Freddie Mercury | Autograph manuscript lyrics of songs for the album Sheer Heart Attack, c.1974

Freddie Mercury

A collection of autograph manuscript draft lyrics for songs from the album Sheer Heart Attack, comprising: 

i) 'Brighton Rock', three pages of lyrics, in blue ballpoint, text on rectos only, including a draft with alternate title ("Rock of Ages"), on one leaf of plain notepaper (238 x 203mm) and two leaves of Elektra Records stationery (218 x 145mm)

ii) 'Flick of the Wrist', six pages of lyrics, in pencil, blue and black ballpoint, on two leaves of Elektra Records stationery (218 x 145mm), one leaf of lined notepaper (178 x 135mm) and one leaf of plain notepaper (190 x 126mm)

iii) 'Lily of the Valley', one page of lyrics, in blue and black ballpoint, text on recto only, on Elektra Records stationery (218 x 145mm)

iv) ''Now I'm Here', autograph manuscript fair copy lyrics, 2 pages, black fibretip, on two leaves of plain paper ("Orbit" watermark, 255 x 204mm)

v) 'In the Lap of the Gods', one page of lyrics and four pages of vocal harmonies, in pencil and blue ballpoint, on one leaf of Elektra Records stationery (218 x 145mm), one leaf of lined notepaper (178 x 135mm) and two leaves of plain notepaper (190 x 126mm)

vi) 'Bring Back That Leroy Brown', one page of lyrics and two pages of vocal harmonies, in blue ballpoint, on one leaf of Elektra Records stationery (218 x 145mm) and one leaf of lined notepaper (178 x 135mm) 

vii) 'In the Lap of the Gods...Revisited', four pages of lyrics, in pencil and blue ballpoint, text on rectos only, one leaf with track timings on the verso, on Elektra Records stationery (218 x 145mm)

viii) Further lyrics and vocal arrangements for songs from the album including 'Bring Back That Leroy Brown' and 'Flick of the Wrist', 19 pages, plus blanks, on a pad of lined notepaper (178 x 135mm), 30 leaves

ix) Album track listings, recording schedules, and related notes, 6 pages, including in the hands of Roger Taylor and John Deacon, plus many blanks, including the unused remainder of Elektra Records stationery pad and a pad of Oxford brand lined stationery with only one page used

x) Brian May, 'She Makes Me', autograph manuscript working lyrics in the hand of Brian May, 1 page, with a set list on the verso, in pencil, one leaf of plain paper, torn and frayed at edges

Altogether 56 leaves plus two pads of paper, c.1974

EXTENSIVE DRAFTS REVEALING IN EXCEPTIONAL DETAIL THE COMPOSITION PROCESS OF QUEEN'S BREAKTHROUGH THIRD ALBUM.

The album was recorded between July and September 1974 and was the band's last outing with Trident. The band had to abandon their American tour supporting Mott the Hoople when Brian May fell sick with hepatitis but were desperate not to lose the momentum that was now unmistakably building behind Queen: they played their last gig on the tour on 11 May and were in the studio two months later. Brian May was still recuperating when work on the album began and missed most of the early recording sessions.

Despite this short lead-in time, the album shows the band's, and especially Freddie's, growing confidence as songwriters. Many of the drafts are on stationery from Queen's American record company, suggesting that Freddie started writing whilst still on tour in the USA. The album was dominated by 'Killer Queen' (see lot 39) but included five further and varied tracks from Freddie Mercury's pen. The sensitive ballad 'Lily of the Valley' was "utterly heartfelt", according to Brian May (quoted in Is This The Real Life, p.156); 'Flick of the Wrist' was a hard rock number of the sort that had dominated the band's earlier albums; 'In the Lap of the Gods' had a catchy singalong chorus that was a major feature of Queen's live performances until its place was usurped by 'We Are The Champions'; whilst 'Bring Back That Leroy Brown' was their first excursion into vaudeville. 

The current lot also includes two of Brian May's compositions in the hand of Freddie Mercury, presumably for studio use: 'Now I'm Here', a tribute to the American tour (Freddie explained that "We released it after 'Killer Queen' [...] to show people that we can still do rock 'n' roll..."), and 'Brighton Rock'. One of Brian May's songs is also present in his own handwriting ('She Makes Me' was also transcribed into Freddie Mercury's notebook, lot 104). There are also extensive notes on vocal harmonies, as the band continued to push boundaries in the studio: "The album is very varied, we took it to extremes I suppose, but we are very interested in studio techniques and wanted to use what was available" (Freddie Mercury, interviewed in Melody Maker, November 1974). The group also includes notes that appear to record the band's decision-making in the album tracklist. One list shows 16 songs being whittled down to 11, although the selection does not always match the completed album. Each song has a credited writer so we can see that six out of seven of Freddie's songs were selected, Brian contributed six songs of which three were approved, whilst Roger had two songs of which one was selected, as was the only song from John. A second list largely corresponds to the completed album and has notes on instrumentation, as well as providing the jokey titles that the band themselves gave many of the songs: 'Now I'm Here' is 'Now I'm Queer', 'Misfire' is 'Banana Blues', 'In the Lap of the Gods' is 'Gap of the Lods', and 'Tenement Funster' has the subtitle 'Young, Poor and a Rhino'.

Sheer Heart Attack was released in November 1974. Following on the success of 'Killer Queen' it marked a breakthrough for Queen, reaching number 2 in the UK album charts and also making an impact on the American charts. 

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