Sunderland artist Frank Styles brings Freddie Mercury magic to Wembley Park

Not only does Frank Styles paint Sunderland’s streets with vibrant colour and nods to our rich heritage, he’s also a Wembley favourite.

Frank has created a number of pieces for the steps at Wembley Park and his latest is a real kinda magic.

To mark what would have been Freddie Mercury’s 80th birthday on September 5, Frank’s newest work is a spectacular 30ft anamorphic tribute to the Queen legend.

Called I’m Mr Mercury, the mural is hand-sprayed and applied to vinyl and is a striking addition to Wembley Park’s Spanish Steps, the key pedestrian link between two of the UK’s most iconic live venues – Wembley Stadium and OVO Arena Wembley, formerly Wembley Arena – where band frontman Mercury performed multiple times with Queen.

The bespoke mural comprises an iconic monochromatic image of Mercury, against a vivid backdrop of colour and graphic elements inspired by his life, passions and artistic identity.

The mural is 30ft tall, but it only exists from one place: a yellow circle marked on the ground opposite the steps.

Stand there and the fragments lock into Freddie Mercury's face. Move a few paces in any direction and it breaks back into colour and line.

The graphic representations within the wider artwork tell of the man himself outside of his performer persona. A symmetrical abstract across the steps features koi carp to represent Freddie’s life-long love of Japan and are a nod to his London home which featured, in pride of place, a Japanese garden and pond.

The winged female figures nod to Mercury's Virgo star sign. Freddie used the same motif on the Queen crest, which he designed himself, combining the band members' zodiac signs into a single emblem.

Selected lyrics from Mercury’s song catalogue and quotations from the artist himself rise across the 58 Spanish Steps towards Wembley Stadium, tracing a symbolic journey from the private man behind the performer to the global icon he became.

Frank said: “It’s been an honour to once again work with Wembley Park to deliver this tribute to the one and only, Freddie Mercury.

“As a trained graphic designer himself, Freddie was very aware and precise about the visual feel and so I have endeavoured to follow his ethos in the conscious creation of this mural.”

Jim Beach, Queen's longtime manager and Mercury Phoenix Trust co-founder alongside Queen members Brian May and Roger Taylor, said: “Freddie was known to millions around the world as the frontman of Queen but off stage, he was a quiet and humble man, happy at home surrounded by the things he loved most.

“I’m Mr. Mercury perfectly captures the beautiful complexity of Freddie, with his captivating portrait drawing people into his world as he did so magically during his life.”

Regarded as one of the greatest performers in rock history, Freddie Mercury rose to global fame as Queen’s lead singer, pianist and one of its principal songwriters, creating classics including Bohemian Rhapsody, We Are the Champions and Don’t Stop Me Now.

His electrifying appearance with Queen at Live Aid at Wembley Stadium on 13 July 1985 became one of the defining performances of his career.

By then, Mercury already had a longstanding connection with Wembley. Queen had performed ten times at Wembley Arena, beginning with three consecutive concerts in May 1978, when the building was still known as the Empire Pool. The band returned for three further shows in December 1980 and four more in September 1984.

Following Live Aid, Queen returned to Wembley Stadium for two sold-out concerts in July 1986 as part of the Magic Tour. The second night was filmed and later became the celebrated Live at Wembley ’86 concert release, preserving one of Mercury’s most iconic performances at the venue.

Wembley Park’s Head of Cultural Programming Claudio Giambrone, who commissioned and curated the mural tribute, said: “Freddie Mercury’s relationship with Wembley goes far beyond a single famous performance. Some of Queen’s most extraordinary moments happened here and generations of fans continue to associate Freddie with Wembley.

“For his 80th birthday, we wanted to create something that gives fans a new place in Wembley where they can come together and remember him.”

The installation is free to view 24 hours a day and runs until December 2026.