A notebook used by Queen's Freddie Mercury towards the end of his life is to go on sale at auction, NME reports.

Written in by Mercury between 1988 and 1990, the notebook contains lyrics - either partial or whole - to 19 of Queen's final songs including 'Too Much Love Will Kill You' and 'The Show Must Go On'.

Mercury and Queen recorded 'The Show Must Go On' just six weeks before his untimely death at the age of 45 in November 1991.

"It is a poignant record of that period but it also struck me that it is a testament to the creative energy in the band," Stephen Maycock of auctioneers Bonhams told The Guardian.

"Despite his illness and increasing frailty the ideas were still there. His performance on that last album was remarkable considering how frail he was, his vocal powers on some of the tracks are just extraordinary… he did have this incredible drive."

The notebook will be sold at Bonhams' entertainment memorabilia auction on June 29 and has an estimate price of £50,000-£70,000.

"There are plenty of collectors out there who I'm sure would love to have this – it's because it is so personal, he had it there with him for nearly three years. It gives you a really close connection," Maycock said.

Meanwhile, a new survey has found that Mercury pushed his voice to its limits - and his vocal cords vibrated more and moved faster than his peers, even those of opera singer Luciano Pavarotti.