FREDDIE MERCURY-A WORLD OF HIS OWN AUCTION OF PERSONAL EFFECTS AT SOTHEBY’S
LONDON, 13 JULY 2023
On 13 July 1973, Queen’s first album was released – an album largely recorded in the dead of night, the only time the fledgling band were afforded access to a recording studio. On 13 July 1985, Queen took to the stage at the legendary Live Aid concert at Wembley Stadium, making history with what is widely regarded as one of the greatest live performances of all time.
This summer, at Sotheby’s in London, a trove of hitherto unseen and unknown items integral to those two key moments will go on public view for the first time.
“Among them are handwritten lyrics by Mercury for Queen’s earliest songs; an early sketch for a possible first album cover; the design for what was to become the familiar Queen logo; and the striking black and white costume worn by a sharply-lit Mercury for the band’s debut album cover. In addition to which, rekindling that electric performance at Live Aid in 1985, there are costumes worn on-stage, back-stage and during rehearsals, as well as a Mercury’s signature Adidas high top sneakers, identical to those he wore at that historic concert.”
For further information on the exhibition and auction, please see details on catalogue pages 7 and 8.
“QUEEN SMOKED ’EM. THEY JUST TOOK EVERYBODY. THEY WALKED AWAY BEING THE GREATEST BAND YOU’D EVER SEEN IN YOUR LIFE, AND IT WAS UNBELIEVABLE.”
Queen’s Debut Album, released 13 July 1973
Having established themselves as Queen just a year earlier, the newly formed band first started recording their debut album in 1971 at De Lane Lea’s new state of the art studios in Wembley, before transferring to Trident Studios in Soho, London. With a number of live performances behind them, they had a wealth of material to draw on, but it was nonetheless a time-consuming and likely frustrating process. Not least because the band were only allowed into the studio during so-called “Dark Time”, between the hours of 11pm and 2am, when it wasn’t being used by other artists such as Lou Reed, who was recording the album Transformer at the time, and later David Bowie, who was recording Aladdin Sane.
13 JULY 1973 AND 1985
TWO MAJOR MOMENTS IN QUEEN’S HISTORY
Release of the Band’s Debut Album & Live Aid Performance
Legendary Performance at Live Aid, 13 July 1985
With their extraordinary theatricality, showmanship, musical wizardry and – not least – Freddie Mercury’s inimitable command of the stage and four-octave voice, the band had the 70,000 strong audience, along with another spellbound 1.9 billion watching from around the world, in the palm of its hand.
Though an indisputable high point in the history of music, Queen’s breath-taking performance at Live Aid was nothing less than a Herculean triumph over adversity. Just hours before the concert was due to begin, Mercury was still suffering considerable complications with his voice. His doctor had forbidden him to sing, and he was unable even to manage a backstage interview with the BBC’s Paul Gambaccini. Yet, against all these considerable odds, Mercury nonetheless emerged onto the stage just hours later with all the mesmeric power and vocal prowess that proved him, yet again, to be a singer and performer like no other.
“YOU BASTARDS, YOU STOLE THE SHOW!”
ELTON JOHN AS HE RUSHED TO CONGRATULATE QUEEN AFTER THE SET
Freddie Mercury pictured performing at Live Aid Concert. Photo by Popperfoto/Getty Images.
Freddie Mercury pictured performing at Live Aid Concert. Photo by Popperfoto/Getty Images.
“QUEEN SMOKED ’EM. THEY JUST TOOK EVERYBODY. THEY WALKED AWAY BEING THE GREATEST BAND YOU’D EVER SEEN IN YOUR LIFE, AND IT WAS UNBELIEVABLE.”
Retold through Items from Freddie Mercury’s Personal Collection, including:
*MERCURY’S DESIGN FOR ICONIC QUEEN LOGO | COSTUME WORN ON DEBUT ALBUM COVER | ADIDAS HIGH TOP SNEAKERS AS WORN AT LIVE AID
The Front & Back cover of Queen’s debut album, “Queen”, released 13 July 1973
Retold through Items from Freddie Mercury’s Personal Collection, including:
MERCURY’S DESIGN FOR ICONIC QUEEN LOGO | COSTUME WORN ON DEBUT ALBUM COVER | ADIDAS HIGH TOP SNEAKERS AS WORN AT LIVE AID
DAVE GROHL OF FOO FIGHTERS
“QUEEN WERE ABSOLUTELY THE BEST BAND OF THE DAY…THEY UNDERSTOOD THE IDEA EXACTLY, THAT IT WAS A GLOBAL JUKEBOX. THEY JUST WENT AND SMASHED ONE HIT AFTER ANOTHER. IT WAS THE PERFECT STAGE FOR FREDDIE: THE WHOLE WORLD.”
BOB GELDOF
The Front & Back cover of Queen’s debut album, “Queen”, released 13 July 1973
1. This flamboyant and skillful drawing by Mercury shows the band in lavish Cavalier costume of the 17th century, well suited to the extravagant locks that all four members of the band sported in the early 1970s. Under the drawing are the words ‘Dearie Me’, a phrase used so frequently by the band’s producer Roy Thomas Baker that it was considered as a title for Queen’s debut album. Similarly, the drawing itself may well have been proposed as a concept image for the cover of the album. Estimate £1,500–2,000
2. In fact, though, the cover of Queen’s first album took a different form. On it, Mercury appears under an intense spotlight, wearing a striking black and white costume during a performance at the Marquee club in December, 1972. This stage outfit, clearly a firm favourite, was worn by Freddie throughout 1973, most notably for a key performance at Imperial College in the autumn of that year. Estimate £15,000–20,000
3. Mercury was also known to wear this two piece suit with a pair of half-black, half-white square-toed platform boots made by footwear phenomenon Alan Mair, whose shoes and boots were a must for leading rock bands and artists in the 1970s such as Santana, The Rolling Stones, Deep Purple, David Bowie, Keith Moon, Alex Harvey, Queen and others. Estimate £3,000–5,000
In fact, the stall Freddie and Roger Taylor ran in Kensington market was right opposite Mair’s new boutique and in around 1970 Freddie decided to close down his stall and become Mair’s full time shop manager. It was in this role that he met David Bowie for the first time in 1972, soon after the release of Ziggy Stardust. Despite the record’s success, Bowie was still very hard up and when he visited the store Alan Mair recalls asking Freddie to fit Bowie with a pair of platform boots for free as Bowie couldn’t afford to buy them himself.
4. A handmade ivory silk jacket worn by Freddie Mercury for a shoot with Douglas Puddifoot at his flat on Holland Road in London on 17 March 1973, some of the photographs of which were used for the back cover montage of the album, “Queen”. The earliest jacket in the collection, made in his beloved Japan, it was first worn by Mercury as early as 1970 during rehearsals at Imperial College. Mercury had recently joined the band, which was originally called Smile, although they would soon call themselves Queen. Estimate £5,000–7,000
5. Also appearing on the debut album’s back cover: Freddie Mercury’s original artwork for Queen’s crest, which has now been a central part of the band’s visual iconography for 50 years. The crest resembles a heraldic coat of arms – giving it a suitably regal aura – and incorporates the zodiac signs of the band members: fairies for Virgo (Mercury), lions for Leo (Deacon and Taylor) and a crab for Cancer (May). At its centre is a crown in a Q, and the device is surmounted by a phoenix. Estimate £8,000–12,000
6. The handwritten lyrics for six songs featured on this first album, including extensive drafts for ‘My Fairy King’ – the song that includes the lines “Mother Mercury / Look what they’ve done to me”, which inspired Freddie to adopt his new surname. The lyrics are heavy with musical annotations and with notes relating to the recording and mixing process, describing, for example, changes in sound levels, piano fades, and multi-track vocals. This sort of careful annotation, which shows Mercury thinking hard about all aspects of his musical creations, is typical of his working process. Estimate. £30,000–50,000
© Images and underlying works will be subject to copyright. No unauthorised reproduction permitted
© Copyright Queen Productions Limited/Sony Music Publishing UK Limited or another rights holder.
7. Fragments from this and other early songs can also be found in a previously unrecorded red notebook from the early 1970s. This is believed to be Freddie Mercury’s earliest ever notebook of lyrics and one of his prized possessions at the time, dating back to the period before Queen were signed as a band. As well as including his own working lyrics (Stone Cold Crazy, Liar, and Keep Yourself Alive) the notebook reveals which songs by other artists Queen were performing at the time, with set-lists for early gigs featuring Elvis Presley’s Jailhouse Rock and The Rolling Stones’ Stupid Girl. It also includes doodles, designs for Queen’s logo and fragments of unpublished songs. Notes are written across 42 pages in total with coffee stains to the cover. Estimate: £120,000–180,000
8. A yellow cotton vest worn by Mercury, back-stage at the Live Aid concert. Printed in blue with a cowboy and a bucking horse, and fittingly ‘Made in Japan’. Estimate: £3,000–5,000
9. Conscious of the importance of their pending performance at Live Aid, Queen spent a full week beforehand at the Shaw Theatre (near Kings Cross in London) tirelessly rehearsing their five-song setlist. In the 2011 BBC Documentary ‘Queen – Days of Our Lives’, Mercury is captured in rehearsals wearing a white mesh sleeveless top with black, grey and yellow vertical stripes. Estimate: £4,000–6,000
10. Also included are three pairs of Mercury’s stage worn Adidas high top sneakers – this style was a favourite form of stage footwear from 1984 onwards, appearing in many of his most celebrated performances in 1985, including Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Live Aid and throughout the ‘It’s a Kind Of Magic’ Tour of 1986 which climaxed with two sell out nights at Wembley Arena, 11 and 12 July, and ended with Mercury’s final live performance with Queen at Knebworth Park, 9 August 1986.
When Mercury first started wearing this style of sneaker, they were difficult to source in Europe, so he would buy several pairs at a time whenever the band visited L.A. Mercury loved the freedom of movement and comfort these boots brought him during performances and used them for the rest of his stage career. Estimate for the three pairs range from £6,000–8000 to £3,000–5,000 each.
11. The collection also includes photocopies of letters – from Bob Geldof, David Munns (former Vice Chairman of EMI) and Walter Lee (of Rocket Queen) – congratulating Queen on their performance, along with three original programmes from the concert, photocall notices and various other related printed materials. Estimate £1,500–2,000
AUCTION INFORMATION
“Freddie Mercury: A World of His Own”
This summer, the contents of Freddie Mercury’s London home, Garden Lodge, all lovingly cherished and cared for over the last three decades, will be revealed to the public for the first time in a dedicated month-long exhibition at Sotheby’s in London, which will see every inch of the company’s 16,000 square foot gallery space dedicated to celebrating Mercury’s rich and multi-faceted life and passion, then culminating in six dedicated auctions in September, each one devoted to a different aspect of his life, both public and private.
A portion of the proceeds of the sale will be donated to both the Mercury Phoenix Trust and to the foundation of one of Freddie’s greatest friends, the Elton John Aids Foundation.
Please visit www.sothebys.com/freddiemercury for the latest information about the exhibition and sales. The full auction catalogue will also be available to browse online ahead of the London exhibition opening in August.
All lots for sale in the Auction, including song lyrics, sketches and drawings are being sold for private use only. No right to reproduce or otherwise commercially exploit the copyright or other intellectual property in the lots is included with the sale of any lot. Queen Productions Limited, Queen Music Limited, and all other rights holders reserve all their rights.
AUCTION CALENDAR
“The Evening Auction”
Live Auction, 6 September, 5 PM Ticketed event
“On Stage”
Live Auction, 7 September, 10 AM
“At Home”
Live Auction, 8 September, Session 1: 10 AM, Session 2: 2 PM
“In Love with Japan”
Online Auction, 4 August – 11 September, 10 AM
“Crazy Little Things” Part One
Online Auction, 4 August – 12 September, 10 AM
“Crazy Little Things” Part Two
Online Auction, 4 August – 13 September, 10 AM
EXHIBITION CALENDAR
Main Exhibition, Full Collection Sotheby’s London
34-35 New Bond Street
4 August – 5 September
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*Estimates do not include buyer’s premium or overhead premium. Prices achieved include the hammer price plus buyer’s premium and overhead premium and are net of any fees paid to the purchaser where the purchaser provided an irrevocable bid.
