Thanet lost a legend this month, Shirley Sullivan lost her long fight against the Big C, I first met Shirley and Mick in the late 1980’s, there were no smartphones then (thankfully) so I have no diary or pictures. I’d heard on the grapevine that The New Inn in New Street, Muck and Shirley’s pub) ran gay nights, unheard of in that day. So I persuaded a friend to come with me, far too scared to go in my own, so we piled into his Reliant Robin and popped down there.
The New Inn was unbelievable, during the day it was a quiet venue catering for local older generation customers but on gay nights, the place came alive, spilling out onto the streets, into the back garden and so friendly.
It wasn’t easy for Shirley and Mick as the was local opposition, their children suffered abuse at school but they carried on.
In 1988 they decided to open a club and Rumours Nite Club in the basement at Cliff Terrace at Cliftonville was made. Here they provided the gay scene with late night entertainment, again not without its problems. Rumours was one of the first venues out of London and Brighton that had cabaret like Lilly Savage, Kelly and loads of others on a monthly basis.
One event that springs to mind is when Mavis (Jan, Shirley sister and the chef in the snack bar) set the air extraction alight and a packed club was presented with 10 Firefighters in full gear to check on what had happened.
Shirley was always the confidant for many of the gay community in Thanet, she arranged outings to London and Brighton, weekend coach trips to Blackpool and Mini-Bus runs to Amsterdam. She is a legend in more ways than one. The New Inn often had a float in the Margate Carnival.
Unfortunately, the AIDS epidemic took more than a few of our friends and family, not only in Thanet but New Inn and Rumours customers now live all around the world. We also lost many young lives to suicide and Shirley was always there for everyone.
Shirley now joins Jan her sister and Mick her husband and we just hope she’s in a happier place. Shirley, we love you and can never repay what you did for us in the 80’s and 90’s. A true legend.