Photo: Redferns
Freddie Mercury's 1973 Yamaha Grand sold at auction for $2.2 million. The piano was famously used to write Queen's classic hit "Bohemian Rhapsody," and as Wall Street Journal reports the staggering price is record-breaking, beating out the $2.1 million George Michael dropped on John Lennon’s Steinway, which was used to write "Imagine," in 2000.
The prized piano was part of a 1,500 piece estate auction hosted by Sotheby's. While collectors were eager to get their hands on what the late Queen singer once referred to as “exquisite clutter,” his bandmate Brian May couldn't bare to watch his friend's treasured possessions go on the auction block.
"Inescapably thinking so much about Freddie in these strange days," the guitarist lamented on Instagram, sharing an old photo of Mercury. "At the time this photo was taken I’m sure it didn’t seem very important to see Freddie’s fingers dancing on my own home-made guitar. Now it summons up waves of affection and great memories. He is so missed."
"Tomorrow while I’m speaking passionately to Welsh farmers about cows and badgers and bovine TB, Freddie’s most intimate personal effects, and writings that were part of what we shared for so many years, will go under the hammer, to be knocked down to the highest bidder and dispersed forever," he continued. "I can’t look. To us, his closest friends and family, it’s too sad."
See May's emotional post below.