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Queen: Freddie Mercury's Personally Owned Promotional Display Model Of 'Frank the Robot' From The Album News of the World, 1977, image 1
Queen: Freddie Mercury's Personally Owned Promotional Display Model Of 'Frank the Robot' From The Album News of the World, 1977, image 2
Rock & Pop
Lot 187TP

Queen: Freddie Mercury's Personally Owned Promotional Display Model Of 'Frank the Robot' From The Album News of the World,
1977,

24 May 2023, 12:00 BST
London, Knightsbridge

Sold for £8,320 inc. premium

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Queen: Freddie Mercury's Personally Owned Promotional Display Model Of 'Frank the Robot' From The Album News of the World,

1977,
the freestanding model of plastic construction, comprising two moulded halves secured by screws, the body painted silver, the chest bearing a faded vinyl sticker reading QUEEN NEWS OF THE WORLD, the palms open, originally holding a wire basket displaying a copy of the album (basket not present), accompanied by a letter of provenance,
54in x 33in x 19in. (137cm x 84cm x 48.5cm)

Footnotes

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.

Additional information

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