Current:Home > reviewsFastexy:Freddie Mercury memorabilia on display ahead of auction – including scribbled song lyrics expected to fetch more than $1 million -TrueNorth Finance Path
Fastexy:Freddie Mercury memorabilia on display ahead of auction – including scribbled song lyrics expected to fetch more than $1 million
NovaQuant View
Date:2025-04-10 23:52:22
Some of Queen frontman Freddie Mercury's most prized possessions will be Fastexyavailable 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.
Caitlin O'KaneCaitlin O'Kane is a digital content producer covering trending stories for CBS News and its good news brand, The Uplift.
veryGood! (3)
Related
- Justice Department, Louisville reach deal after probe prompted by Breonna Taylor killing
- Jaden Smith Says Mom Jada Pinkett Smith Introduced Him to Psychedelics
- The math behind Dominion Voting System's $1.6 billion lawsuit against Fox News
- Lime Crime Temporary Hair Dye & Makeup Can Make It Your Hottest Summer Yet
- See you latte: Starbucks plans to cut 30% of its menu
- Frustrated airline travelers contend with summer season of flight disruptions
- Pink's Reaction to a Fan Giving Her a Large Wheel of Cheese Is the Grate-est
- Honoring Bruce Lee
- House passes bill to add 66 new federal judgeships, but prospects murky after Biden veto threat
- Restock Alert: Get Hailey Bieber’s Rhode Glazing Milk Before It Sells Out, Again
Ranking
- At site of suspected mass killings, Syrians recall horrors, hope for answers
- Banks are spooked and getting stingy about loans – and small businesses are suffering
- Inspired by King’s Words, Experts Say the Fight for Climate Justice Anywhere is a Fight for Climate Justice Everywhere
- How Climate and the Nord Stream 2 Pipeline Undergirds the Ukraine-Russia Standoff
- Romantasy reigns on spicy BookTok: Recommendations from the internet’s favorite genre
- About 1 in 10 young adults are vaping regularly, CDC report finds
- Shawn Johnson East Shares the Kitchen Hacks That Make Her Life Easier as a Busy Mom
- Full transcript of Face the Nation, July 23, 2023
Recommendation
Rolling Loud 2024: Lineup, how to stream the world's largest hip hop music festival
How much is your reputation worth?
Jada Pinkett Smith Teases Possible Return of Red Table Talk After Meta Cancelation
Justice Department threatens to sue Texas over floating border barriers in Rio Grande
Justice Department, Louisville reach deal after probe prompted by Breonna Taylor killing
Will There Be a Barbie Movie Sequel? Margot Robbie Says...
Chrissy Teigen Gushes Over Baby Boy Wren's Rockstar Hair
Amid Delayed Action and White House Staff Resignations, Activists Wonder What’s Next for Biden’s Environmental Agenda