An Auction of Freddie Mercury’s Private Possessions Reveal the Original Name of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’
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Everyone knows the words to “Bohemian Rhapsody,” the lead single from legendary group Queen’s 1975 album A Night at the Opera. But what most people never knew was that it wasn’t to be called “Bohemian Rhapsody” in the first place.
An early draft of the famous song reveals that Queen’s frontman Freddie Mercury previously titled the song “Mongolian Rhapsody.” The words were written on pages of stationery from the defunct British airline, British Midland, The New York Times reported. “Mongolian Rhapsody” appears on a page, with the first word crossed out and “Bohemian” appears written above it.
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The draft is part of an auction of thousands of possessions of Mercury that will be held in September by Sotheby’s. The items have belonged to Mercury’s friend Mary Austin, who told BBC that she has decided to part with them because she needs to put her “affairs in order.”
“The collection takes you deeper within the individual and the man I knew,” Austin told the BBC. “You’re looking at the process of the artist, of work in progress.”
The “Bohemian Rhapsody” pages are expected to sell for about $1.5 million. Other drafts of hits will also be auctioned, including “Somebody to Love,” “We Are the Champions” and “Killer Queen”. The drafts show Mercury trying to find the right word for lyrics, sometimes testing out multiple lines.
The Times also reported that other items to be sold include: a gold disc for “Bohemian Rhapsody,” a plaque acknowledging the group’s Grammy nominations for the song, Mercury’s stage outfits, and furniture from his former London home.
It was recently reported that the band’s music catalog may be sold to Universal Music Group for a record-setting $1 billion. However, a spokesperson for Disney Music Group—who currently owns the band’s catalog—said in a statement to Robb Report: “We have had no plans, nor do we have future plans to sell the Queen catalogue.”
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