Frenzied Freddie Mercury Auction Totals $15.4 Million
The raucous evening sale at Sotheby’s in London is the first of six dedicated auctions of the singer’s belongings. It was a wild time, with big numbers.
Freddie Mercury at Wembley Stadium in 1986.
Photographer: Denis O’ReganFreddie Mercury brought down the house one last time on Wednesday evening at Sotheby’s in London, when items from the late Queen frontman’s estate blew past their high estimate of £7.2 million ($9 million) to total £12.2 million. A high-energy, in-person audience regularly burst into applause and cheers. Many attendees dressed up in Mercury-related outfits. One man, after purchasing Mercury’s famous crown and cape for £635,000, jumped up with two fists clenched in the air in triumph.
“The reception for the collection as a whole has been nothing short of phenomenal,” says Sotheby’s specialist Thomas Williams, speaking ahead of the sale. “What the fans have really enjoyed is getting to know the private side of Freddie’s life: the art he collected, and what these objects show about Freddie and how he lived and what he was passionate about behind closed doors.”
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Frenzied Freddie Mercury Auction Totals $15.4 Million