
Claire Tole-Moir
Head of Department
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Sold for £8,320 inc. premium
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Head of Department
Provenance:
Gifted to the vendor's Father who worked in the music industry having previously managed artists such as Ginger Baker and Dave Stewart among others. This 'Frank' robot was housed in Freddie Mercury's home before it was offered to the vendor's Father in the 1980s when Freddie's house in Kensington was being renovated. 'Frank' was then put on display at their music studios Acorn Recording Studios in Acton until the 1990s. It has remained with his family since.
As part of the promotional campaign for Queen's sixth studio album 'News of the World', a small number of display models were produced to advertise the new LP in select flagship record stores across the UK.
On the album cover sleeve and inner gatefold, 'Frank' carries the bodies of Brian May and Freddie Mercury in one hand, as John Deacon and Roger Taylor tumble from his grasp. The original artwork was painted by American Sci-Fi artist Frank Kelly Freas (1922-2005), after whom the robot was likely named. Freas had previously painted an identical anthropomorphic robot for the October 1953 issue of Astounding Science Fiction magazine.