LONDON (AP) 鈥� 鈥檚 prized piano that he used to compose 鈥淏ohemian Rhapsody鈥� and other hits by Queen sold for more than $2 million as some of the late singer鈥檚 massive collection of flamboyant stage costumes, fine art and original lyrics were auctioned in a sale that broke records.
Items connected to the operatic 鈥淩hapsody,鈥� the band's most enduring hit, brought a premium Wednesday with hand-written lyrics to the song selling for about 1.4 million pounds ($1.7 million) and a gold Cartier brooch saying 鈥淨ueen number 1鈥� given to each band member by their manager after the song topped the charts, selling for 165,000 pounds ($208,000).
A Victorian-style silver snake bangle Mercury wore with an ivory satin catsuit in a video for the song 鈥� long before the days of MTV 鈥� set a record for the highest price ever paid at auction for a piece of jewelry owned by a rock star, Sotheby's said.
The bracelet went for 698,500 pounds ($881,000) 鈥� 100 times its estimated low price. The item broke a record set when John Lennon鈥檚 leather and bead talisman sold for 295,000 pounds ($368,000) in 2008, Sotheby鈥檚 said.
The eclectic collection of objects were amassed by Mercury after Queen鈥檚 glam-rock produced an avalanche of hits that allowed the singer to achieve his dream of living a Victorian life 鈥渟urrounded by exquisite clutter.鈥�
Mercury鈥檚 close friend, Mary Austin, to whom he left his house and his possessions when he died of AIDS-related pneumonia in 1991 at 45, is selling it all 鈥� more than 1,400 items.
A mere 59 items of that 鈥渃lutter鈥� sold for 12.2 million pounds ($15.4 million), including a buyer's premium, that blew away estimates in the four-and-a-half hour auction. Bidders from 61 countries took part in person, online and by phone.
Mercury wrote, 鈥淓asy come, easy go, will you let me go?鈥� in "Rhapsody," and the answer to the question from well-heeled fans seemed to be "No,鈥� as they bid fortunes 鈥� large and larger 鈥� to grab a piece of the late singer鈥檚 clothing, awards and original hand-written drafts to classics such as 鈥淜iller Queen鈥� and 鈥淲e Are the Champions.鈥�
Depending how you looked at it, the champions of the night may have been Sotheby鈥檚 or Austin or a few charities she鈥檚 promised to donate an undisclosed portion of the proceeds to.
Or it could have been the buyers of one-of-a-kind memorabilia who won. One man raised his hands over his head in victory and hugged the woman seated next to him after bidding 635,000 pounds ($801,500) for the rhinestone-studded crown and red fake fur cloak Mercury wore on stage at the end of every show during Queen's last tour in 1986.
The auction opened with the sale of the graffiti-tagged door to the garden of Mercury's home that quickly blew past the high estimate of 25,000 pounds ($31,250) projected before the sale and led to a bidding war that lasted nearly 20 minutes.
The green door covered in hand-painted love notes from fans who made a pilgrimage to the house in the tony Kensington section of London sold for an eye-popping 412,750 pounds ($521,000).
All of the proceeds of the sale of a Cartier onyx and diamond ring given to Mercury by his friend, Elton John, that sold for 273,000 pounds ($344,000) were to go to the 鈥淩ocket Man鈥� singer's AIDS charity.
Art sold at the auction included prints by Pablo Picasso (190,500 pounds; $240,000), Salvador Dal铆 (48,260 pounds; $60,900); and Marc Chagall (63,500; $80,000), antique furniture and numerous cat figurines.
For the past month, fans of Mercury who couldn't afford those kind of prices 鈥� or just wanted to see his high-top Adidas, diamond brooches, or a sequined jacket 鈥� could view them for free in Sotheby's galleries. More than 140,000 visitors from around the world queued up outside the elegant auction house to take a tour.
Publicity from 鈥淔reddie Mercury: A World of his Own鈥� drove up bidding for online auctions that began last month and closes next week.
Even items being sold online that had seemed like they might be in reach for some average buyers eclipsed pre-sale estimates.
A collection of chopsticks once estimated to fetch 40-60 British pounds ($50-75) had a current bid 1,200 pounds ($1,500) Wednesday.
One of the quirkier items, a silver moustache comb from Tiffany & Co, that had been expected to set a buyer back 400 to 600 pounds ($500鈥�750) had a bid at 35,000 pounds ($43,750).
The Yamaha baby grand piano that Mercury wrote some of Queen's greatest hits on was one of the few items that sold for less than its estimated price tag, though it still sold for the most amount of money.
It had been expected to sell for as much as 3 million pounds ($3.75 million) but sold for 1.7 million pounds ($2.2 million). Sotheby's said it was the highest price ever paid for a composer's piano, but they didn't provide information on the previous record.
Other items that were treasured by fans were Mercury's draft lyrics to "Somebody to Love鈥� (241,000 pounds; $304,000), and 鈥淒on鈥檛 Stop Me Now" and 鈥淲e Are the Champions,鈥� which each fetched the same price: 317,500 pounds; $400,700.
The drafts showed songs at their inception, with 鈥淏ohemian Rhapsody鈥� scratched on stationery from the defunct British Midland Airways. The song was originally named 鈥淢ongolian Rhapsody鈥� before that was crossed out.
The song ends with the words: 鈥淣othing really matters to me," a line that certainly didn't apply to the way Mercury 鈥� and some of his wealthy fans 鈥� felt about his possessions.
Brian Melley, The Associated Press
