Thirty Years of Notting Hill Carnival in Photos

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Thirty Years of Notting Hill Carnival in Photos

While everyone else was busy drinking rum out of the bottle and looking for a place to take a leak, photographers Norman Craig and Giles Moberly were diligently documenting the party on camera.

Photo by Giles Moberly

As the last thirty years of Notting Hill Carnival have ticked by, so have the questionable haircuts, dance moves, and costumes amongst the crowds. While everyone else was busy drinking rum out of the bottle and looking for a place to take a leak, photographers Norman Craig and Giles Moberly were diligently documenting the party on camera.

From the Nation of Islam in their sharp suits to the girls dressed up as the "Soca Police Force," the photo opportunities were so good that Craig and Moberly kept going back year after year. The result is a slice of West London history. Here are their incredible photos from the last three decades of Carnival.

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Carnival-goers outside the Globe Cafe on Talbot Road, 1981Norman Craig

'Class War' graffiti on the old Rough Trade shop in Kensington Park Road, 1983Norman Craig

"It was 1990 and I chanced down Tavistock Crescent and found these lads with their great flat top styles telling the rozzers what they can go and do with themselves."Giles Moberly

"The Lone Groover just happened to be strutting his stuff towards the end of the day." 1994Giles Moberly

The Nation of Islam, 1994Giles Moberly

"The Ragga girls in St. Luke's Road just happened to be walking down the street, I gestured to photograph them, and they obliged. Then they simply melted into the crowd." 1994Giles Moberly

Clydesdale Road sound system, 1998Giles Moberly

"2001 was rainy on the Sunday, so that was going to be a challenge. However, here was a couple dancing outside The Peoples Sound sound system on All Saints Road."Giles Moberly

Costumed dancer in 2002Norman Craig

Corn rows, Ladbroke Grove, 2003Norman Craig

Local Police get close to revelers, 2003Norman Craig

"The two geezers having a smoke were just chilling against the wall. The crowd was strong like a powerful current, I stopped by these two guys to let the surge pass, one guy just gestured with his finger to take their photo, so I obliged." 2004Giles Moberly

"The gun is on the Guy Ritchie movie poster, not at Carnival." 2005Norman Craig

"Explosive search dogs," 2007Norman Craig

The "Soca Police Force" on patrol, 2009Norman Craig

Bashment on Clysdale Road at King Tubby's sound system, 2009Giles Moberly