From fanciful costumes and working drafts of Bohemian Rhapsody to ashtrays and art, hundreds of items Freddie Mercury owned go on show in Britain on Friday before being sold next month.

Sotheby's has transformed its central London gallery to resemble the Queen frontman's former home in the UK capital for the month-long exhibition, ahead of its six-stage sale of more than 1,400 lots.&nbsp;

The singer-songwriter, who died in 1991, had assembled an array of "treasures" which had been left largely untouched at his one-time West London house in the three decades since, according to the auctioneers.

They include a treasured Yamaha baby grand piano, revealed to be among the lots by Sotheby's Thursday, which Mercury composed numerous hits on. It is estimated to fetch up to £3 million (3.8 million).&nbsp; 
 
The replica of Britain's St Edward's Crown and an accompanying cloak -- in fake fur, red velvet and rhinestones -- worn by the star on stage in the 1980s is also on display.

He performed in both at the world-famous Live Aid concert in 1985 and the finale renditions of God Save The Queen&nbsp;during his last tour with the band in 1986.&nbsp;

The 16,000 square feet (1,500 sq m) multi-room showcase, which runs until September 5 -- the late singer's birthday -- also features numerous elements from his so-called Japanese collection.

Mercury had collected Japanese decorative arts, glass, graphic arts, ceramics and other objects originating from the country during his life.

"It constitutes an ensemble which is completely unique," Sotheby's Cecile Bernard told AFP during an exhibition preview.

&nbsp;Surviving school book - 
 
Furniture once used at Mercury's Garden Lodge home also forms part of the Sotheby's showcase.

A worn kitchen table, ornate cutlery and distinctive crockery hint at the entertainment, and attention to detail, the Queen frontman lavished on his guests.

A gilt-tooled leather-bound "dinner party guest and menu book", detailing seating plans, menus and refreshments -- and annotated with doodles -- helps complete the picture.

A multicoloured, illuminated 1941 Wurlitzer jukebox, which Mercury kept in his kitchen and still operates on its original coinage, is another rare item.

Loaded with records such as Ray Charles' Hallelujah I Love Her So, Little Richard's Rit It Up&nbsp;and Bill Haley's Shake, Rattle and Roll, it is estimated to net £25,000 at auction.

The musical manuscripts set for display and sale include 15 pages of working drafts for Bohemian Rhapsody, and reveal Mercury initially planned to call the hit Mongolian Rhapsody.

Meanwhile, the contents of his elaborate dressing room also feature, from jackets and sequinned stage suits to shoes to glasses.&nbsp;

A yellow "Champion" vest worn for the first half of his final Queen performance at Knebworth Park on August 9, 1986, is among them. Auction valuation: £6,000-£8,000.

A surviving school book with Fred Bulsara -- Mercury's real name -- inscribed at the front is among the rarer items.

Dating back to the mid-1960s, it features the then 18-year-old's commentary and judgement on certain poetry, as well as a poem he composed entitled Bird ('Feather flutter in the sky...')". 
 
- 'Best tribute' - 
 
The vast array of items -- being auctioned by Mary Austin, one of the icon's closest friends who cared for them at his former home -- are expected to fetch at least £6 million ($7.6 million) in total.

Austin will be donating a portion of the proceeds to the Mercury Phoenix Trust -- founded by fellow Queen members Brian May, Roger Taylor and their manager Jim Beach to support HIV/Aids initiatives -- and to the Elton John Aids Foundation.

For Bernard, helping to curate the exhibition has been a treasured experience itself, as the team tried to place pieces within Mercury's creative process and journey.

"When we went to Garden Lodge... we have been like archaeologists doing that, with so much fun," she recounted.&nbsp; 
 
Bernard added the sales -- live events in the British capital on September 6-8 and online from Friday to September 11 -- are "the best homage" to Mercury, given he "loved to collect" and buy at auctions.&nbsp;

"He was himself very familiar with the process of collections going from one owner to another so it makes sense," she said.

Some 30,000 to 40,000 items are available within the more than 1,400 lots, according to Sotheby's cataloguer Fenella Theis.&nbsp;

"Every piece is so autobiographical," she told AFP. "So every piece resembles one of Freddie's many, many, many facets of his personality."

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From fanciful costumes and working drafts of Bohemian Rhapsody to ashtrays and art, hundreds of items Freddie Mercury owned go on show in Britain on Friday before being sold next month.

From fanciful costumes and working drafts of Bohemian Rhapsody to ashtrays and art, hundreds of items Freddie Mercury owned go on show in Britain on Friday before being sold next month. Sotheby's has transformed its central London gallery to resemble the Queen frontman's former home in the UK capital for the month-long exhibition, ahead of its six-stage sale of more than 1,400 lots. The singer-songwriter, who died in 1991, had assembled an array of "treasures" which had been left largely untouched at his one-time West London house in the three decades since, according to the auctioneers. They include a treasured Yamaha baby grand piano, revealed to be among the lots by Sotheby's Thursday, which Mercury composed numerous hits on. It is estimated to fetch up to £3 million (3.8 million). The replica of Britain's St Edward's Crown and an accompanying cloak -- in fake fur, red velvet and rhinestones -- worn by the star on stage in the 1980s is also on display. He performed in both at the world-famous Live Aid concert in 1985 and the finale renditions of God Save The Queen during his last tour with the band in 1986. The 16,000 square feet (1,500 sq m) multi-room showcase, which runs until September 5 -- the late singer's birthday -- also features numerous elements from his so-called Japanese collection. Mercury had collected Japanese decorative arts, glass, graphic arts, ceramics and other objects originating from the country during his life. "It constitutes an ensemble which is completely unique," Sotheby's Cecile Bernard told AFP during an exhibition preview. Surviving school book - Furniture once used at Mercury's Garden Lodge home also forms part of the Sotheby's showcase. A worn kitchen table, ornate cutlery and distinctive crockery hint at the entertainment, and attention to detail, the Queen frontman lavished on his guests. A gilt-tooled leather-bound "dinner party guest and menu book", detailing seating plans, menus and refreshments -- and annotated with doodles -- helps complete the picture. A multicoloured, illuminated 1941 Wurlitzer jukebox, which Mercury kept in his kitchen and still operates on its original coinage, is another rare item. Loaded with records such as Ray Charles' Hallelujah I Love Her So, Little Richard's Rit It Up and Bill Haley's Shake, Rattle and Roll, it is estimated to net £25,000 at auction. The musical manuscripts set for display and sale include 15 pages of working drafts for Bohemian Rhapsody, and reveal Mercury initially planned to call the hit Mongolian Rhapsody. Meanwhile, the contents of his elaborate dressing room also feature, from jackets and sequinned stage suits to shoes to glasses. A yellow "Champion" vest worn for the first half of his final Queen performance at Knebworth Park on August 9, 1986, is among them. Auction valuation: £6,000-£8,000. A surviving school book with Fred Bulsara -- Mercury's real name -- inscribed at the front is among the rarer items. Dating back to the mid-1960s, it features the then 18-year-old's commentary and judgement on certain poetry, as well as a poem he composed entitled Bird ('Feather flutter in the sky...')". - 'Best tribute' - The vast array of items -- being auctioned by Mary Austin, one of the icon's closest friends who cared for them at his former home -- are expected to fetch at least £6 million ($7.6 million) in total. Austin will be donating a portion of the proceeds to the Mercury Phoenix Trust -- founded by fellow Queen members Brian May, Roger Taylor and their manager Jim Beach to support HIV/Aids initiatives -- and to the Elton John Aids Foundation. For Bernard, helping to curate the exhibition has been a treasured experience itself, as the team tried to place pieces within Mercury's creative process and journey. "When we went to Garden Lodge... we have been like archaeologists doing that, with so much fun," she recounted. Bernard added the sales -- live events in the British capital on September 6-8 and online from Friday to September 11 -- are "the best homage" to Mercury, given he "loved to collect" and buy at auctions. "He was himself very familiar with the process of collections going from one owner to another so it makes sense," she said. Some 30,000 to 40,000 items are available within the more than 1,400 lots, according to Sotheby's cataloguer Fenella Theis. "Every piece is so autobiographical," she told AFP. "So every piece resembles one of Freddie's many, many, many facets of his personality." WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

Freddie Mercury's private collection goes on show in UK

New video animation aims to raise AIDS awareness on Freddie Mercury's birthday

A stripped-back version of Freddie Mercury performing the song 'Time' was released on Thursday, the result of a long search for the 1986 recording made at London`s Abbey Road Studios. 
 
Accompanied by just a piano, the late Queen frontman sings a simpler version of the track he recorded as a solo artist with British musician, songwriter and producer Dave Clark for the 'Time' concept album of the London musical of the same name. 
 
The new version, released under its full title 'Time Waits For No One', provides a moving rendition of the song about not knowing what is around the corner.&nbsp;

Mercury died from AIDS-related pneumonia in 1991.&nbsp; 
 
"It`s just Freddie and piano and it really shows what an amazing performer, an amazing range he had," Clark, who found the recording after years of searching, told Reuters.&nbsp; 
 
"It gave me goosebumps because it`s the way he performs it, like he tastes every word." 
 
Clark, who led the Dave Clark Five band in the 1960s, worked with various singers for "Time" the album. Mercury sang two songs, the title track and 'In My Defence', recorded in 1985.&nbsp; 
 
When he joined Clark again at Abbey Road Studios in January 1986, the session recorded 48 tracks of backing vocals for 'Time'. The final version ended up with 96 tracks.&nbsp; 
 
But Clark said he always remembered that first rehearsal of Mercury singing alongside keyboardist Mike Moran on the piano.&nbsp; 
 
"I kept thinking about it," he said. "A decade after, I felt I`d love to hear the original and I went back and I couldn`t find it because it was 96 tracks." 
"A few years later I got my engineer to go down and go through everything, we couldn`t find it ... Then at the end of 2017, we gave another try and we found it, which was wonderful." 
 
The song`s video was recorded in a four-camera shoot in 1986, and the original 35mm film was put away.

Clark, 76, restored the negatives to add video for this version and brought in Moran to record a new piano track. 
 
"This is about a celebration of Freddie, what an amazing contribution he did to our music industry," he said of Thursday`s release. On working with Mercury, Clark said the star preferred recording in the evening, going "100 miles an hour".&nbsp;

A 1986 interview shows Clark and Mercury discussing the song, with Mercury saying he wanted to put his stamp on it. 
 
"When we first met he said, `But how can I do this song?` and I said to him, `I want a cross between Edith Piaf, Jennifer Holliday and Shirley Bassey`," Clark says in the interview. 
 
Mercury then replies: "I said `David, I have all their dresses, I can do it perfectly`."

A stripped-back version of Freddie Mercury performing the song 'Time' was released on Thursday, the result of a long search for the 1986 recording made at London`s Abbey Road Studios.

A stripped-back version of Freddie Mercury performing the song 'Time' was released on Thursday, the result of a long search for the 1986 recording made at London`s Abbey Road Studios. Accompanied by just a piano, the late Queen frontman sings a simpler version of the track he recorded as a solo artist with British musician, songwriter and producer Dave Clark for the 'Time' concept album of the London musical of the same name. The new version, released under its full title 'Time Waits For No One', provides a moving rendition of the song about not knowing what is around the corner. Mercury died from AIDS-related pneumonia in 1991. "It`s just Freddie and piano and it really shows what an amazing performer, an amazing range he had," Clark, who found the recording after years of searching, told Reuters. "It gave me goosebumps because it`s the way he performs it, like he tastes every word." Clark, who led the Dave Clark Five band in the 1960s, worked with various singers for "Time" the album. Mercury sang two songs, the title track and 'In My Defence', recorded in 1985. When he joined Clark again at Abbey Road Studios in January 1986, the session recorded 48 tracks of backing vocals for 'Time'. The final version ended up with 96 tracks. But Clark said he always remembered that first rehearsal of Mercury singing alongside keyboardist Mike Moran on the piano. "I kept thinking about it," he said. "A decade after, I felt I`d love to hear the original and I went back and I couldn`t find it because it was 96 tracks." "A few years later I got my engineer to go down and go through everything, we couldn`t find it ... Then at the end of 2017, we gave another try and we found it, which was wonderful." The song`s video was recorded in a four-camera shoot in 1986, and the original 35mm film was put away. Clark, 76, restored the negatives to add video for this version and brought in Moran to record a new piano track. "This is about a celebration of Freddie, what an amazing contribution he did to our music industry," he said of Thursday`s release. On working with Mercury, Clark said the star preferred recording in the evening, going "100 miles an hour". A 1986 interview shows Clark and Mercury discussing the song, with Mercury saying he wanted to put his stamp on it. "When we first met he said, `But how can I do this song?` and I said to him, `I want a cross between Edith Piaf, Jennifer Holliday and Shirley Bassey`," Clark says in the interview. Mercury then replies: "I said `David, I have all their dresses, I can do it perfectly`."

Freddie Mercury returns in release of stripped-back version of 'Time'