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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Entertainment
Rod Minchin

Jacket worn by Freddie Mercury during last live performance goes up for auction

The leather jacket worn by Freddie Mercury (Henry Aldridge & Son/PA) - (PA Wire)

The leather jacket worn by rock legend Freddie Mercury during his last live performance is expected to sell for up to £150,000 when it is sold at auction.

Mercury made a surprise guest appearance at a charity gala at the Dominion Theatre in London in April 1988.

The Queen frontman performed alongside Cliff Richard wearing the cropped leather biker jacket.

The jacket, from the Jean Paul Gaultier 1987/88 Rock Stars collection, is going under the hammer at Henry Aldridge & Son auctioneers in Devizes, Wiltshire, on September 5.

The Queen frontman performed alongside Cliff Richard wearing the cropped leather biker jacket (Henry Aldridge & Son/PA) (PA Wire)
The Queen frontman performed alongside Cliff Richard wearing the cropped leather biker jacket (Henry Aldridge & Son/PA) (PA Wire)

Included in the sale are letters from AIDSTakeCare International and the daughter of actress Barbara Valentin, who had been given the jacket by Mercury.

Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge said: “This lot has an extremely important part in the history of Freddie Mercury as it was the jacket he wore on stage for his final live singing performance in front of an audience ever.

“This would be the very last time ever and he delivered an incredible performance and reminded the world why he remains one of the greatest legends of all time.

“Although he did appear on stage later that year with Montserrat Caballe for Barcelona, that performance was lip-synced.”

Mercury appeared on stage during a special charity performance of Time The Musical, starring Cliff Richard, in support of the Terrence Higgins Trust.

He delivered a powerful four-song set, singing It’s Only Rock ‘N’ Roll, In My Defence, It’s In Every One Of Us (a duet with Cliff Richard), and Time.

Time tells the story of a musician hurled into the future and put on trial by an intergalactic court that holds the fate of humanity in its hands.

The ambitious West End production mixed powerful rock anthems, dazzling visual effects, and an epic narrative that had already thrilled London audiences.

Mercury accepted the invitation out of admiration for the project and his commitment to charitable causes.

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