Interview: First Time Flyers talk new single ‘Gold’ and their upcoming tour

UK country group First Time Flyers, which comprises of Tim Prottey-Jones, former founding member of The Wandering Hearts, Poppy Fardell, whose ‘Back on My Feet’ album was packed with slick Pop/Country tunes like ‘Double Denim’, Jake Morrell, a songwriter with a real knack for melody, as evidenced by his songs like ‘Freewheelin’ and ‘This House’ and Vicki Manser, a West End theatre actress & singer who has appeared in musicals such as ‘Six’, ‘Bat Out Of Hell’ and ‘Rock of Ages’, played BST Hyde Park on the 6th July 2023.

Our writer Neil sat down with them to discuss their development through 2023, tour plans and more. 

You guys have had a busy 2023, how’s it been so far?

Tim: It’s been a whirlwind. We didn’t launch until 2023 which is nuts. 

Jake: It feels like we’ve been doing this a really long time. Well, we have individually as artists. 

Vicki: We were doing it for a while before we launched, there was a lot of stuff going on. 

Tim: That’s true yeah. The band concept had been around for many months. It’s been a busy year, still so much more of it to come. The UK tour is in September which is very exciting. It’s hard to look past today at the moment. Give us until Monday and we’ll be back on the tour vibe but this is definitely a highlight of the year today.

Let’s talk new music. You’ve just released ‘Gold’. Talk to me about that song. 

Poppy: Do you know what we love about that song? It’s a really uplifting song. That’s why we made it. 

Jake: Until they see the music video *laughs*. 

Poppy: I think that was one of the first ones that had all four of our voices on. 

Vicky: We were waiting a long time to release that one and then we had ‘Forget You’ before that which is also one of my favourites. 

Why is ‘Forget You’ one of your favourites? 

Vicky: I love a sassy song. I love a good guitar riff. I love that it comes in with four vocals. It’s the same as the four part harmony in ‘Gold’ that hits so quickly from the start.  

Poppy: We also had a lot of fun writing it because..

Jake: Because I wasn’t there *whole band laughs*.

Poppy: It was funny because we all realised the moment where it could be taken either way with the phrasing. The forget you could sound like another f word. 

Tim: I don’t want to swear *laughs*. 

Poppy: We love watching the reaction of people when we play that song. All the adults reaching for their kids ears thinking we’re going to drop some swear bombs. 

How’s the reaction been to the new music. You’ve got big followings individually and I’m presuming a lot of those fans have come across to the new band? 

Tim: I think so to a certain degree. I’m sure we all get asked individually at some points whether we’re going to do solo stuff again but this is genuinely the focus and we feel so comfortable as a four. We’d all worked together in the past and have been friends for years. I feel like it’s been hard to come in at a certain level because we put the pressure on ourselves with that but we’re enjoying the challenge of that. 

Jake: Our aim is to always hit the ground running and particularly Tim and I have been doing this for so long. We are old, accept it Tim *laughs*. We really wanted to smash this. 

You just played a Speedway festival in Kent. 

Vicky: That was so fun! I waved the flag, the checkered flag! 

Jake: There is a photo on our Instagram of Vicky waving that flag and it’s like a kid at Christmas!

Tim: She had a lesson on how to wave the flag. 

Vicky: You’re going to wish that you had video footage of this *she then proceeds to imitate how to wave a race flag much to everyones amusement*. 

You’ve got the up and coming tour. Are you excited about that. 

Jake: Yeah, really excited. Even before that we have four other festivals to play including Long Road Festival which will be great. 

Vicky: Our year is shaping up to be really fun. Stuff is always coming in. 

Poppy: The tour will be utter carnage but I can’t wait. 

Are you looking to play more band stuff or are you going to sneak some previous solo material in the setlist? 

Tim: I think we should do a medley on one of each of our songs. 

Poppy: You’re going to put this out and be so disappointed when it doesn’t happen *laughs*.

Vicky: I think that when we sell out the O2, when everyone needs a break to change or to get water, then it’s the next persons point to do one song and then at the end we’re all in different outfits. 

Poppy: Vicky has sorted out the next four years and we’re headlining the O2! *laughs*.

Vicky: I watched The Chicks in Cardiff the other night and they’ve got the new album ‘Gaslighter’ which is absolutely awesome but I’d say as an artist, if you’ve been going so long, you want to just play your new stuff but I’m sure as they play stuff like ‘Wide Open Spaces’ and ‘Goodbye Earl’ that’s also what people are there for. They had such a good balance between the well known and the new stuff. 

You guys are managing yourselves now. 

Tim: If you can call it that yeah *laughs*. 

Jake: Getting ourselves to places on time, that’s what we call it. 

Tim: It just comes from having years of experience of being solo artists or being in other bands. We feel comfortable and confident in doing this as a four. We’ve all got each others backs and best interests at heart. Never say never but at the moment its working well. We’ve got a great team around us still. 

Finally, if you had one artist dead or alive who you could support, who would it be?

Jake: I think Fleetwood Mac for me. 

Vicky: I’d really like to do Elvis.

Poppy: I think Fleetwood would be awesome but there’s so many.

Tim: I wouldn’t say no to a Chris Stapleton set.

Jake: Dire Straits? 

Thank you guys for taking the time today, enjoy your time at BST. 

Vicky: Thank you! 

First Time Flyers’ new single ‘Gold’ is out now. Take a listen to it below: