Freddie Mercury winkle-picker shoes, £55,000 at Henry Aldridge & Son.
Freddie Mercury’s winkle-picker shoes worn in the 1991 video I’m Going Slightly Mad hammered down for £55,000 (plus 22% buyer’s premium) off a £25,000-£30,000 estimate at Henry Aldridge & Son in Devizes, Wiltshire on June 28.
The music video was the last to feature significant creative input from Mercury who was considerably ill with AIDS at the time. He wore an extra layer of clothing in the video to hide his weight loss and would die less than a year later.
The 40cm-long pair of black leather lace-up shoes with pointed toes were apparently acquired by Mercury in Ibiza, according to his stylist for the video and are labelled ‘Loco Mia / Javier / Ibiza’ on the inside sole. The style of shoe is traditionally worn for Barcelona street dancing where it is referred to as a ‘spinning shoe’.
The lot was part of the Two Day Auction of Showbiz, Fine Art, Jewellery and Collectors Items which featured several Freddie Mercury items, such as his suit, silk scarf and loafers from the same music video. The top selling lot of the sale however was Elvis Presley’s blue suede shoes worn on the Steve Allen Show in July 1956, which fetched £120,000.
It wasn’t the only Freddie Mercury-related sale recently, though. His 1986 twice-signed tenancy contract was also sold for £6980 at Chiswick Auctions’ Autographs and Memorabilia sale on May 31, following an estimate of £1800-2200.
