Dangerous Sports Club - History

History

After a heyday in the early to mid 1980s, the Club declined in numbers and activity level. However, in the early period, it was highly active, with several dozen active members and a holding a wide range of events. The Club was heavily covered in the press, and made a film released in 1982 ("The History of the Dangerous Sports Club") as a supporting feature. Their activities were recorded by photographer Dafydd Jones. - One memorable image is of a young Nigella Lawson playing croquet from a sedan chair during a tea party hosted by the club. The group split into various factions over the years. Monty Python star Graham Chapman was perhaps their most famous member, and he was at work in a feature movie about the club when he died in 1989. When making personal appearances in the mid-1980s, he would show films of Club activities.

The Club, although later achieving a degree of social diversity, was rooted in the English upper class and centred geographically in Oxford and, later, the West End of London. The style of dress adopted by members during their activities often included top hats and tailcoats, and the Club had a deserved champagne-swilling image.