When drag queen Titti Von Tramp jumped on a police land rover in Belfast in March 1999 she didn’t realise she was about to be part of history.
The Kremlin bar was having its opening night party but was evacuated following a bomb scare.
As the anxious revellers piled out onto the street the drag queen decided this was not going to ruin the fun.
This is the story of the drag queen, the police land rover, the bomb scare and a photo that travelled the world.
It was a mild evening back in March 1999 and Robert McCready, then 27 from Ballywalter in County Down, was getting ready to go out with friends for the opening of a new gay bar in Belfast called the Kremlin.
He was going out dressed as his drag persona the Baroness Titti Von Tramp.
Belfast already had a gay bar called The Parliament, which opened in 1994.
It was the scene of the murder of an off-duty police officer Darren Bradshaw.
The community was excited about their second venue opening, but the celebrations did not last long as shortly after the doors opened a bomb scare was phoned in and the Kremlin had to be evacuated.
Bomb scares were pretty common in Northern Ireland during the period known as the The Troubles, usually an alert would be phoned in saying a device was in the area.
“I was barely in the door when the bomb scare happened,” Titti said.
“We thought, this can’t be right, what’s going on, it was manic,” she said.
“Darren Bradshaw had only been killed 18 months beforehand so that was in everyone’s mind.”
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.”
Press photographers outside the bar captured the moment and photo travelled around the world appearing in newspapers as far afield as the United States and New Zealand.
Headlines included “it’s a bum scare” and the “lady is a tramp”.
The photo became symbolic for Northern Ireland’s gay community,
Even though Titti said she didn’t realise the significance of it at the time it was a very “powerful moment”.
“There was a drag queen from Belfast in the newspapers, having fun, being visible and not letting a bomb scare spoil the fun,” she said.
Titti Von Tramp became a staple of Belfast nightlife working across different bars and clubs and was a regular at the Belfast Pride parade.
She also appeared on a drag queen special of The Weakest Link with Anne Robinson and was first to be voted off.
Von Tramp is still working across the city regularly hosting brunches and drag bingo.
The doors to the Kremlin nightclub are still open and it recently celebrated its 25th anniversary.
To mark the occasion Titti Von Tramp was back working the door and the club hired a replica police vehicle so they could recreate the iconic photograph.
Allen Gordon, the manager at the 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.
“It was one we were very keen to recreate for old times sake.”
There is now a discussion about the original photo being turned into a mural in Belfast city centre.
“I’d absolutely love that,” she said. “Imagine me being plastered all over a wall.”
Titti Von Tramp will feature in an hour-long Spotlight: Blood on the Dance Floor on Tuesday 19 March on BBC One Northern Ireland.
Jordan Dunbar tells the story of Darren Bradshaw, the police officer shot dead in a ground-breaking gay bar in Belfast in 1997, and investigates how DJs, drag queens and dancers fought back against hate.
Add Comment