The Sheratons


The four young men cowered inside the Mini Cooper as glass showered in from every direction and they felt the car begin to lift. If they were going to escape they had to go now before the throng of hysterical teenagers surrounding the vehicle turned it over.

Just minutes earlier, riding high on their smash 1963 radio hit ‘Peanuts’, The Sheratons had been performing on the back of a flatbed truck in a Wellsford park. They’d noticed the crowd surge forward and beat a hasty retreat to the perceived safety of their car.

The Sheratons on their return to Auckland after four years in Australia, as they appeared in the Auckland Star, February 1970. Top to bottom: Ronnie Ransfield, Terri Sorenson, Lenny Ropeta.
Photo credit: Auckland Libraries collection
When Octagon Records folded, The Sheratons signed to Viking but never recorded for the company before departing for Australia in 1966. This Viking publicity shot is signed for Troubled Minds drummer Johnny Banks. Left to right: Terri Sorenson, Ronnie Ransfield, Lenny Ropeta, Wilkie Avery.
Photo credit: Carol Banks collection
The Sheratons’ only LP release, Having A Ball, from 1964
The Sheratons' single Martian Hop, 1963
The Sheratons, with Ruby And The Crystals, 'Where Are You Going Little Boy?' (Octagon EP, 1963). It was producer John Ewan's idea to record an EP of cover versions ('Bo Diddley' and 'Peanuts' among them). The group was initially sceptical, but say in the liner notes that the sessions recording "numbers we sing on the way to shows" were relaxed and fun. "We were wrong." Engineered by Bruce Barton.
A mid-60s Sheratons line-up. Left to right: Keith Hunt, Bruce Sorenson, Terri Sorenson, Ron Green.
The Sheratons on stage after the departure of Terri Sorenson in the late 1970s. Left to right: Lenny Ropeta, Ronnie Ransfield, Johnny Kay
The Sheratons as they appeared in the NZ Listener in August 1963
Photo credit: Auckland Libraries collection
The back cover of The Sheratons’ 1963 EP Where Are You Going Little Boy? released on Octagon Records
Members:

Terri Sorenson - vocals

Bruce Sorenson - vocals

John Kearns - vocals

Graham Pettett - vocals, guitar

Peter Smith - vocals

Keith Hunt - vocals

Ron Green - vocals

Ronnie Ransfield - vocals

Lenny Ropeta - vocals

Johnny Kay - vocals

Wilkie Avery - vocals

Labels:

Octagon

Trivia:

Terri Sorenson’s son is drummer Josh Sorenson who has hit the skins for King Kapisi, Nathan Haines, Hello Sailor and Hammond Gamble and also teaches drumming and music technology at the Music and Audio Institute of New Zealand (MAINZ) in Auckland.

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