Freddie Mercury’s handwritten drafts for Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody promote for £1.3m

Sep 07, 2023 at 1:04 AM
Freddie Mercury’s handwritten drafts for Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody promote for £1.3m

Freddie Mercury’s handwritten drafts for Queen’s legendary hit Bohemian Rhapsody have offered at public sale for greater than £1.3m.

Written on paper for the now-defunct airline British Midland, the 15-page manuscript reveals the totally different instructions the singer thought-about for the band’s six-minute epic.

It options the music’s timeless lyric “nothing really matters” and reveals how the star considered naming the song “Mongolian Rhapsody” – earlier than crossing out “Mongolian” in favour of “Bohemian”.

The notes have been one of many star gadgets amongst a treasure trove of the Queen frontman’s most prized possessions, which have been put up on the market with the posh auctioneer Sotheby’s.

Mercury’s Yamaha child grand piano – used to compose a few of the group’s most iconic hits – was offered on the similar public sale for £1.7m.

Freddie Mercury's Yamaha Grand Piano, estimated at 2-3 million pounds, on display at Sotheby's auction rooms in London, Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023. More than 1,000 of Freddie Mercury's personal items, including his flamboyant stage costumes, handwritten drafts of ...Bohemian Rhapsody... and the baby grand piano he used to compose Queen's greatest hits, are going on show in an exhibition at Sotheby's London ahead of their sale. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
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Freddie Mercury’s Yamaha grand piano. Pic: AP

A Victorian-style snake bangle famously worn by Mercury within the video for Bohemian Rhapsody offered for £698,500 – the very best worth ever paid for a chunk of jewelry owned by a rock star.

It beat the £295,000 ($368,000) paid for a leather-based and bead talisman worn by Beatles star John Lennon.

The gadgets have been put up for public sale by Mercury’s shut good friend, Mary Austin.

A Victorian-style silver snake bangle Freddie Mercury wore with an ivory satin catsuit in the "Bohemian Rhapsody" video has sold for the highest price ever paid for a piece of jewelry owned by a rock star. Pic: Sotherbys
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A Victorian-style silver snake bangle worn by Freddie Mercury. Pic: Sotheby’s

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The singer left her his Kensington residence and all of the possessions inside when he died of AIDS-related pneumonia in 1991, on the age of 45.

A complete of 1,400 gadgets are being auctioned – together with a inexperienced door coated in hand-painted love notes from followers which offered for £412,750 ($521,000).

A Sotheby's handler displays a 'Rainbow Coloured Satin Arrow Applique Jacket from 1982' at Sotheby's auction rooms in London, Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023. More than 1,000 of Freddie Mercury's personal items, including his flamboyant stage costumes, handwritten drafts of "Bohemian Rhapsody" and the baby grand piano he used to compose Queen's greatest hits, are going on show in an exhibition at Sotheby's London ahead of their sale. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
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Freddie Mercury’s rainbow colored satin arrow applique jacket from 1982. Pic: AP

Freddie Mercury's signature crown worn throughout the 'Magic' Tour, on display at Sotheby's auction rooms in London, Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023. More than 1,000 of Freddie Mercury's personal items, including his flamboyant stage costumes, handwritten drafts of "Bohemian Rhapsody" and the baby grand piano he used to compose Queen's greatest hits, are going on show in an exhibition at Sotheby's London ahead of their sale. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
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Mercury’s signature crown worn all through the Magic tour. Pic: AP

Other gadgets to go below the hammer embody the star’s flamboyant stage costumes and handwritten drafts of hits akin to We Are The Champions.

Some of the proceeds of the public sale – which is predicted to usher in round £6m in complete – shall be donated to charity.

All the proceeds of the sale of a Cartier onyx and diamond ring given to Mercury by Elton John that offered for £273,000 ($344,000) shall be donated to the Rocket Man singer’s AIDS charity.

PRODUCTION - 03 August 2023, Great Britain, London: The entrance at Sotheby's auction house in London is decorated with a giant mustache - in reference to the British rock singer Freddie Mercury. The exhibition "Freddie Mercury - A World Of His Own" in London provides insights into the private life and musical career of the Queen frontman. Pic: AP
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The entrance at Sotheby’s public sale home hosted “Freddie Mercury – A World Of His Own”

The gadgets within the public sale have been placed on show in Sotheby’s galleries forward of the public sale to create a free museum-esque exhibit – named Freddie Mercury: A World Of His Own.

The show attracted greater than 140,000 guests in simply over a month.