Queen: Piano sold by Freddie Mercury to The Alarm

The piano has been in Mike Peters' recording studio, but is set to be sold at auction

It's a piano that's been on its own rock journey - featuring on a Queen album, before it was sold to a favourite band of Freddie Mercury.

The instrument then spent three years touring with Welsh rockers The Alarm, before settling in frontman Mike Peters' recording studio.

Now, 37 years after featuring on Queen's 1984 album The Works, which included the single Hammer to Fall, it will go under the hammer itself.

It is expected to fetch up to £20,000.

The Kawai EP 308 baby grand electric piano was used by Queen both in the studio and on the road in the 1980s.

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It was then a chance meeting between the lead singers of the two bands, after they had both played at the 1984 Montreux Pop Festival in Switzerland, that led to it changing hands.

While drinking in a nearby hotel bar, Peters was approached by a member of Queen's crew, who told him that Mercury wanted to meet him.

The piano changed hands after a chance meeting in a Switzerland bar between Freddie Mercury and Mike Peters

"Freddie was very humble and told me that he was a massive fan of The Alarm's album," he said of the chat they had.

"He asked me lots of questions about its recording. Then he gave me a card with his number and told me to call him if he could help us in any way."

A year later, as The Alarm were planning a tour, they needed a piano and Peters remembered the offer from Mercury to help.

After getting in touch, a price of £3,000 was agreed, and their crew collected it from the home of Queen drummer Roger Taylor, before it spent three years on the road with them.

The Alarm are now into their fifth decade performing

After the tour ended, Peters, from Rhyl, Denbighshire, kept it at his recording studio, a converted chapel.

On deciding to sell it, he said: "The piano certainly has a kind of magic. I'd love it to go to someone who gets the same buzz from it as we did.

"This year is The Alarm's 40th anniversary. It's a good opportunity to refresh everything we do. Some of our equipment is out of date and we need to reclaim some space."

The piano is not The Alarm's only link to Queen - they supported them for two nights at Wembley Stadium on their 1986 The Magic Tour.

It was Queen's final run of shows with Mercury and bass player John Deacon, and it is estimated that more than one million people attended the 26 concerts.

The estimate for the piano is between £10,000 and £20,000

The Alarm, whose hits include 68 Guns, and the official Euro 2020 track The Red Wall of Cymru, formed in 1981 in Rhyl.

While they had a break between 1991 and 2004, the band continues to play and the sale of the piano is part of a freshening up of their equipment.

A range of guitar amplifiers and flight cases will also be auctioned at Gardiner Houlgate in Corsham, Wiltshire, on 8 December.

Auctioneer Luke Hobbs said: "This is an incredible piece of rock memorabilia and a fantastic instrument.

"With new technology, today's electric pianos are a fraction of the size of the Kawai."

Mr Hobbs added interested was expected from around the world, but it was "difficult to gauge" where the price will end up.

"If there was an images of Freddie playing it anywhere it would be £100,000 plus all day long," he added.

"However, without an image or footage available, one can only surmise where the price will end up.

"Towards the upper estimate (£20,000) and above would be a pleasing outcome."