ithout doubt Queen are high up there of the most-wanted bands among collectors. Only the Stones and Beatles come close. Source: Tim Jones, Record Collector.

Some of the most avidly sought after Queen and Freddie Mercury memorabilia is officially up for auction on Ebay over the next six weeks. Over 60 items, many of them unique, will be offered.

Endorsed by Queen and the Freddie Mercury Estate, all proceeds from the sale will go the Mercury Phoenix Trust, the charity set up in Freddie Mercury name, fighting AIDS worldwide.

The sale is a continuance of the fundraising initiative which was set up around the recently held celebrations of Mercury 60th birthday, which has to date already raised in excess of 50,000 for the MPT through a special performance of the band We Will Rock You musical and through the specially created Sponsor A Star online campaign www.loveroflifesingerofsongs.com

The sale comes as an unexpected bonus to the fundraising efforts. The celebration of what would have been Freddie 60th birthday triggered a rush of donations of rare Freddie & Queen memorabilia, all given for auction to benefit the campaign. It has been specifically launched this week to coincide with National Giving Week, which is backed by numerous celebrities www.nationalgivingweek.org

Highly desirable items include a guitar from the 1992 Freddie Mercury tribute show signed by Roger Taylor and Brian May as well as numerous of the artists who took part including members of Def Leopard, Metallica, Extreme and Bob Geldof, rare special edition coloured vinyl singles, gold discs, along with promotional merchandise including t.shirts and in-store displays such as a promotional cube created by US Hollywood Records to mark Queen 20th anniversary. Items come from the UK, US, Japan, Italy, France and Spain, most of which will not have appeared on Ebay before.