Brian May recently took to his official Instagram account to express his sadness over Mary Austin’s decision to sell off Freddie Mercury’s collectibles in an auction.
The guitarist didn’t make a statement about the issue until his latest post, even though it had been some time since Austin’s announcement. Sharing a photo of Mercury playing guitar, May wrote:
“Inescapably thinking so much about Freddie in these strange days. 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 homemade guitar. Now, it summons up waves of affection and great memories. He is so missed.”
He then went on to share his feelings about the auction:
“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. I can’t look. To us, his closest friends and family, it’s too sad. Thanks, Joyce Moore, for finding the pic. I don’t know the credit.”
In the comment section, it seemed like the fans resonated with his sentiments, as they, too, expressed similar feelings. One of them wrote:
“Well said. While I fully respect the right of the owner to sell them, I dearly wish different choices had been made. Particularly for the lyrics and stagewear. Not all things that one can do are necessarily things one should do.”
Another fan tried to comfort the guitarist, saying:
“This is so sad, all the personal things going everywhere. Big hug to you, Roger, John, and everyone who was close to him. The memories are in your hearts and will never go away. Beautiful picture! And good luck with the badger bovine TB speech.”
In April, Austin announced that she planned to sell 1,500 things that had belonged to the late Queen frontman, such as costumes, musical instruments, and handwritten song lyrics. The special Sotheby’s auction called ‘Freddie Mercury: A World of His Own’ was held in London from August 4 to September 5.
There will be a major auction on September 6, as well as two additional live auctions on September 7 and 8. The auction is anticipated to raise as much as $7.4 million. Austin plans to contribute a portion of the proceeds to support the Mercury Phoenix Trust and the Elton John AIDS Foundation.
You can see the photo May posted below.
