Freddie Mercury: A World of His Own | The Evening Sale
Freddie Mercury: A World of His Own | The Evening Sale
Freddie Mercury's striking black, red and white leather arrow stage jacket, 1982
Auction Closed
September 6, 08:20 PM GMT
Estimate
20,000 - 30,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
Freddie Mercury's striking black, red and white leather arrow stage jacket, 1982
Worn for Queen’s first and only appearance on ‘Saturday Night Live’, 25 September 1982 – Mercury’s last ever performance in the USA
the flamboyant stage outfit comprises a black leather jacket with red accents and white arrows, with scarlet zip detail to cuffs, sleeves and front panels and in four horizontal bands outlining the waist, the jacket embellished at each shoulder and on the back with three white leather arrows with red stitching detail, the arrows on the back also edged in red leather, with red thong ties to sides, lined in scarlet satin with interior pocket to left side framed in white leather and decorated with red leather arrow head motifs either side of pocket opening, and woven label inside ‘Warwick Stone’; and a pair of red elastane leggings, appliquéd overall with black elastane ‘ribbon’ in a vein-like pattern
(qty 2)
SPECIAL NOTICE
No right to reproduce or commercially exploit the copyright or other intellectual property
or image rights in any lot is included with the sale of the lot (including but not limited to
song lyrics, sketches, drawings and garment designs). Queen Productions Limited, Queen
Music Limited and other rights holders reserve all their rights.
No right to exhibit in public or reproduce this lot is included with the sale of this lot
without the prior written consent of Queen Productions Limited, who shall act in good faith
to consider any such requests.
Freddie Mercury wore this famous leather arrow jacket while performing 'Under Pressure' for Queen’s first and only appearance on ‘Saturday Night Live’ on 25 September 1982. This occasion was to mark Freddie’s last performance with Queen in the United States.
This jacket’s designer, Warwick Stone, made three satin versions of this arrows jacket – in red, white and black satin, lighter versions for walking on stage. It was on Stone’s insistence Freddie commissioned a leather version too. According to Stone it was the black satin version rather than this leather arrows jacket which was used in the video for Body Language and on the Hot Space Tour.
The first appearance of this leather version of the arrows jacket was on Saturday Night Live. Freddie also wore it in many Queen promo photos. Mercury appears to have worn these super-hero style leggings and the leather arrows jacket throughout the Works Tour from August 1984 to May 1985, most notably together as an outfit at Wembley in September 1984, and he also wore the jacket and leggings separately, but on the same stage, at the Budokan, Tokyo in May 1985. He is featured wearing the complete outfit on the cover of Queen’s 1986 Magic tour programme – the jacket itself therefore was a staple part of Mercury’s stage wardrobe for a period of three to four years, and the ensemble for almost as long.