12/04/2024
Belfast's gay venue Kremlin is this month marking twenty five years in business, serving the community in a part of the UK that has been characterised by religious conservatism and the fall out from years of low level civil war between various rival sectarian terrorist groups and the British state. To mark the quarter century, the BBC News Channel heads back in time to March 1999, and the opening night which was marred by a bomb scare. Iconic local drag queen Titti Von Tramp was there and recalls ""I was barely in the door when the bomb scare happened, ... We thought, this can't be right - what's going on? It was manic." Police Land Rovers arrived at the venue and it was secured while the security services screened the area for any devices. "The atmosphere was electric, the tensions around the bomb scare fizzled away and the party just went on," Titti said. "People kept telling me to get on the police van. I just thought, to hell with it, you only live once. I thought I'll just sit on it initially as I was in eight inch heels but then I climbed up, I just kept thinking that I was going to get arrested." The image of Titti on the police armoured vehicle was broadcast round the world and prompted witty headlines in the press. It has become a symbol of the LGBTQIA+ communities in Northern Ireland. Titti herself is still performing and has appeared on radio and TV. She is also hosting drag brunches and bingo. Allen Gordon, the manager at the Kremlin bar, said the anniversary was a chance to look back at how far the community has come. "We have to take a minute and reflect on those brave people who came before us and started this venture off in the face of great adversity," he said. "There are so many iconic moments in our story but one that stands out in everyone's mind is the night Titti Von Tramp decided to hop on top of a police Land Rover". There is a discussion about whether to have a mural painted in an homage to the iconic photograph and displayed in Belfast City Centre. Meanwhile Titti Von Tramp appeared on BBC1 Northern Ireland service on 19th March, as part of the hard hitting documentary Blood on the Dancefloor, documenting the homophobic and terrorist related murder of Police Officer Darren Bradshaw in the veteran gay venue the Parliament in 1997.
