FREDDIE MERCURY’s Prized Piano Sells At Auction For $2.2 Million; Used To Compose QUEEN Classic "Bohemian Rhapsody"
September 7, 2023, a year ago
The piano Freddie Mercury used to compose “Bohemian Rhapsody” sold for $2.2 million on Wednesday as part of Sotheby’s 1,500-piece estate sale of the singer’s treasured possessions, reports Rolling Stone.
The sale of Mercury’s 1973 Yamaha Grand surpassed the $2.1 million paid for John Lennon’s Steinway, which he used to write “Imagine” and was swooped up in 2000 by George Michael, according to the Wall Street Journal.
His collection, which Mercury once described as “exquisite clutter,” included handwritten lyrics for Queen’s operatic anthem that sold for $1.7 million. Notably, the 15 pages of lyrics — written on stationary for a defunct airline — reveal that the song was nearly titled “Mongolian Rhapsody” before the singer crossed it out and replaced it with the similarly syllabic “Bohemian.”
Additional items tied to “Rhapsody” sold at a premium on Wednesday. A gold Cartier brooch the band’s manager gifted each member after the song hit number one and branded with the words “Queen number 1” went for $208,000, while the silver snake bangle the frontman wore in the music video was auctioned for $881,717 — setting a record high for a piece of jewelry once owned by a rock star, according to Sotheby’s.
Read more at Rolling Stone.
