LONDON (AFP) – The piano Queen frontman Freddie Mercury used to compose almost all of his greatest songs and the original manuscript for Bohemian Rhapsody were snapped up for over GBP3 million on Wednesday when they went under the hammer in London.
The Sotheby’s auction room echoed to the sound of the track We Will Rock You before bidding began at the black-tie evening auction.
The items were among over 1,400 lots of Mercury memorabilia up for grabs over the next week, with the famous auction house’s facade decorated with a huge moustache for the occasion.
The 59 lots sold on Wednesday brought in GBP12,172,290, Sotheby’s said, adding that each one went for more than double the estimated price.
Mercury’s Yamaha quarter-tail piano went for GBP1,742,000 (USD2,198,927), including buyer’s premium and fees, while the manuscript for the epic hit song Bohemian Rhapsody fetched GBP1,379,000.
Auctioneer Oliver Barker called the Bohemian Rhapsody lyrics a “modern cultural icon”.
Mercury’s cherished baby grand was purchased by the charismatic star in 1975 after an exhaustive six-month search for “the ideal instrument to bring to life” his compositions. A record 2,000 bidders from 61 countries registered to take part in the sale.
The auction kicked off with 20 minutes of bidding for the green door to Mercury’s garden on which fans scrawled tributes. The door to his Garden Lodge home in west London sold for GBP412,750, far in excess of the GBP15,000 – GBP25,000 estimate.
Other items being sold off at the auction include furniture, clothing, art works and knick-knacks.
Wednesday’s sale will be followed by two other live auctions and three online sales over coming days.
Works by Chagall, Dali and Picasso that adorned Mercury’s home were among the lots sold.
The entire collection is being offered for sale by Mary Austin, a close friend and one-time fiancee of Mercury, to whom the singer bequeathed his estate.
“Mary Austin has lived with the collection and has cared for the collection for more than three decades,” books and manuscripts specialist at Sotheby’s Gabriel Heaton told AFP.
Mercury “was not interested in having a museum of his life but he loved auctions”, to the point of being a regular at Sotheby’s sales, said Heaton.
