Hampshire disco saw thousands descend on YMCA Fairthorne Manor

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They were probably the only things that could have caused a raw sound of the heavy bassline of 40 hit records to ring out over the historic lawns of a Hampshire manor. 

And that only rivalled by the single defiant battle-cry of thousands of teenagers making their stand. 

With the dying breeze of Autumn's Indian summer in 1986, Fairthorne Manor became the improbable cockpit for a vast adolescent revolt against banned narcotics. 

Say no to drugs disco at Fairthorne Manor - September 29, 1986 (Image: Echo)

It was an amazing amalgam of music, sport and unrestrained teenage exuberance as more than 5,000 youngsters from Fareham, Gosport, Portsmouth and 16 area schools swarmed over the grounds of the YMCA National Centre at Curdridge. 

Arriving in a fleet of buses, the young crowds abandoned the enormous weatherproof marquees which were built for the day and the chance to dance away from open skies for what was billed to be Hampshire's biggest-ever disco, courtesy of a Plymouth rainfall. 

The massive Bop till you Drop sponsored dance, the centre-piece of the national Disco Against Drugs campaign run by the YMCA School Link Programme. 

Massive music and the biggest sound system in Europe, thanks to the JB Monster Roadshow, poured down on exhausted but determined dancers. 

It was a day crammed with activity and the morning gave youngsters an opportunity to sample canoeing, archery, riding and climbing and the whirl of an energetic Its-A-Knockout competition. 

Athletic youngsters were out in force to give their high-level support. 

Say no to drugs disco at Fairthorne Manor - September 29, 1986 (Image: Echo)

Organisers hoped either athletics hero Sebastian Coe or Roger Black would perform an opening ceremony to launch the afternoon's events officially. 

And the star-studded guest list also included Portsmouth football manager Alan Ball and a number of Pompey players and members of the Solent Stars basketball team. 

With the help of London organiser Manny Amadi and given impetus by the overwhelming support of the city council and the Navy the event aimed to easily surpass the £38,000 Reading total, main funds-raiser, for that record- busting event. 

Did you spend the day bopping away at the 1986 Disco Against Drugs at Fairthorne Manor? Or do you spy yourself among these pictures? Please share your stories in the comments below or by emailing ian.crump@dailyecho.co.uk.

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