First Class Tickets were a Lisburn based Mod revival/ R&B band who formed in late 1979. The group were Mark Timoney, vocals, John Timoney, lead guitar/backing vocals, Patrick Timoney, drums, Laurence Rickard, rhythm guitar/backing vocals, Paul Magee, bass, Michael Hayes, saxophone and Paul Atkinson, trumpet. The band are pictured above at Lisburn train station, April 1981.

Because the band played a mixture of R&B and Soul music, they attracted a mod following. The band won the 1981 'Battle of Bands' event held in the Whitla Hall, Belfast on Saturday 17th October, where they were up against strong competition from bands which included The Defects and The Setz. The band gigged extensively over 1979 -1982 period and supported / toured with the Human League, John Otway and Wild Willy Barrett, Dr Feelgood and Phil Lynott. They made a memorable, prime time TV appearance in late 1980, playing live on Good Evening Ulster. They performed their punchy rendition of Otis Redding’s ‘Shake’ which can be viewed below.  As John Timoney recalls, “Some of us had to get out of school to go and record it”

The band recorded the same track at Hyde Park Studios in Templepatrick in March of the following year, which was produced by George Doherty.

Quite a bit of material was recorded over the life time of the band, with visits to studios in Newtownards, Belfast (with Noel Rafferty) and to Mud Wallace’s studio in Ahoghill.

With Davy Hull of David Hull Promotions now managing the band ,they was even talk of releasing some of these recordings on vinyl.

Unfortunately The First Class Tickets split in 1982 before anything got released.

John and some of the other original band reformed with the addition of new members under the name The Tickets. This line up finally split in mid 1986 after some high profile gigs, including appearances at the Ulster Hall in Belfast.