SUZI Q

Genre: Documentary
Featured Subjects: Alice Cooper, Cherie Currie, Deborah Harry, Joan Jett, Mike Chapman, Suzi Quatro, Tina Weymouth
Director: Liam Firmager

After more than five decades in the music industry, rock-star Suzi Quatro looks back on her pioneering career.

She topped the Australian charts with Can the Can and Devil Gate Drive, took her bass playing to TV’s Happy Days, wore leather like no one else and proved that women could rock long before The Runaways. From her rise to fame in the early 1970s and the immense strain on her personal life, to her committed touring schedule and recent forays into radio broadcasting, this wide-ranging documentary gives the Detroit-born, UK-based star the spotlight she deserves – with help from spirited interviewees such as Joan Jett, Cherie Currie, Debbie Harry, Henry Winkler and Alice Cooper.

Also featuring candid chats with the singer-songwriter herself, as well as energetic concert footage and a wealth of archival materials, Suzi Q pays tribute to a trailblazer – with the obligatory toe-tapping soundtrack. As directed by Australian filmmaker Liam Firmager, it’s also an intimate exploration of a woman who has shone bright, rocked hard, confronted her ego, remained resilient and, while not receiving recognition in her birth country, continued to pack out venues across the globe, including in Australia.