London (dpa) – In the crowded auction room of this traditional London house Sotheby’s Wednesday afternoon was livelier than usual.
Hundreds of people dressed in festive evening clothes applauded loudly to the rhythm of the Queen classic “We Will Rock You.” Previously, in a four and a half hour marathon, 59 objects from the heritage of singer Freddie Mercury were auctioned for a value of more than 14 million euros. You can also bid online for more than 1,000 lots until next Wednesday.
“That was ‘A Kind Of Magic’ today,” enthused Franka Haiderer of Sotheby’s board of directors, alluding to the Queen song. But the first night of the auction was dominated by Queen’s global hit “Bohemian Rhapsody.” For a silver snake bracelet, which Mercury, who died in 1991, had worn in the music video, bids poured in every second and soon exceeded expectations. In the end, the jewel sold for the equivalent of about 813,000 euros (698,500 pounds), almost a hundred times the estimated value.
1400 items up for auction
An old sheet of paper with Mercury’s handwritten notes for ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ sold for a whopping €1.6m (£1.38m). Drafts of other songs, including “We Are The Champions” and “Don’t Stop Me Now,” also sold for hundreds of thousands of euros. The highest bid of the night was for the baby grand piano on which Mercury composed “Bohemian Rhapsody” and many other songs. The Yamaha G2 Baby Grand is changing hands for around two million euros (£1.74 million).
Euphoric applause erupted in the auction room as the gavel fell. The auctioneer and president of Sotheby’s, Oliver Barker, who constantly encouraged bidders with great perseverance, was enthusiastic afterwards. “Freddiemania has taken over London tonight,” said Barker. “And the world.” Bidders from 61 countries registered. Around 2,000 people participated online.
The approximately 1,400 items up for auction through Wednesday come from Freddie Mercury’s private home in west London, the “Garden Lodge.” The singer had bequeathed it to his longtime girlfriend, Mary Austin (72), who is now separated from almost everything. A portion of the proceeds will go to charitable foundations, including the Mercury Phoenix Trust. Austin wrote in the foreword to a book about the auction that Mercury himself had regularly bought things at Sotheby’s, so the auction was entirely in the spirit of him.
Brian May isn’t exactly thrilled
But not everyone is enthusiastic. Queen guitarist Brian May spoke to Instagram shortly before the auction. The fact that Freddie Mercury’s “most intimate personal items and writings” are being auctioned off and “scattered forever” is a problem for the 76-year-old. “I can’t see this,” May wrote. “It’s very sad for us, his closest friends and his family.”
For many fans, on the other hand, it was fascinating to get a glimpse into their idol’s private life. Sotheby’s had previously featured the entire property in an exhibition. 140,000 people came to see the impressive collection of art, tableware, fine furniture, costumes and all manner of expensive items. “Our goal was to show Freddie’s life, his private life and his public life,” says Franka Haiderer, a member of the board of directors.
According to Haiderer, everyone should now have the opportunity to “buy a piece of Freddie.” A Brazilian businessman and Queen fan bought the crown and cape Mercury wore on the Magic Tour and at Queen’s last concert at Knebworth in 1986 for around 740,000 euros (£635,000). “When people say Freddie belongs to Britain, I think it’s a misunderstanding,” the new owner said. “He Belongs to the whole world.”
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