Queen City Rocker

Queen City Rocker is a 1986 New Zealand film developed from a 10-page outline written by Richard Lymposs, a sixteen-year-old Auckland youth with no prior film or writing experience.^[1][2] In 1981, Lymposs sold Queen City Rocker to Larry Parr, a budding Auckland film producer, and it was shot in 1985. It was directed by Bruce Morrison and starred Matthew Hunter, Mark Pilisi and Kim Willoughby. The screenplay was written by Bill Baer.^[3] The film was released as Tearaway on video cassette in the United States.^[4]

Musician Dave McArtney of Hello Sailor wrote most of the original music in the film, which also featured other artists including Ardijah, Graham Brazier and Tex Pistol.^[2] The soundtrack to the movie was released by Auckland-based Pagan Records.^[2] The music ranges from southern reggae to ska to punk, reflecting the late-1970's to early-1980's vibrant underswell in the Auckland music scene.^[2]

The original story focused on the friendship between two buddies in actual warring gangs of that time in Auckland. No mention of these two gangs was in the film. It is understood the Auckland Street gangs "The Boot Boys" and the "King Cobras" were the inspiration behind this story. In the late 1970s and early 1980s in Auckland gangs like these had vicious street brawls – even in New Zealand's main street, Queen Street, before horror-struck late night shoppers.^[5][6]

The original story made statement to the paradox of friendship, where both youths were technically enemies, caught in amongst the lower socioeconomic times athwart with violence, in a racially charged environment, aligning with different gangs. (The Pakeha and Maori between the first generation Samoan youths). By the time Queen City Rocker was filmed the script had been softened for a potential commercial market, as had the soundtrack, and when the film was in the can the reference to real gangs had been lost and the two stars were buddies in the same "group": the term 'gang' had become unpalatable.

The film was shot mostly at night in central Auckland. The riot scene in Queen City Rocker was inspired by the Queen Street Riot,^[7] which took place on 7 December 1984 at Aotea Square in Auckland. A free outdoor rock concert turned into a riot in Queen Street that caused over NZ$ 1 million in reported damage.^[8][9] More than 1200 extras were needed for the riot scene. The extras were so worked up that during a rehearsal of the riot scene they destroyed a police car which was not supposed to be destroyed until the actual 'take'.^[2] Morrison recalled: "The car disappeared in 30 seconds flat, they smashed every window, the bonnet was off, that was it. We weren’t even rolling. We had to get another car." "There was a bit of blood lust going on. Ask people to simulate rioting, it’s very hard to draw the line between reality and pretend. And what depressed us was there were a lot of people who were that way inclined anyway. Nice kids, but also an unhealthily large proportion of destructive people."^[7]

Queen City Rocker was a finalist at the1988 Listener Film and Television Awards.^[10]