full of love and life than anyone I’ve ever met, and also a brilliant artist whose music has inspired and excited millions,” John said in a message read out at the start of the sale.
“He was kind, generous and funny and it is a tragedy that AIDS took him from the world much too soon,” he added.
Graffiti Tribute
The auction started with a 20-minute bid on the green door to Mercury’s yard, with fans scribbling tributes.
The door of his Garden Lodge home in west London sold for £412,750, far exceeding the £15,000 to £25,000 estimate.
Other items sold at auction include furniture, clothing, artwork, and trinkets.
Wednesday’s sale will be followed by two more live auctions and three online sales in the coming days.
Among the lots sold were works by Chagall, Dali, and Picasso that graced Mercury’s home.
The entire collection is being offered for sale by Mary Austin, a close friend and former fiancée of Mercury, to whom the singer left his estate.
“Mary Austin has lived with the collection and has been caring for it for more than 30 years,” Gabriel Heaton, a book and manuscript specialist at Sotheby’s, told AFP.
Mercury “wasn’t interested in a museum of his life, but he loved auctions,” to the point that he was a regular at Sotheby’s sales, Heaton said.
Austin believes the artist – who was 45 when he died – would have loved this sale, he added.
Mustache comb
Mercury’s most flamboyant stage costumes, the Hawaiian shirt and Superman tank top also find a new home, along with photos of legendary snapper Mick Rock.
Brazilian entrepreneur Rafael Reisman, who bought a stage costume ensemble with crown and mantle for £635,000, said Mercury “belongs to the world”.
A collection of mostly unseen personal Polaroids shows Mercury as he “celebrates birthdays and Christmas, snuggles with his cats and enjoys being surrounded by special objects at home,” Barker said.
The archive of 265 photographs, mostly dating from the mid-1980s, raised over £88,000.
It also sells the finest bottles from his cellar, such as Dom Perignon champagne, alongside more intimate items, such as a book of personally annotated poetry and a mustache comb.
Before the auction, the auction house presented the collection in a month-long exhibition, which was open to the public free of charge.
Sotheby’s says it is the largest collection by volume of a cultural icon to be auctioned since the Elton John auction in 1988, when 2,000 lots were sold for a total of £4.8 million.
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