Gary Wanstall
"Rocket Norton"

Rocket Norton became a drummer in his early teens and formed his first band, the legendary SEEDS OF TIME in 1965 at Sir Winston Churchill high school. Since then, Rocket has been a BC entertainment fixture. With two national hit records, the SEEDS OF TIME had a huge impact on Vancouver’s burgeoning music industry and are commemorated in the sixties exhibit at the Vancouver Museum.
In 1977, Rocket joined the rock band, PRISM. Selling over 2 million records while touring the US and Canada, the band charted 16 hit singles, garnered two Juno Awards, and enjoyed “Prism Day” in Vancouver. Rocket became music director for CKVU-TV’s famed “Vancouver Show”, played a key role in entertainment for Expo 86, and managed the Vogue Theatre before forming ROCKET NORTON THEATRICALS, promoting a variety of international acts across BC. The list of Hall of Fame inductees with whom Rocket has worked reads like a list of the BC Entertainment Hall of Fame inductees. Once managed by Bruce Allen, Rocket has produced and presented legends like Red Robinson, Michael J. Fox, and Denzal Sinclair among many, many more.
His autobiography, “Rocket Norton: Lost in Space” is still selling across Canada and Rocket now plays and records with “The Authentics”, a band composed of colleagues from Prism, Chilliwack, and the Headpins.
In 2022, Rocket reacted to a terminal cancer diagnosis by spearheading a star-studded concert called F*** Cancer and raising over $320,000.00 for the BC Cancer Foundation. He is currently organizing F*** Cancer II for this October 2023 and aiming for more stars and a bigger donation total. Artist, producer, writer, and fighter, Rocket Norton’s career symbolizes success and perseverance in BC entertainment. Source: BC Entertainment Hall of Fame