Queen’s ransom: Late rock star Freddie Mercury’s costumes and memorabilia up for auction

SINGAPORE – One of the most abiding images of the late Freddie Mercury, lead singer of Queen, is of him wearing a crown for the British glam-rock band’s European Magic Tour in 1986.

That iconic headpiece and the accompanying velvet cloak will be put up for auction by Sotheby’s in London with an estimated price of between £60,000 (S$102,640) and £80,000.

Mercury, the voice behind rock anthems such as We Will Rock You (1977) and Another One Bites The Dust (1980), died of complications from Aids-related pneumonia in 1991 at the age of 45. 

His rise to fame, and the sex and drugs that followed, was depicted in the film Bohemian Rhapsody (2018). The rock star was played by actor Rami Malek,

who won an Oscar for his performance.

Mercury left the contents of his house, Garden Lodge in Kensington, West London, to his close friend Mary Austin.

After caring for the house and its contents for more than 30 years, she decided to put the singer’s belongings up for auction.

These include stage costumes, handwritten lyrics, artworks and personal items like a silver moustache comb.

There will be three live auctions for Freddie Mercury: A World Of His Own, beginning Sept 6 on consecutive days, and three online auctions from Aug 4. 

Strong interest is expected for the auction, especially since the original draft for the lyrics of Bohemian Rhapsody is also up for bidding.

The video for the 1975 song has been viewed 1.6 billion times on YouTube to date.

While the estimated price for the lyrics is between £800,000 and £1.2 million, Mr David Macdonald, head of single owner sales at Sotheby’s, reveals that auction items will start at around £100.

“There really is something for art collectors, Freddie fans and music enthusiasts alike,” he says in an e-mail interview. The silver moustache comb – from Tiffany & Co – has a price estimate of between £400 and £600.

“So far, we have catalogued around 60 stage costumes, and this doesn’t even include the wonderful trove of items from Freddie’s personal wardrobe,” he adds.

Mercury’s theatrical personality on stage was matched by a flamboyant fashion sense offstage. Up for auction are also the singer’s Japanese kimono, including an embroidered furisode (long-sleeved kimono) from the 20th-century Showa period, which is expected to fetch between £5,000 and £8,000.

“Mercury regularly wore kimono on stage, especially during the 1970s, and on numerous trips to the country he acquired an extensive collection of silks and textiles, of traditional and contemporary Japanese dress,” adds Mr Macdonald.

For the promotional video of Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody, Mercury commissioned his friend – designer Wendy de Smet – to create a two-piece stage outfit comprising a catsuit and bolero of ivory satin with winged wrists and lower legs (estimated price of between £50,000 and £70,000).

“Freddie was heavily involved in its design, a passion that originated from his time at art school, which he said had taught him always to be one step ahead,” says Mr Macdonald, referring to the singer’s degree in graphic art and design (1969) from Ealing Technical College and School of Art.

Sotheby’s is also curating an exhibition of the auction items in London from Aug 4 to Sept 5, the longest public exhibition in the company’s history. It will be held at its 16,000 sq ft gallery space in London.

“One room will be filled with his costumes, which will enable the public to experience first-hand some of the extraordinary costumes Freddie wore to some of his most iconic shows,” adds Mr Macdonald.

Prior to this exhibition, a selection of the exhibition highlights will go on view at Sotheby’s Hong Kong between June 26 and 30. This touring exhibition has already been shown in New York and Los Angeles.

In New York, auction house Christie’s is also holding an auction of personal items that belonged to another music icon.

Fans of Donna Summer (1948-2012) – often referred to as the queen of disco – can go to Christie’s website and register to bid online for stage outfits, autographed lyrics and wardrobe items, including the dress the five-time Grammy Award winner wore when she performed at former United States president Ronald Reagan’s Presidential Inauguration Gala in 1985. The online auction ends on June 29.

The red and white beaded gown was also displayed in 2014 at the Recording Academy Grammy Museum’s Donna Summer: Four Seasons Of Love exhibition in Los Angeles, California, and has an estimated price of between US$4,000 (S$5,360) and US$6,000.

Christie’s head of sale (junior specialist in the decorative arts department) Christopher June reveals that there are 34 garments in the collection up for auction, including the blue, green and red silk and tulle dress Summer wore in the music video for Unconditional Love (1983).

Fans can expect to pay between US$4,000 and US$6,000 for this.

For many, the auction items are more than memorabilia.

“They’re beautiful dresses in their own right, so memorabilia is perhaps a bit one-dimensional. We also chose the lots for this sale to help tell Donna Summer’s story, so we look at them as a record of her life,” says Mr June in an e-mail interview.

He believes the stage costumes were as much a part of that story as Summer’s lyrics, awards and other personal keepsakes. “For that reason, we would expect to see museum and institutional interest,” he adds.

Estimated prices start at around US$200 for an embroidered bathrobe to US$15,000 to US$20,000 for a diamond necklace.

Summer, who died of lung cancer in 2012, rose to fame with her hit song Love To Love You Baby in 1975.

The 16-minute dance track is as famous for defining the disco era as it is for the risque sounds on the backing vocals. Dance classics like I Feel Love followed in 1977. She then went on to win five Grammys, her first for the disco anthem Last Dance (1978).

Also up for auction is her Recording Industry Association of America gold record award for Last Dance, which represents sales of more than one million copies of the record. It has an estimated price of between US$3,000 and US$5,000.

“This is the first time any significant memorabilia from Donna Summer has ever come to auction, so we decided that it would be best to keep our estimates very conservative,” adds Mr June.

The highest price paid for an article of clothing owned by a pop star is thought to be for Michael Jackson’s red leather jacket worn in the Thriller music video, which premiered on MTV in December 1983.

Two years after Jackson’s death in 2009, auction house Julien’s Auctions in California sold the jacket for US$1.81 million.

A cardigan worn by Nirvana lead singer Kurt Cobain (1967-1994) was sold by Julien’s Auctions for US$334,000 in 2019.

For astonishing memorabilia prices, however, personal items once belonging to sports stars far out-price those of music stars. 

In February 2023, a jersey worn by the late American basketball player Kobe Bryant

sold at auction by Sotheby’s for US$5.8 million.

Sotheby’s Mr Macdonald says: “The game-worn market right now has been growing at a rapid pace. For the objects of the highest quality – the best of the best – the market has shown incredible demand across a wide range of sports and audiences. I think people are realising these items can be appreciated like a work of art.”

Christie’s Mr June adds: “We have observed that important objects – whether they were owned by a sports star, pop star or other celebrity – command strong prices at auction. To be able to own something used by your idol is an incredibly enticing prospect. And the deeper and more passionate that fan base, the stronger the result.”