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Freddie Mercury Items Left to Mary Austin to be Sold at Auction

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Author Erica Banas // Rock Music Reporter

Freddie Mercury left many of his possessions to his longtime friend and confidant, Mary Austin, in his will. Now, those items will soon be on display and later be auctioned.

About 1,500 items will be heading to four Sotheby’s locations this summer. The auction house announced the collection is being dubbed “Freddie Mercury: A World of His Own.” The collection is heading to the following Sotheby’s locations on the following dates:

-New York: June 1-8
-Los Angeles: June 14-18
-Hong Kong: June 26-30
-London: August 4-September 5

Sotheby’s notes, “This collection has remained at Freddie’s beloved Garden Lodge for over three decades and displays a quality and diversity of works that are a testament not only to his passion, but his brilliant mind.”

The auction of Mercury’s items will take place in London over the course of three days on September 6-8. Items heading to auction range from stage costumes to hand-written lyrics to pieces of art Mercury collected.

As previously reported, Mercury designated in his will that Austin would receive 50% of his share of future Queen earnings while designating 25% to his parents and 25% to his sister, Kashmira Bulsara. Since the passing of Mercury’s parents, their 25% share has now gone to Austin.

5 Best Performances from the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert

Freddie Mercury left this Earth on November 24, 1991. While he left a void in the rock landscape that is still felt today, his inspiration has transcended his era. Decades later, he continues to influence new generations of music fans.

He also transcended musical genres. About five months after his death, Queen, along with an all-star lineup, put on The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert for AIDS Awareness. The concert was held at Wembley Stadium before a massive crowd of 72,000 on April 20, 1992. Proceeds from the show went towards launching The Mercury Phoenix Trust. This organization was founded by Brian May, Roger Taylor and Queen manager Jim Beach. Over the years, it has helped fund numerous projects in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

RELATED: Queen Release Video for Lost Freddie Mercury Track 'Face It Alone'

The show’s running setlist is split into two parts: Without Queen and with Queen. The “Without Queen” portion featured performances from Metallica, Extreme, Def Leppard, Bob Geldof, Spinal Tap and Guns N’ Roses. U2 and Mango Groove appeared during this portion of the show via satellite. A number of the musicians from the “Without Queen” portion of the show would appear during the second half.

Once Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon took to the stage, that’s when the show really started to cook with gas. The surviving members of Queen performed some of their biggest hits accompanied by some of rock’s most iconic singers and other guest musicians. Among the singers to fill the massive shoes of Mercury were Joe Elliott, Roger Daltrey, Zucchero, Gary Cherone, James Hetfield, Robert Plant, Paul Young, Seal, Lisa Stansfield, David Bowie, Annie Lennox, George Michael, Elton John, Axl Rose and Liza Minnelli.

Simply put: It stands as one of the best tribute shows of all time. The fact it boasts one of the most star-studded lineups in rock history doesn’t hurt either.

Here’s a look back to the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert and its five best performances that day.

  • Queen + Joe Elliott and Slash - 'Tie Your Mother Down'

    The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert was in two parts: The first was without Queen and the second was with. The Queen-portion of the concert started things off with a bang with this energetic performance of “Tie Your Mother Down” that featured Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott and Guns N’ Roses’ Slash. Fun fact: Elliott was the first person to publically sing with Queen following Mercury’s death.

  • Queen + David Bowie and Annie Lennox - 'Under Pressure'

    How do you fill the shoes of Freddie Mercury when it comes to one of the most iconic duets in rock history? You find someone with an equally iconic and bold voice like Annie Lennox. David Bowie and Lennox’s performance of “Under Pressure” remains as moving decades later as it did that fateful day in Wembly Stadium. And Mercury would have undoubtedly approved of Lennox dressing up in a ball gown for the occasion.

  • Queen + Ian Hunter, David Bowie, Mick Ronson, Joe Elliott and Phil Collen - 'All The Young Dudes'

    Very few non-Queen songs were performed during the Queen portion of the tribute concert, but it goes without saying the surprising inclusion of the Mott the Hoople classic “All The Young Dudes” was one of the biggest highlights of the show. Not only did you have Ian Hunter fronting the performance, but David Bowie (who wrote the song) was also on backup vocals and saxophone, as well as Mick Ronson on guitar! Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott and Phil Collen ran out on stage to provide backup vocals, too. Elliott would say in a 2019 interview, “I dragged him [Collen] up. He wasn’t going to do it. I said, ‘You’re going to regret this for the rest of your life if you don’t.’ It’s my favorite song of all time, so for me, it was a no-brainer.”

  • Queen + George Michael - 'Somebody to Love'

    There’s perhaps no greater chill-inducing moment in the entire concert than when George Michael throws to the crowd to sing the final lyric in “Somebody to Love” and they all sing that vocal riff in perfect unison. On top of that, his vocal performance was just outstanding. In the years since Michael’s untimely passing on Christmas 2016, this performance serves as another reminder of his tremendous talent.

  • Queen + Liza Minnelli w/the entire show's lineup - 'We Are The Champions'

    Every big show deserves a grand finale, and this performance of “We Are The Champions” is just that: Grand. Led by vocals from Liza Minnelli, everyone from the show’s lineup took to the stage for one truly epic sing-a-long capped by Minnelli saying, “Thanks, Freddie! We just wanted to let you know we were thinking about you. Stay safe!” A truly beautiful end to the emotional, heart-felt Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert.

Erica Banas is a rock/classic rock news blogger who's well-versed in etiquette and extraordinarily nice. #TransRightsAreHumanRights

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Author Erica Banas // Rock Music Reporter
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