Outtakes
Rock'n'roll wouldn't be what it is without a bit of drama, and Rockit has had its fair share during the past few years. Although the festival hasn't seen any celebrity overdoses, disastrous stage explosions or even one arrest, some of its more rock'n'roll moments include:
During the first festival in 2003, British singer Finley Quaye was confronted with a largely unresponsive audience. Rather than put in a bit of extra effort, he harangued the crowd. The audience got the last laugh though: Where's Quaye now?
During the press conference for the inaugural festival, Chris Olley - singer for British act Six By Seven - was asked: 'Are you enjoying your time in Hong Kong?' We're not sure if this was his answer, but he turned around and vomited. Press conferences are no longer held.
He's known for playing naked, but it was assumed that Electric Eel Shock (right) drummer Tomoharu 'Gian' Ito would behave himself in straight-laced Hong Kong. Not so: he got his gear off, was arrested and slapped with a HK$200 fine.
They'd built up a loyal following around town and had finally secured a slot on the main stage of Rockit. But 20 minutes into the Academy's set last year, one of the power generators blew and plunged Victoria Park into near-silence. Even though the sound was only coming through the monitors on stage, the boys soldiered on and showed why they're the most rock'n'roll of local bands.
British singer Leslie Loh really enjoyed performing at the 2003 Rockit - so much so that he refused to leave the stage. Festival organisers eventually brought his set to a close by turning off the power.
When British bands inspected the arrangements for the first festival, they pointed to the waist-high perimeter fences and asked what was stopping people getting in without paying. They were obviously more used to the high security at festivals such as Glastonbury, rather than law-abiding Hong Kong.
A live political broadcast takes place on Sundays in Victoria Park, meaning Rockit can't start making noise until a bit later in the day. But during the second year the tables were turned when the start of the festival was disrupted by a brawl between followers of rival political camps attending the broadcast.
