Written in between 1988 and 1990, the personal notebook contains handwritten lyrics to, either full or partial, 19 of Queen’s final songs including ‘The Show Must Go On’ and ‘Too Much Love Will Kill You’ from the band’s ‘The Miracle’ and ‘Innuendo’.
When ‘The Show Must Go On’ was recorded in 1990, Mercury was so ill that Brian May had concerns as to whether he was physically capable of singing it, but he smashed it in one take. The song was released in October 1991, just six weeks before Mercury’s untimely death, at the age of 45.
“It is a poignant record of that period but it also struck me that it is a testament to the creative energy in the band,” Stephen Maycock of auctioneers Bonhams said.
“Despite his illness and increasing frailty the ideas were still there. His performance on that last album was remarkable considering how frail he was, his vocal powers on some of the tracks are just extraordinary… he did have this incredible drive.”
The auction house tracked down the exact shop on Goldhawk Road in London, where Mercury had originally purchased the standard issue notebook.
“There are plenty of collectors out there who I’m sure would love to have this – it’s because it is so personal, he had it there with him for nearly three years. It gives you a really close connection,” Maycock said.
The notebook is to be sold at Bonhams’ entertainment memorabilia auction on June 29th, at an estimated price of £70,000 – £100,000.