Freddie Mercury’s original sketches of Queen’s classic songs will be sold at auction.
Queen singer Freddie Mercury died in 1991. Picture from 1976. PDO
The auction house Sothesby’s is auctioning the property belonging to the legendary singer of Queen, Freddie Mercury. The list of items for sale includes, for example, original lyric drafts for Queen’s songs.
An unprecedented original draft Bohemian Rhapsody of the lyrics reveals that Mercury had envisioned something very different for the song’s name. A handwritten sketch on the page of the airline’s calendar reveals that the song was originally getting its name Mongolian Rhapsody. However, the word “mongolian” has been crossed out and “bohemian” has been scratched in its place. The rest is rock history.
The original lyrics written by Freddie Mercury will be on display at the Sothesby’s exhibition in New York in June. EPA/AOP
The draft also reveals unused verses to Bohemian Rhapsody. For example, it is written on one page “Mama / There’s a war begun / I’ve got to leave tonight”. Another alternative lyric read: “Time for good-byes now / Is this reality”
The pages also contain numerous alternative words that could have been sung in the opera section of the song”Galileo’s“, Scaramouch’s” and “Fandango” in addition to or instead of. In addition to these, Mercury had, among other things, “Momentum“, “Belladonna” and “Matador“.
The lyrics were written on a British Midland Airways calendar in 1974, a year before the song was recorded. The airline has since been closed down.
The auction also sells other sketches of Queen’s classic hits. EPA/AOP
Sothesby’s estimate that Bohemian Rhapsody -the price of the draft rises to between £800,000 and £1.2 million. That makes it one of the most expensive items for sale. In total, more than 1,500 items belonging to Mercury will be sold at the auction.
The auction will also sell Mercury’s original lyrics to Queen’s other classics, such as For Don’t Stop Me Now, For We Are the Champions and For Killer Queen. They will go on sale in September after being on display throughout the summer at Sothesby’s exhibitions in New York, Los Angeles and Hong Kong.
Mercury’s property has been put up for sale by a close friend of his Mary Austinwho inherited most of the singer’s fortune after his death in 1991.
– For many years now, I have had the pleasure and privilege of living surrounded by all the wonderful things that Freddie owned and loved. But the years have passed and the time has come for me to make the difficult decision to end this very special chapter in my life,” Austin previously commented on merchandising to the media.
Part of the proceeds from the items sold will be directed to charity. Among other things, Mercury’s famous crown will also be on sale. It is estimated that its income will rise to well over 100,000 euros.
The items also include the singer’s pink, star-shaped sunglasses. Similar glasses were once seen We Will Rock You in the music video of the song with Mercury’s face.