| Main Performers | South Kensington Royal College of Art,
Westminster School of Art,
Central School of Arts and Crafts,
Slade School of Art,
Chelsea Polytechnic,
Portsmouth Municipal School of Art,
Architectural Society,
Royal Academy of Art,
Architectural Association,
Grosvenor School of Art,
Clapham School of Art,
Hammersmith School of Art |
| Orchestra or Band | The Embassy Band,
Jack Harris and His Band,
The Rovers,
Fifth Highland Light Infantry Pipers and Drummers |
| Set List | 'A Great Big Bunch of You', (Fox-Trot),
'Where Have We Met Before?', (Fox-Trot),
'How I Long To Belong To You'', (Fox-Trot),
'Humming To Myself', (Fox-Trot),
'Masquerade', (Waltz),
'Paradise', (Waltz),
'Oo,That Kiss'', (Fox-Trot),
'Crazy People'', (Fox-Trot),
'I Guess I'll Have To Change My Plan'', (Fox-Trot),
Willow Weep For Me', (Fox-Trot),
'Mad About The Boy' (Slow Fox Trot),
'We Just Could Not Say Goodbye' (Slow Fox Trot),
'Here, It's Monday, and I've Still Got A Dollar'', (Fox-Trot),
'Please', (Fox-Trot),
'Tell Me To-night'', (Fox-Trot),
'Don't Say Goodbye'', (Fox-Trot)
Moonlight (South Kensington Royal College of Art),
Dawn (Westminster School of Art),
Butterflies (Central School of Arts and Crafts),
Triumph of Bacchus (Slade School of Art),
Black Magic (Chelsea Polytechnic),
Fire, (Portsmouth Municipal School of Art)
'Sleep Come On And Take Me'', (Fox-Trot),
'Love Is The Sweetest Thing'', (Fox-Trot),
'Strange Interlude' (Slow Fox Trot),
'Love Me To-night' (Slow Fox Trot),
'The Night When Love Was Born'', (Fox-Trot),
'Three On A Match', (Fox-Trot),
'Blue Danube' Viennese Waltz,
'On The Prater'
The Blues (Architectural Society),
Chinese Vermilion (Royal Academy of Art),
A Circus (Architectural Association),
The Golden Argosy (Grosvenor School of Art),
Springtime of Life (Clapham School of Art),
The Ocean (Hammersmith School of Art)
'Love Me Tonight (Chevalier)', (Fox-Trot),
'Isn't It Romantic?', (Fox-Trot),
'And So I Married The Girl', (Fox-Trot),
'Take Me Away', (Fox-Trot),
'Peanuts' (Rumba),
'Bahama Mama', (Rumba),
'The Younger Generation', (Fox-Trot),
'I Don't Blame You', (Fox-Trot),
'I'm Sure of Everything But You', (Fox-Trot),
'Strangers', (Fox-Trot),
'Evening'', (Fox-Trot),
'One More Affair'', (Fox-Trot),
'Merry Widow ('Viennese Waltz),
'Vienna, City of Dreams' (Viennese Waltz),
'Shadows On The Window', (Fox-Trot),
'That Is All That Matters To Me', (Fox-Trot),
'Say It Isn't So', (Fox-Trot),
'Let's Put Out The Light', (Fox-Trot),
'One Little Word Leads To Another', (Fox-Trot),
'Three is a Crowd', (Fox-Trot),
'Sweethearts For Ever', (Fox-Trot),
'Night Shall Be Filled With Music', (Fox-Trot),
'Along Came Love', (Fox-Trot),
'I Got The Right To Sing The Blues', (Fox-Trot),
'You, Just You' (Waltz),
'Medley' (Fox Trot),
National Anthem: 'God Save the King' |
| Performance Notes | The setting was designed by Professor Gerald Moira.
Ticket prices included supper and refreshments.
The event included a balloon drop at midnight.
Fancy dress was essential for men, but Venetian cloaks could be worn.
Associated Press Archive holds B&W British Movietone footage of the event (BM2193).
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/1/1933/1),
Handbill (RAHE/6/1933/1) |
| Ticket Prices | 5s (gallery viewing only)-21s |