Watch and learn: a short guide to wild fun from 80s England (21 photos)

British photographer Dafydd Jones spent the 1980s documenting balls, receptions and university parties in all their boozy glory. With the New Year's Eve party season just around the corner, we invite you to take a look at the wild fun unfolding there and perhaps borrow some ideas or, conversely, consider the consequences...







William Knott and Edward Hoare at a dance party at Boodles, a private club in London, 1981. From here on, the author comments on his photographs and the scenes depicted in them.

First attempts at smoking cigars during the first debutante ball I ever photographed.





A member of the Bullingdon Club who fell asleep on a bench during the May End of Year Ball at Christ Church College, Oxford, June 26, 1981.



Lord Newall and a limbo dancer at a party hosted by Mrs. Yusuf Mazandi, London, May 6, 1982.

Mrs. Mazandi and her family fled the revolution that had just occurred in Iran. I believe her husband worked for the Shah. After arriving in London, she began inviting English aristocracy to her parties in Belgravia. Her parties were much more informal and relaxed than the usual dinner parties. I remember during one of them, while everyone was dancing on the tables, Nigel Dempster shouted, "If only the Ayatollah could see us now!", silencing everyone present for a moment.



Charlotte Stockdale, circa 1985.



The Piers Gaveston Society's scandalous ball, 1983.

This was the last of the Piers Gaveston parties I photographed. The dress code for the party was Hieronymus Bosch's "The Garden of Earthly Delights."



Royal Military Academy Sandhurst Ball, April 6, 1985.



Clive Cook at a party hosted by Oliver Baxter. London, November 13, 1981.

My style of photographing parties is to try to capture the most interesting moments. I knew these guys, and I don't think they were playing for me. I didn't look like a professional photographer, and people didn't always notice I was taking pictures. I used a small Olympus RC camera, which could focus in low light. It remains a little-known classic. In fact, much of the evening was quite boring. Perhaps that's why they grabbed the siphons.



Katherine Pearson at the Heatwave Ball at the Grosvernor House Hotel, London, July 22, 1987.



Lady Henrietta Bathurst at the Cinderella Ball. The Dorchester Hotel, December 1980.

The Cinderella Ball was a charity event raising money for abused children. For the punk era, the crowd was quite ordinary. I wasn't working for anyone. Dressed in a second-hand tuxedo, I somehow convinced the organizers to let me in. Unlike at modern events, I don't recall a single other photographer there. I didn't stay long because I had to catch the last train back to Oxford.



New College May Ball, Oxford, June 1986.



Debutante in a lily pond. Charles MacDowell nudges Pop Vincent during the Martin Betts dance, Ascot, July 23, 1982.

Having a party by a pond isn't a good idea. I remember drinking a glass of wine, which slowed my reactions a bit, and managed to capture this shot at the very last moment. The reeds sticking out in the middle look like huge splashes and add drama to the shot. Several other people ended the evening in that pond, including the hostess herself. Unfortunately, I missed that moment.



Halloween Ball, October 31, 1987.



"The Burning Boat," Oriel College, Oxford, 1984.

Every year, the college that won the Eights Week rowing regatta would set fire to the old boat after the celebratory dinner. Every time, I had to sneak in before the doors opened to outsiders. I tried to remain unnoticed until I heard loud cheers and jubilation, then the rowers would emerge and the boat would burst into flames. For me, this photo symbolizes the 1980s, the Big Bang, and the Thatcher years. It also looks quite good upside down as an abstract composition.



Celebrations after the Cambridge rowing race, June 1984.



Alexander Figgis-Walker dancing with Sarah Fazackerley at the Trinity College Ball, Cambridge, June 15, 1981.

In June 1981, I wasn't working as a photographer, but I spent a week photographing the May End-of-Year Balls at Cambridge. I slept most of the day and shot at night. That evening, I photographed uninvited guests trying to get into the party, and then it got dark and security relaxed, allowing everyone to simply walk through. The moment captured in this picture was early morning, so there wasn't much light. My camera was set to a slow shutter speed. They seemed to freeze for a moment in this wonderful position.



The Blizzard Ball at the Grosvernor House Hotel, London, January 7, 1986.



The Feather Ball charity event at Hammersmith Palais, London, December 1981.

This photograph quite accurately depicts what went on at these youth balls. It was recently included in an exhibition organized by Tatler magazine. A woman attended the exhibition opening, happily recognizing herself in the photo by her tights and earring.



Dancing in a pond at the wedding of Ari Campbell-McNair-Wilson and Nick Ashley, Hampshire, 1984.

This is what happens when you hold wedding ceremonies by a pond.



Tamara Beckwith at the Heatwave Ball, Grosvernor House Hotel, London, July 16, 1986.



Fallen at a party, London, 1985.



Natasha and Benjamin Fraser leave a party hosted by John Aspinall in Port Lympne at dawn, 1981.