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A print featuring the final photograph of Freddie Mercury's final show with Queen at Knebworth Park in 1986 by Torleif Svensson.
As Freddie removed his crown and took a final bow in front of nearly 200,000 fans nobody realised that they were witnessing rock history. It was the last time Queen performed live with Mercury before his passing five years later. The turnstiles at the gig broke after 120,000 people had already entered the park, but thousands more continued to flood through the gates and, somewhere in the vast sea of people, a woman gave birth during the performance.
After their legendary 21-minute set at Live Aid in 1985 the band went back into the studio to record A Kind of Magic. The subsequent Magic Tour ran for 26 shows culminating with their epic final gig at Knebworth Park on the 9th August 1986. This print is accompanied by a Letter of Authenticity from Svensson with this being #3 from an edition of 5. Dimensions: 104 cm x 74 cm (41" x 29")
Torleif Svensson recalls:
"On stage, for the last time ever, stood Freddie Mercury. It was August 1986-the final night of Queen's Magic Tour. Their Wembley shows had sold out instantly, but the stadium was already booked, so they moved the grand finale to Knebworth. It would become the end of an era. No one knew it that night-not even the band."
Additional Provenance:
Torleif Svensson's prolific career spans almost four decades with his love of music taking him to London in 1984 to shoot Queen. All 50 rolls of film from that day were stolen, but a chance meeting with Brian May led to an invitation to join Queen on what was to be their final tour with Freddie Mercury. Svensson was in a unique position to capture a defining moment in music history; Freddie removing his crown for the last time in front of an estimated 200,000 fans at their final concert at Knebworth. His photos remained unpublished for decades until they featured in his book "Queen - The Last Tour".
Estimate: £3,000 - 6,000 M
View all lots from QUEEN in DAY 1
View all lots from Torleif Svensson Collection in DAY 1