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Iconic Queen frontman Freddie Mercury stays relevant 32 years after his death as over 30 000 items belonging to the buck-toothed legend go on auction this week.

Not only will wealthy fans have a chance to bid on the late musician’s more pricey possessions, but regular Queen-lovers will be able to view the items on exhibition right up until next month – completely free of charge.

Titled Freddie Mercury, A World of His Own, the London exhibition is organised by Sotheby’s, an auction house that clearly has the monopoly on big-ticket celebrity items, including the Lamborghini from The Wolf of Wall Street.

Amongst the 30 000 items on display, attendees will be able to get up close and personal with Mercury’s handwritten lyrics, gold and platinum discs, lavish stage costumes, a silver moustache comb, hip flasks, and even a tour-worn mini Scrabble board.

While any big Queen fan would go nuts just to get their hands on any of these items, the real star of the auction is Mercury’s shiny black baby grand piano, upon which many of the band’s greatest hits were composed. The piano even saw Mercury banging out Bohemian Rhapsody on the keys; a precious piece of history that was unveiled by Sotheby’s last week.

According to Thomas Williams of Sotheby’s, we have Mercury himself to thank for the meticulously maintained exhibit, as well as Mercury’s dear friend Mary Austin, to whom he left all his possessions after his death. Austin sat on the goldmine for a while, but more than three decades later, she has decided to release Mercury’s precious tchotchkes to the world.

“Freddie was a hoarder, he didn’t throw anything away … His possessions give us an extraordinary 360-degree view of the man, from his childhood until his death,” Williams explained.

In total, the whole exhibit is estimated to sell for up to £11 million (about R260 million), but luckily for Queen fans with emptier pockets, the prices of items will vary hugely, so there is high chance that everyone get get their “piece of Freddie”.

When Mercury wrote in his biography, “I like to be surrounded by splendid things … exquisite clutter,” he wasn’t kidding!

Now we can all appreciate the “exquisite clutter” in question, and celebrate the creative life of a true icon.

[source:theguardian]