Newly unearthed draft reveals original title and lyrics for Queen’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’. The manuscript of the 1975 hit is estimated to be auctioned between $100,000 and $150,000,000 as NME Reports.
According to one of 15 pages from early drafts for the rock opera, the famous 1975 hit penned by Freddie Mercury was shown to be titled ‘Mongolian Rhapsody’ which is crossed out on a piece of paper from the now-defunct airline, British Midland Airways.
Mercury’s original drafts are currently on display in a new auction exhibition at Sotheby’s Auction House in London
Did you know ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ was originally titled ‘Mongolian Rhapsody’?
Written entirely by Freddie Mercury, a never-before-seen early draft reveals untold insights into one of the greatest pop songs of the 20th century.
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— Sotheby's (@Sothebys) May 31, 2023
It is expected to sell for more than £6 million (US$7.44 million) across six auctions at Sotheby’s this fall. (Barrons)
The full catalogue, as well as a collection book, is available at the Sotheby's website(opens in new tab).
“For many years now, I have had the joy and privilege of living surrounded by all the wonderful things that Freddie sought out and so loved,” Austin said in a statement through Sotheby’s. “But the years have passed, and the time has come for me to take the difficult decision to close this very special chapter in my life. It was important to me to do this in a way that I felt Freddie would have loved, and there was nothing he loved more than an auction.”
Austin will be donating a portion of the proceeds from the auctions to two AIDS-related charities: the Mercury Phoenix Trust, established in memory of Mercury with a mission to support HIV/AIDS initiatives throughout the world, and the Elton John AIDS Foundation.
Mercury's handwritten 'Fat Bottomed Girls' lyrics sold $50,000
An extremely rare set of Freddie Mercury's handwritten lyrics for the 1978 Queen song “Fat Bottomed Girls”. The lyrics consist of 26 lines in blue ballpoint pen on two sheets of paper. The first sheet — titled “Fat Bottomed Girls” — details the three verses and on the reverse of a Mountain Recording Studio recording log sheet.
The set of lyrics consist of 26 lines written in a blue ballpoint pen on two sheets of paper.
The second sheet outlines both versions of the chorus on a sheet of white legal paper, written out for recording purposes and with some words underlined for accent, showing slight variations from the released version including “Cause I kept my greatest treasure” instead of “I still got my greatest treasure” and omitting “Hey big” in the reprise “Hey big woman...” and revisions including “big eyed floozie” to “blue eyed floozy”.
Mountain Recording Studio was a favorite place of Queen to record their albums, in fact they recorded 7 of their albums there, from 1978-1996, including the album “Jazz” in which “Fat Bottomed Girls” is on. Considered to be one of Queen’s best songs, even making it to the top 11 in the UK Singles Chart and 24 in Billboard Hot 100 in the US. The rarity of these lyrics cannot be understated, making this a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to add these to your collection. Measures 8.5 x 11.5. Very good condition. Comes with a Letter of Provenance from Jacky Smith and a Gotta Have Rock & Roll Certificate of Authenticity.
. If you want to own a piece of this legendary song, be prepared to open up your wallet as the auction house estimates these lyrics to go for at least $50,000. Very few handwritten lyrics from Mercury or Queen have ever surfaced, especially for a song as popular as this. The rarity of these lyrics cannot be understated, making this a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to add these to your collection. (music-news)
The first titled “Fat Bottomed Girls” details the song’s three verses on the front and on the reverse has a Mountain Recording Studio recording log sheet. The second outlines both versions of the chorus on a sheet of white legal paper, written out for recording purposes, with some words underlined for accent, showing slight variations from the released version including “Cause I kept my greatest treasure” instead of “I still got my greatest treasure” and omitting “Hey big” in the reprise “Hey big woman...” and revisions including “big eyed floozie” to “blue eyed floozy”. Mountain Recording Studio was a favorite place of Queen to record their albums, in fact they recorded 7 of their albums there, from 1978-1996, including the album “Jazz” in which “Fat Bottomed Girls” is on.
