AIDS Charity to Benefit from Freddie Mercury NFTs Sale

Organizers have said that the works of Chad Knight, Blake Kathryn, MBSJQ, and Mat Maitland will go on sale in a time auction. The auction will be held for over 75 hours on the 20th of September in a timed auction on SuperRare, a digital art marketplace. 

The works to go on sale are 4 non-fungible token artworks are all inspired by Freddie Mercury, the late Queen frontman. The artworks will be auctioned off for charity. This is in celebration of what would be his 75th birthday. 

Three of the artworks show Mercury himself, while the fourth shows a white grand piano that has a crown on its stool. The dreamlike depiction also shows a pond of swimming goldfish around the piano.

The proceeds of the sale will go towards The Mercury Phoenix Trust, which is an AIDS charity that was founded by Brian May and Roger Taylor, who are both Queen members, as well as Jim Beach, who was the band manager. This charity was founded in memory of Mercury. 

Over the past few months, we have seen a surge in the market for NFTs-niche crypto assets. These assets are blockchain-based and they show records of ownership of digital artwork, which may include videos or images. However, skeptics around the world have warned of a bubble in the near future, although that remains to be seen.

In a joint statement on Thursday, the Mercury Phoenix Trust and SuperRare said that when Mercury died, he left a very simple creative brief. In the brief, it is reported that Mercury said they could do whatever they want with his work, but just “never to make me boring.”

Mercury, the graphic art and design qualified student, would have been 75 on the 5th of September this year. He died in 1991 from AIDS-related pneumonia. He is well-remembered all over the world for being very versatile and engaging when it came to performing. Today, the rock artist is most popular for “Bohemian Rhapsody,” a mock-operatic masterpiece.

Who Was Freddie Mercury?

Freddie Mercury was born Farrokh Bulsara on November 27, 1946, in Zanzibar. He grew up with his mother and sister Mary Austin in a middle-class family of Indian origin. His father died when he was three years old. At the age of five, he moved to England where he lived until he turned 18.

In 1962, he joined Queen as a bass guitarist and vocalist. The band released their first album “Queen” in 1970. After that, they became one of the most popular rock bands worldwide. They have sold more than 100 million records and won many awards including two Grammys for Best Rock Album and Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group.

On September 24th, 1991, Freddie Mercury passed away from AIDS-related complications.
Freddie Mercury Facts:

  • He is known as the lead singer of the British pop group Queen.
  • His real name is Farrokh Bulsara but it was changed after moving to London because there were too many people called Farrokhi at school.
  • In 1964, he met drummer Roger Taylor while playing football together. Later, both decided to form a band.
  • Their first performance took place at the Marquee Club in 1967.
  • During the recording sessions of their debut album, Queen had no idea how to play instruments so they hired session musicians who played all instruments except drums.
  • When asked why he chose to be gay, he said, "I don't know."
  • He wrote some songs about being bisexual such as ‘Love Kills’ and ‘You're My Best Friend'.