Page 56 - Dec 2022

RM Sot heby's Sells Freddie Mercury's 1979 Silver Shadow
for 10 Times t he Guide Price at Auct ion

Queen's front man, the amazing Freddy Mercury, passed away in 1991. He
was 45. His celebrity status still remains bright, however, and that status
apparently extended to the auction of the car he owned from 1979 until his Mo t o r s po r t
death. Although Sotheby's played up the "part of rock and roll history" angle News f r o m
in promoting the car, they also put a less than stellar guide price of between
Her e a n d
$22,755 to $34,132 USD in the pre-auction catalog. Further background
a c r o s s t h e
information said the car also came with workshop records in Freddy
Mercury's name as well as in the names of his ex-wife and long time Po n d
companion Mary Austin who apparently also helped manage the car's care.
Mercury himself never drove the car as he had no license. He was moved
about by a chauffeur.

Still, the rocker was inordinately proud and fond of his car, the first Rolls that he owned and one that he kept for 12 years. According to news
reports when Mercury took delivery, he was driven to a location where record contracts were being signed and reportedly insisted that all
the members of Queen get in the car and sign the documents whilst sitting inside the Silver Shadow. Although the original owner of the car
in 1974 was not identified, after Mercury's death, his sister owned the car after Mercury's death and sold it on in 2003. It was sold, again, in
2013 at auction and at the time of the Sotheby's London event, the Silver Shadow was owned by Andriy Danylko?s (Verka Serduchka) , a
Ukrainian celebrity. Put on the block with no reserve, Danylko said that the proceeds from the car would be directed to the Superhuman
Center, a medical program and charity that offers support and medical treatment to the victims of the war in Ukraine. The intent is to build a
new hospital in Lviv to aid victims in that country.

The Silver Shadow featured the original Silver Chalice factory paint with a pale gray leather interior, blue carpeting, and just over 62,000
miles on the clock . The car was fitted with a 6,750 cc V-8 engine. The catalog reported that the Rolls was in "excellent condition", having been
stored for a lengthy period of time and would need recommended recommissioning before being put back on the road. According to Sotheby's
the sales price was £286,250 ($325,681 at today's exchange rate, the equivalent of 11 million in Ukrainian hryvnia.

Mercury was not the only person associated with Queen that was apparently besotted with a car. Jonathan Harris, the band's sound man,
was reportedly so proud of his TR4 that Queen's drummer wrote and sang a song about the car. Titled I'm in Love with My Car on the band's
1975 album A Night at the Opera. In a companion video Mercury was at the piano as Taylor played the drums and sang the song with black
and white videos of classic cars flashing by. Go to Youtube, find the video, look closely and you'll see an Alvis passing through at speed, twice.

But perhaps you'd prefer to see newer cars decorated for Christmas pass through London? Here's a video.

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