| Performance Title | The Chelsea Arts Club Annual Ball - 'Weathercock' |
| Performance Date | 30-31 December 1949 |
| Performance Day | Friday |
| Performance Time | 22:00 |
| Main Performers | Student performers from:
Bartlett School of Architecture,
Croydon School of Art,
Kingston School of Art,
Goldsmiths School of Art,
Royal Academy Schools,
Hammersmith School of Art,
National Institute of Buenos Aires, Argentina |
| Orchestra or Band | Ted Heath and His Music (Paul Carpenter, Jack Parnell, Dickey Valentine, Jackie Armstrong),
Oscar Rabin and His Band (Harry Davis, Marion Davis, Marjorie Daw, Dennis Hale, Bobbie Benstead, Eric Jupp),
Jan Ralfini and His Orchestra,
Massed Bands,
Pipes and Drums of The Dagenham Girl Pipers |
| Conductors | Ted Heath,
Oscar Rabin,
Jan Ralfini |
| Set List | 'Weathercock' - James Bateman, Alexander Bilibin,
'Sailing Down The River - HMS Fowleweather' (Bartlett School of Architecture),
'Chinatown - Mah Jong' (Croydon School of Art),
'Entry Of The Gladiators - Seasonal Charioteers' (Kingston School of Art),
'It Ain't Gonna Rain No More - Weatherhouse' (Goldsmiths School of Art),
'Jingle Bells - Elements' (Royal Academy Schools),
'Night and Day - Counterpoint' - (Hammersmith School of Art),
'Blue Skies Medley',
'Carnival of Venice - King Carnival' - Colin Corfield,
'God Save The King' (The National Anthem) |
| Performance Notes | Backcloth designed by James Bateman RA which wasstrecthed across the stage and which represented the dying year in vivid colours. and Mardi Gras designed by Colin Corfield. A 30ft high slowly revolving weathercock was in the centre of the auditorium.
Associated Press Archives holds B&W British Movietone footage of the event (BM53006).
Founded in 1891 The Chelsea Arts Club is a members club for artists, which for 50 years from 1908 held an annual costumed New Year's Eve ball, which was an infamous part of London's social calendar. After two years at the Royal Opera House the extravagant ball proved so popular it moved to the Royal Albert Hall where it stayed until 1958. The balls attracted media attention with their lavish theatrical sets, multiple orchestras, raucous midnight carnivals and balloon drops and crowds of up to 10,000 socialites, bohemian artists, actors, and ordinary Londoners in elaborate and often scandalous fancy dress dancing until 5am.
Each year a theme was chosen such as Egyptian, Dazzle, Noah's Ark, Prehistoric and Sun Worship around which guests could create flamboyant costumes. London art schools participated by decorating huge carnival floats, which were driven around the auditorium floor and which, at the stroke of midnight, would be destroyed by revellers. The balls were well-known for reports of public nudity, drunken displays of affection, fighting and unadulterated fun. In the vastness of the Hall with its gas lit corridors, curtained boxes and dark staircases naughtiness was the order of the day.
Similarly to the annual Lady Malcolm's Servant's balls (1930-1938) these events were a safe space for the queer community to meet and express themselves with unbridled creativity and little inhibition. There were no scrutineers denying entry or undercover police. LGBTQ+ party goers could feel (relatively) free to be themselves without the scrutiny and surveillance they underwent in their daily lives. For many men especially they could wear drag, dress outrageously, and socialise unashamedly while never appearing to be anything out of the ordinary.
It was New Year's Eve 1958 that was to be the final Chelsea Arts Ball at the Royal Albert Hall. As well as minor damage to the building fabric, a partygoer dispatched a smoke bomb that exploded on the dance floor and ultimately became the straw that broke the camel's back. The Chelsea Arts Ball was asked to take out insurance indemnity against further damage to the Hall and they didn't return. The Ball has returned three times since - in 1984, 1985 and 1992 - although the elaborate costumes and floats didn't make the return trip. The extravagant, eccentric originals remain part of the history of the Capital's social calendar. |
| Related Archival Material | Programme (RAHE/1/1949/302),
Digital Photographs |
| Ticket Prices | 10s (gallery), £5-£50 |
| URL | https://thirdlight.royalalberthall.com/pf.tlx?GV7GVV.GgrzM7M |
| Code | Name of Performer(s) |
| DS/UK/9070 | The Bartlett; 1841-; English architectural school |
| DS/UK/9071 | Croydon College; 1868-; English further education college |
| DS/UK/4884 | Kingston University; 1899-; English University |
| DS/UK/1530 | University of London; Goldsmiths; 1891-; English education institution |
| DS/UK/3860 | Royal Academy Schools; 1769-; English Art school |
| DS/UK/3859 | University of the Arts London; Chelsea College of Art and Design; 1895-; English Art and design school |
| DS/UK/9077 | University of Buenos Aires; 1821-; Argentine university |
| DS/UK/8227 | Heath; Ted (1902-1969); British musician, big band leader |
| DS/UK/7569 | Oscar Rabin and His Band; fl 1930s-1960s; British jazz and dance band |
| DS/UK/2818 | The Dagenham Girl Pipers; 1930-; English female bagpipe band |
| DS/UK/7943 | Rabin; Oscar (fl 1930s-1960s); English band leader |