Beschreibung:

Freddie Mercury and Queen
A group of manuscript lyrics, comprising:
i) Freddie Mercury, autograph manuscript lyrics of 5 songs: 'I'm going down to the city', 'Living for the Hangman' (beginning "A path of moonlight trodden leaves...", two versions), 'Steamflier' (beginning "There's been a redskin brave..."), and two songs by The Nice ('The Cry of Eugene' and 'Tantalizing Maggie'); altogether 8 pages, in blue, black, and green inks and pencil, on 5 leaves of various paper stocks, various sizes, probably early 1970s
ii) Queen, lyrics of 5 songs in various hands: 'Not for Sale (Polar Bear)' (beginning "In a bright shop window sits the Polar Bear...") in the hand of Brian May; corrected typescript of 'I Hear a Hint of Jasmin' (beginning "i'm wondering if its all a hype..."); untitled song beginning "(You) just stand there, and flash those evil eyes" in the hand of Roger Taylor; 'I'm a Man' by Bo Diddley; and 'No Money Down' by Chuck Berry; in black ink, typescript, and pencil, on four leaves, various paper stocks, probably early 1970s
iii) Freddie Mercury, 'The Man From Manhattan', two manuscript copies of the song, both in block capital and with scattered revisions, 2 pages, and one page of vocal harmonies in Mercury's hand, 1 page, on 3 leaves in different paper stocks, mid-1970s
iv) Further lyric fragments chiefly by Freddie Mercury but some also by Brian May and others, and related notes (e.g. "Queen: song ideas"), c. 31 pages in various inks, on 25 leaves of paper, various paper stocks and sizes, probably early 1970s
This group of manuscript lyrics includes a range of songs that were not recorded for any of Queen's albums. Most of them date from the band's very early years, or predate Queen entirely.
'Living for the Hangman' was regularly performed live by Queen in the early 70s but never recorded (although it does seem to have been considered for inclusion on their debut album as it is found on possibly track listings, see lot 102). 'Steamflier' and 'I'm going down to the city' are not known to have been performed ('Steamflier is also found in Freddie's early notebook, lot 104). The song 'Steamflier' is set in the American West and the protagonist is on the run. It may relate to the "Cowboy Song" recalled by Chris Smith which is supposed to have included the line "Mama, just kiilled a man" and have been the origin of 'Bohemian Rhapsody' - although the lyrics here do not include that crucial line. There are also transcripts by Freddie of two songs by the prog rock band The Nice, presumably for live performance.
The group also includes a number of songs that were covered by Queen in their early years. These include rock and roll classics as well as 'Polar Bear', which was written for Brian May and Roger Taylor's early band, Smile.
The exception is 'The Man from Manhattan'. This song, which was inspired by The Godfather, was written by Eddie Howell, who was a client of David Minns (Freddie Mercury's boyfriend in the mid-70s). Freddie heard Howell perform the song and asked if he could produce it. The notes show the characteristic harmonies that Mercury added to the track, on which Freddie played piano and sang backing vocals whilst Brian May added a guitar solo.
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