Freddie Mercury’s guitar he used to write and record Crazy Little Thing Called Love is going up for auction

The guitar that Freddie Mercury allegedly used to write Crazy Little Thing Called Love, is going under the hammer.

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The Martin D-35 is going up for auction alongside a much larger collection once belonging to the late Queen frontman, at Sotherby’s in London.

As well as the guitar, the collection offers a large amount of stage and personal outfits, music memorabilia, art and more. It has mainly sat at Mercury’s home, Garden Lodge, since his death in 1991, and is only now being released to the public with the blessing of his close friend, Mary Austin.

Another highlight of the auction is Mercury’s famous crown and robe he wore during his rendition of God Save The Queen during his final tour with Queen in 1986.

While the frontman was most famously a pianist, May has since discussed his talents on the guitar, leading to the suspicion that the guitar on offer, is the one he used to write and record Crazy Little Thing Called Love.

“He was very good on the guitar, very unorthodox – all downstrokes,” May said in an interview with Guitar World in 2019. “He wrote the riff for Ogre Battle [from 1974’s Queen II]. I used to play it with up- and downstrokes, but he was all downstrokes. Imagine how fast his right hand was moving! He had a frenetic energy on the guitar, which came across very well in that song.

“He [also] played the rhythm on Crazy Little Thing Called Love,” May continued. “I wanted to sound as good as Freddie did on that record, which was damn good.”

The auction is being split into several events, all spanning from late August to early September 2023.

For more information about the auction and the Martin D-35, you can head to Sotherbys.com