Freddie Mercury's 'mythology busting' private photos revealed after 30 years

by Riley Stuart in London

The pictures show Freddie Mercury in a light previously seen only by his
closest friends.(ABC News)

It's about as far removed as you can get from a rockstar's lifestyle.

But cats, antiques and Japanese artwork were Freddie Mercury's happy place, his private photos have revealed.

The snaps — mainly polaroids from the 1980s — were part of the legendary Queen frontman's estate, and have been released publicly for the first time since his death in 1991.

His photo albums, which comprise 265 pictures, have shone a more personal light on the rockstar's final years at his London mansion Garden Lodge, and abroad.

They're set to be sold, along with more than 1,400 of Mercury's possessions, in a series of auctions beginning on Wednesday.

Cats are a feature of many of the polaroids.(ABC News)

David Macdonald, senior director of Sotheby's in London, curated the sale and described the pictures as "mythology busting".

"They're very, very biographical, but perhaps not in the way you might expect," he said.

"He's sitting in the kitchen with a cat or, you know, there's a photo of a vase, or friends in the garden chatting. It's a different kind of world."

While some believed Mercury lived a wild party lifestyle, Mr Macdonald said "at Garden Lodge, he was actually more likely to ask guests 'can you please use a coaster'."

When Mercury died from complications due to AIDS, he left his west London sanctuary and everything in it to his friend and one-time fiancee Mary Austin.

Mr Macdonald said he didn't think Mercury would have objected to people seeing the pictures, which include Christmas and birthday celebrations.

"There's something very interesting about polaroids because there's such a transient moment in life," he said.

"They've been in the darkness for 30 years, actually longer, and to have them out in the light and to share them with people for this moment is quite special."

Ms Austin, 72, has rarely spoken publicly since Mercury's death.

Earlier this year, she said it was "time to put her affairs in order" and sell the items.

"The collection takes you deeper within the individual and the man I knew," Ms Austin told the BBC.

The pictures provide a peek of life inside Freddie Mercury's London home,
Garden Lodge.(ABC News)

The items to be auctioned represent most of what was in Garden Lodge at the time of Mercury's death, and include paintings, his baby grand piano, and original song lyrics to some of Queens biggest hits.

"So much has already been written and discussed about Freddie Mercury in the past 30 years, but perhaps never before have we had the privilege of coming so close to illuminating his personal world, something only known until now by his nearest and dearest," Mr Macdonald said.

The photos are "mythology busting", according to Sotheby's.(ABC News)

The auction is expected to generate millions of pounds, with some of the proceeds to be donated to charity.

The items, including the photographs, have been on exhibition at Sotheby's London headquarters until September 5— what would have been Mercury's 77th birthday.

First published at ABC News, September 5, 2023