Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood paints iconic Freddie Mercury at Live Aid – and you can buy a limited edition print
5 September 2024, 10:37
Profits from the sale will benefit The Mercury Phoenix Trust.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
Ronnie Wood certainly knows a thing or two about classic moments in rock 'n' roll, having been The Rolling Stones' guitarist for the past half-century.
As well as playing with the Stones and more recently moonlighting with the reunited Faces, Wood has also long been recognised for his work as a visual artist, putting his training at Ealing Art College to good use as a painter.
- Rock wedding: Rolling Stones' Ronnie Wood's son marries Iron Maiden's bassist's daughter
- Queen at Live Aid: The story of the greatest gig of all time
- Listen to the Gold Greats Live Playlist on Global Player, the home of Gold
Wood's paintings of fellow musicians get plenty of attention, and while it's usually his depictions of his fellow Rolling Stones that grab the eye, he's now turned his attention to an equally legendary star.
Ronnie has painted Queen frontman Freddie Mercury in his most iconic pose – with his fist raised in triumph at Wembley Stadium during Live Aid in 1985.
You can buy a limited edition print for £799, with a percentage of profits from the sale being donated to The Mercury Phoenix Trust, the AIDS charity set up in Freddie's memory by his Queen bandmates following the singer's death.
Printed on somerset enhanced velvet 330 gsm paper, each of the 250 prints is numbered and individually hand-signed by Ronnie.
"Ronnie’s study of @freddiemercury is a tribute to one of the greatest singers in rock 'n' roll history," read a post on Wood's Instagram.
"'The Mercury' depicts Freddie in an iconic pose in his iconic yellow jacket worn at @officialqueenmusic's legendary Live Aid performance."
