Freddie Mercury memorabilia on display ahead of auction – including scribbled song lyrics expected to fetch more than $1 million
Some of Queen frontman Freddie Mercury's most prized possessions will be available for auction at Sotheby's in September. Before they are sold, the items are on display in New York and then will be displayed in Los Angeles, Hong Kong and London. Some of the iconic pieces include a crown, scribbled song lyrics and a jacket.
Senior Vice President of Sotheby's Cassandra Hatton brought some of the items to "CBS Mornings" on Monday, including a crown Mercury designed with Dana Mosely, a costume designer and close friend of his.
"It was worn during his last live performance with Queen in 1986. I mean, this is indelibly linked with Freddie," Hatton said, adding that Mercury came up with the concept for the crown. It is expected to sell for between $49,500 and $74,000.
Hatton also showed off pages where Mercury wrote the lyrics to Queen hits "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "We Are the Champions." The page is scribbled with words, including "Mongolian Rhapsody," the original title idea for "Bohemian Rhapsody."
"You can see he scratched that out," Hatton said. "The most important line to him, you can see, he starts off with 'nothing really matters to me.'" Mercury croons this lyric at the end of the song.
"What you're seeing here essentially is his idea coming to fruition," CBS Mornings' Vlad Duthiers said.
The lyrics are scribbled on 15 pages – some of them old airline schedules Mercury used to jot down his ideas. The "Bohemian Rhapsody" lyrics are expected to go for about $990,000 to nearly $1.5 million at the auction.
Another item on display is his form-fitting leather jacket, which Hatton called "iconic." Mercury wore the jacket for many live performances, including on "Saturday Night Live" in 1982, his last live performance in the U.S. It is expected to sell for about $24,000 to $37,000.
Other items of Mercury's up for auction: His Adidas high-top sneakers, estimated to go for about $3,700 to $6,100, and a silver bangle that looks like a snake, estimated to go for about $8,600 to $11,000.
Mercury sang with Queen for about two decades and died in 1991 from complications from HIV. During their decades together, Queen wrote countless hits and was nominated for four Grammys but never won.