Jim Ennis

Interviewed in the early 1980s. Interviewer unknown

Life before gay community? I was living on Villa Road. Villa Road told me about the community and I met Terry Stewart at a party or something like that. He used to call round. I called round one evening and I went to 153 (Railton Road) where he was living at the time and in the middle of making a film. They were filming people sitting round the room talking. Can't remember who was filming. I didn't know anybody.

When I moved down here I moved to 145 (Railton) which was empty. Obviously empty with windows missing and no water or electricity or anything. I spent a week there and to the water and electricity on and I realised the house next door 143 was empty. We went in there in the dead of night to check it out and I moved in there. On my own. Then Alan Reid and Jamie Dunbar came along and lived there with me. Also a guy called Michael who didn't stay very long. I eventually moved to 153 (Railton) when Terry and Jeff (Saynor) moved there. I Spent about a year in 143 with Jamie and Chris Ransome, Jamie's partner. That was about 1978 or 1979 after the GC had closed. I didn't know anything about that.

I went to live in Villa Road because I was living with a lover and we were splitting up. I didn't have any money to pay rent and so I went to squat. I was one of the last 5 people living on the south side of Villa Road before it was pulled down. I moved to number 3 on the other side of the street. There were a number of people living on Villa Road. It was my last year in art college, Ravensbourne in Bromley were I travelled to every day. I was there for 3 years. I came to London from Ireland where I had been studying in Sligo. I lived with my family in Mayo. I have a slight northern accent because my family lived near Derry in County Donegal and then we moved down to Mayo, to Claremorris. A small town of about 3,000 people.

I left home at 17 to go and study in Sligo. At 19 I came to London. When I was studying at Sligo I came to London to work for my summer holidays at a hotel. So I discovered the gay clubs during my summer holiday. Catacombs and the Sombrero and Napoleons. In Ireland I didn't know anyone gay people at the time and I didn't have any sex.

There were lots of reasons I moved to London. It wasn't just to escape. It was also to learn and to meet other gay men and to get a degree in Art. So I got to go to gay clubs and pubs. I didn't regret leaving anything behind at the time. I don't know. If I had stayed in Ireland I probably would have discovered the gay scene there. I didn't regret coming over here. It has been easier in a way coming here.

I had a relationship for three and a half years with a man. We have separated now and gone our own way. I only knew about the clubs and pubs. I didn't know anything about the gay politics and the gay liberation movement before I came to live here in Railton Road. I thought it was good. I got involved a lot in the gay liberation movement with the theatre, Brixton Faeries and organising the discos at Lambeth Town Hall doing the leaflets and decorations and things like that. Working in the community, in the garden, going to gay meetings and there were demonstrations. This was something completely different. Something I had never imagined. I didn't know there were gay men in groups like this. I didn't know anything about squatting except what was on the news. That's why I went to Villa Road. It wasn't easy but it made sense to me at the time. I felt more a sense of freedom than I had in ? Much more and much more a sense of community. I lived in very derelict houses in Villa Road. It didn't take long to fix up one room.

Re Brixton Faeries: I didn't do any drama courses. I had the experience of being in pantomimes in secondary school in Ireland. My only acting experience. One of them was in drag. I played an American tourist called Sally. I was about 14. It was an all boys school. Female parts were played by the younger boys whose voices hadn't broken. I liked doing it. I must have done it very well if I enjoyed it that much.

It was al a bit crazy. The GC had finished and a lot of that drag scene had finished but after I had moved into 153 there seemed to be a lot of new people arriving and the community was growing. A lot of the new people just got into being crazy. We would dress up in drag and go around Brixton and go to parties and sometimes we would be in drag for weeks on end.

How many houses squatted? There was 159, next door and next door to that again. Then 153 and next door to that again. Next door to that again with Julian and Frank (Egan?). Then 145 and 143 and three houses on the other side. There was at least three people to each house, sometimes 4, 5 or 6. Easily about 40.

There were divisions, yes. It didn't bother me. Some people wouldn't talk to other people. It's the same in any large group. People get on together and others don't. I don't think anyone was left on their own. That wouldn't be possible. Women? There was Maggie. She left and later on Anna and Veronica. They stayed quite a while and seemed to enjoy themselves here but they left as well. It was always predominantly male. Mostly aged about 20 to 35 years. All white? There was Bruno who was French and Dirg who lived with me for about 6 months in 153. I can't remember any other black people living here. Was class important? No I didn't notice any class divisions. Class is not a thing that I recognise anywhere. From my background I didn't grow up with any knowledge of the class system. I only know about it from coming to London and seeing different classes, segregation on trains and things. It was something I was never part of. Down here we were all squatters. Some people could be described as being from the middle class, upper middle class. That didn't make a difference to anything here. There was a mixture of different nationalities here. That didn't make any difference either. I didn't think the group had anything to do with where a person was from. Some people were serious and some people were working sometimes. They tried to live a kin of normal life especially if they were working. A lot of us were on the dole. Staying up late at night and having parties. Some were more organised as a group when I came here first. A whole group. But later on...a lot was gay liberation meetings and that kind of organisation. There was more of a surface organisation with chairmen, treasurer, secretary and all that kind of stuff which as time had gone on I didn't really bother much about all that. I think a lot of people dropped their ideals and just wanted to have a good time. All this popping in and out of each others houses.

Brixton Faeries? We did a few shows. The first one we did Julian was organising. He put that together. A Christmas show for old age pensioners at a local school. Big deal stepping outside of the community? Well, we had always been on the street and the community knew who we were. We were more clearly visible on the street as gays. We didn't feel like we were going out on the street in drag that we were confronting people. It was just something we felt like doing at the time. It wasn't conscious but it must have made a strong statement about our sexuality. We felt strongly about it and the more shit we got thrown at us for doing it the more we did it. We didn't really think much about those things before doing them. We just did them on impulse and that was the good thing about it. Doing those things together. I wouldn't have been able to do those things if I had been on my own living in a bedsit.

Times have changed. There have been riots and Brixton has changed a lot. The it was slum. Definitely slum. Derelict house all the way up Railton Road. I don't remember getting into fights being in drag. We weren't that serious about it (genderfuck). I think it got dropped...that whole drag thing got dropped when it began to be discussed seriously. That's when it became political. I just lost interest in it. A lot of people have moved out since the riots. Not because of them but because they were offered other places to live. Before the riots I think the drag was being dropped because it was being taken too seriously. Can't do it when it is that serious. I was doing theatre (Sexual Outlaws?) but then drag became symbolic, unreal.

Wearing drag was one way that people could not possibly mistake us as being straight. This was to balance things out the other way because straight men were so straight. We used to go to opposite extremes. To preserve our own identity. It was supportive (against crap) not protective. Mutual support. That made it easier. There were times when I felt it was something difficult to do but we did not feel we had to do it. We just felt like doing it. Without really bothering why we are doing it or having any political arguments or reasons why. We just felt like doing it. Enjoy doing it. It became analysed and seen a 'right on'.

A lot of people in the community were out on the streets during the riots and fighting. I would say the majority. There were people who stayed in doors and were frightened. It was frightening for all of us. But a lot of people here were involved in the riots. The first riot I was...

END OF SIDE ONE

SIDE TWO

 ...we'd known police harassment and the tension of almost every body in Brixton...seemed against the police. The big build up of police forces in the area and...the day the first riot broke out (day of) I was shopping in Tescos. There were loads and loads of black people out on the streets and there were lots and lots of police going around in convoys of cars and vans at speed. I was walking home with my shopping and, passing the Atlantic pub opposite by Desmond's Hip City, a big convoy of police vans and cars came round the corner and bottles and stones were thrown as the police came speeding around. That was the first time I could feel the tension. I could feel that something was going to happen. I realised it was starting and I couldn't get down Railton Road and I had to go the long way round to get home with the shopping. When I got home I went out to see what was happening and it all just happened. The streets were full of people. I knew other people on the street. That evening cars were being turned over and the fire, buildings were set on fire and there was looting going on. The police being attacked and the police lines being driven back. Railton Road was fully free of police. Buildings were burning and collapsing onto the street. It was a no go area for a few hours when the police couldn't get in.

Solidarity with black people? The police had just been harassing black people, harassing white people, harassing gay people. We just identified with those people who were being harassed. It was black and white. I don't feel that it was a race riot. It was people against the police. During the riots they knew who we were. We were wearing gay badges and stuff and people knew us anyway from living in the area.
Anti-fascist march 1978? There was a big one that came down to Brockwell Park. About 80k people. I was sitting on the balcony of 153 dressed as the Queen. Waving. I think that was before I had even moved in and I got to know people here. We had the idea of somebody dressing up as the Queen and sitting on the balcony. Didn't feel like anyone wanted to do it. So in the absence of anyone wanting to do it...I did it. Stepped into the dress and.... There used to be a gay club up the road, Pearls. We used to go to that. Gay blues club open to 4 in the morning or later. That finished because Pearl had been warned by the police and she got a bit frightened. She started having women's nights which were very successful. All that alcohol as well. Parties. People brought their own bottles. We took Sexual Outlaws to Amsterdam and Frank came with me. Frank Egan. He's from Galway in the West or Ireland. I think he might be interested in doing an interview for this. We did a whole week there in drag. I had already gone there and done a whole week in drag myself. This time we went with the show and spent the whole week in drag.
We used to get caught in the street here in drag and get shouted at. 'No shame'. (laughter). Sodomite! But we were so over the top in drag that people would not really know whether we were in drag or not.

Relationship with the community? I feel at home here. It was easy living here and the time passed quickly. There was always people to be with and things to do. I don't know any better way I could have got through those years. The pace goes through phases at times according to who is living here a the time. Because when it began when I first got here there was only one or two houses and it quietly grew. But after I moved in there was a big expansion with several more houses acquired and a lot more people came. That was another phase then when people moved out to council flats it began to change again. It think the changes were a good thing. People moved out for change because these places were never seen as permanent. All the time when I moved in it was understood we would have to move within the next year or so. It never felt like it was going to be a permanent home.

How was it possible for the gay community to exist? There were these people moving in at random because they needed somewhere to live. It was very random with no rules or regulations about who could live here and who couldn't. You could just move in without consulting a committee meeting or anything like that. We have people coming and staying just for a time from other places and countries.

How has it changed now that people have to become housing co-op members and tenants? I suppose it means better living conditions. I forgot to mention there were women living in 153 when I was there. They knew some of the men in the community but they weren't interested in getting involved in running the community or anything like that. There was Jess and...some French girl. 153 was very different from the rest of the community. The people weren't interested in going to any of the meetings. I don't think much about the community now or returning there. I am fine were I am for the time being. It's not the same community and my circumstances have changed as well. I am working in a full time job.

How do you see the community developing now? I don't know how that will work. They have to have communal areas because every house had a kitchen/living room...in every house there were one or two rooms where anyone in the community could just wander in and make yourself a cup of tea. Talk to whoever was there. The back door was always open. I don't think there was a locked door in the community ever. Except the front doors. It might still be possible to be with people. To go next door or whatever where people are gathered.

What do I do now? I am on a job scheme painting murals full time. Not sure what to use apart from the art work I did when I was here. Or the performance work. I am still doing that. I learnt a lot. No just skills but about being gay. It has done a lot for me living in a gay community. It was just so different from living in a straight community and so rare a thing. The first time in my life I had meet such a number of gay people. It's probably made me stronger when I work with straight people. It's just a feeling that I had a really good time and I doubt it could ever be repeated. It just happened. I didn't come here with any particular intentions. It was just a discovery. A self-discovery through being with other gay people who I had something in common with. Does people a lot of good. I don't think I know any people who have left here being more fucked up than when they arrived (laughter). I haven't thought much about it since leaving.

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