The tight-fitting pants once donned by the late Queen lead vocalist during a concert in Birmingham in 1980 has been fetched for more than $14,500 at a recent auction.
- Apr 27, 2023
AceShowbiz - Freddie Mercury's leather hotpants have gone under the hammer at auction for £14,500. The late Queen frontman donned the tight-fitting garment - which measured 14in wide and 10in long - during a gig in Birmingham in 1980 and, earlier this week, they were sold at Omega Auctions in Newton-le-Willows, Merseyside.
After auctioneers fees were added, the anonymous buyer had to fork out £19,675 for the lot.
The sale came after it was revealed more than 1,500 items previously owned by the "Bohemian Rhapsody" singer - who died from an AIDS-related illness in November 1991 - will go under the hammer later this year and are expected to fetch more than £6 million.
The collection is currently in the hands of Mary Austin, 72, a friend of Freddie who was left his West London house and its contents when he passed away. Lots include a Tiffany + Co silver moustache comb, an old telephone, handwritten lyrics, and stage costumes.
Mary told the BBC, "The collection takes you deeper within the individual and the man I knew. You see the spectrum of his taste. It's a very intelligent, sophisticated collection."
Mary said the lyric sheets, including a nine-page document featuring the harmonies and chords, as well as the words to "We Are the Champions" - a lot expected to sell for £200,000 - £300,000 - were the hardest to part with because they show "for me, the most beautiful side" of her friend.
She added, "You're looking at the process of the artist, of work in progress. The crossings out, the rethinking, the reformatting."
But Mary decided to sell the collection because she is ready to put her "affairs in order." She said, "The time has come for me to take the difficult decision to close this very special chapter in my life. I decided that it wouldn't be appropriate for me to keep things back. If I was going to sell, I had to be brave and sell the lot."
But she will keep some "personal gifts" and photographs of herself and Freddie.
All 1,500 items will go on display at Sotheby's in London in the summer before they are sold in September.
