| Main Performers | Student performers from:
Bartlett School of Architecture,
Architectural Association,
Wimbledon School of Art,
Croydon School of Art,
Chelsea School of Art,
Kingston School of Art,
Hammersmith School of Art,
Pearly Kings and Queens |
| Orchestra or Band | Ivy Benson and Her Orchestra,
Billy Ternent and His Orchestra,
Edmundo Ros and His Orchestra,
Jack Leon and His Orchestra |
| Conductors | Ivy Benson,
Billy Ternent,
Edmundo Ros,
Jack Leon |
| Set List | Massed Bands,
Ivy Benson and Billy Ternent Orchestras alternating,
Edmundi Ros and His Orchestra,
Jack Leon and His Orchestra,
Midnight Balloon Drop,
Big Ben
Pearly Kings and Queens,
'Auld Lang Syne'
Students' Stunts:
'Egocentric' (Bartlett School of Architecture),
'Cirque' (Architectural Association),
'Bubbly' (Wimbledon School of Art),
Massed Bands,
Billy Ternent and His Orchestra
'Till Eulenspiegel' (Croydon School of Art),
'Mobile Bar' (Chelsea School of Art)
Ivy Benson and Her Orchestra,
Jack Leon and His Orchestra
'Mediaeval Motley' (Kingston School of Art),
'Quo Vadis' (Hammersmith School of Art)
Edmundi Ros and His Orchestra,
Massed Bands
'God Save the Queen' (The National Anthem) |
| Performance Notes | Film footage of this event is available from British Pathe (Film ID 132.13). Running time 1min 31secs.
Associated Press Archive holds B&W British Movietone footage of the event (Story No.BM60279).
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/1/1953/187),
Photographs,
Digital Photographs,
Presscutting (RAHE/9/1953/1) |