THIS was the scene on May morning in Oxford in 1979.

As usual, thousands of people flocked to Magdalen Bridge at 6am on May 1 to hear the choir singing from the top of the college tower.

The Oxford Mail reported: “A Maypole lurched drunkenly in the middle of High Street as, bombarded from one side by trad jazz and from the other by punk, the dancers struggled to disentangle their ribbons.

“The place was awash with the usual cheery mob of drunken partygoers, daffodil-bedecked clowns, bemused foreigners and sleep-sodden students.

“Regulars were saying the crowd was not as big as normal. Maybe it had something to do with the wintry early morning drizzle.

“But the tide of people had clogged Magdalen Bridge by 5.30am. The choir, boosted by loudspeakers, briefly quietened the tinkle of Champagne bottles breaking on the pavement, then the tide turned, the conga line wound its way back up towards Carfax and morris dancers struck up outside Blackwells. Restaurants and cafes opened their doors to serve breakfast, with some revellers paying as much as £2.25 for their bacon and eggs. Others found pubs serving beer from 6am.”

However, May Day that year was a normal working day and by 7.30am, traffic was moving again along High Street and lights were coming on all over Oxford as life returned to normal.