| Main Performers | Alan Halliday,
Barry Grantham's 'The Intention',
Barry Smith Theatre and Jane Gingell's Timedance,
Arts Educational School,
Chinatown Lion Dancers
George Melly - vocal |
| Orchestra or Band | The York Waits,
Ramon Gallo and His Italian Band,
Trinity College Swing Band,
The Esterhazy Orchestra,
John Chilton's Feetwarmers (John Chilton - trumpet, flugelhorn, Collin Bates - piano, Chuck Smith - drums, Barry Dillon - bass) |
| Set List | 'Julio and Romietta', Goldoni (Barry Grantham's 'The Intention'),
'The Battle of Punch, the Devil and the Apes of Hell' (Barry Smith Theatre, Jane Gingell's Timedance),
'Danse Tricolore' (Arts Educational School),
'Chinese Lion Dance' (Chinatown),
'Venetian Acrobatic Extravaganza', arr. Franki Anderson,
'Grand Carnival parade Finale' (The York Waits) |
| Performance Notes | This was also attended by Ringo Starr, Barbara Bach and John Hurt.
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 and Menu (RAHE/1/1985/128, RAHE/1/1985/129),
18 small colour photographs (RAHE/3/1985/4) |