Freddie Auction and Sotheby's book discussion

A wonderful article about the upcoming auction from the Financial Times. It includes a couple of lovely photos of Freddie which I have never seen before and a 'playful, intricate drawing of the band that shows off his draughtsmanship', which I found absolutely fascinating (and he had written 'Dearie Me' underneath it, which, if I recall correctly, was one of his sayings). There's also a pic of the handwritten lyrics for DSMN. Well worth a read for anyone who's interested.

www.ft.com/content/5f27931f-a316-4ead-b968-167fb7f5b1d3

We can't reproduce current news articles if they're behind a paywall, sorry. If you Google something like 'Freddie Auction', it may be accessible direct from the search engine, or via the Google News app.

I use Chrome... search by Graphics "The other Freddie Mercury: inside the singer’s London home" and without account I had access by one of those pics from this site.

The FT has had a paywall up for years, maybe they have a couple of "unlocked" articles at any given time

His sister?

I tried accessing it via the 12 foot ladder website and it was unsuccessful. 12ft works most of the time though!

Yes, it's a great story with a new interview with Mary. I've never seen those pics of Freddie either. I had some issues reading it for free and had to try a few different ways but it did end up working. Freddie's house is really beautiful. 

Regarding items available in the Freddie auction, I found this drawing by Freddie to be interesting:



Could this be early brainstorming of concept art for their debut album's cover? First of all, we know that Freddie had a strong interest in cover art and logo design. Additionally, "Dearie Me" was something Freddie often said, but also known to be one of the album titles they were considering. The way "Dearie Me" is written stylistically looks like it could be part of album art (although I'm sure many of us have scribbled letters in a fancy way in notebooks).

Also, the three figures sitting behind a central figure on a regal chair reminds me of the Douglas Puddifoot photo shoot in Freddie's flat, and I recall reading somewhere that one of the photos from this shoot was in consideration to be the debut album cover art. Note the similarities, including:
- three figures around a fourth sitting in a chair
- the violin in place of the lute in the sketch
- the teddy bear in place of the dogs?
- feathers in hand instead of in a hat
- the overall ornate vibe of the scene

Overall it seems like the photoshoot is almost like a low-budget version of the vision he had sketched.

Any info on tapes or any recording media being auctioned?

There's discussion, speculative nonsense, and then there's a whole other level.

Musical material must have been already deliveder to QPL, way before the auction. It is the real true gold.

Thanks very much Lord Fickle looks well worth reading we will know what’s for sale in due course, looks like Mary has kept the house very much in Freddie’s memory he I think entrusted his estate to the right person.

I have seen a lot of leaked private photos apparently from Mary’s archive on random freddie tribute facebook groups. like freddie painting the ceiling and other gems. should I share them, or are they available here? they are clearly private homemade photos, never saw them before…

More detailed pics for some items, including lyrics of Bohemian Rhapsody (which was originally Mongolian Rhapsody), We Are The Champions, Somebody To Love and Don’t Stop Me Now.

Sotheby’s