The Miami Showband were an

Irish showband The Irish showband () was a dance band format popular in Ireland from the 1950s to the 1980s, with its peak in the 1960s. These bands typically had seven to ten members, including a rhythm section and a brass section with various combinations o ...

in the 1960s and 1970s led firstly in 1962 by singer Jimmy Harte, followed by

Dickie Rock Richard Rock (10October 19366December 2024) was an Irish singer. Chiefly associated with the era of showbands in Ireland, Rock came to prominence as a member of The Miami Showband in the 1960s, subsequently becoming a solo artist in 1973. He re ...

and later by Fran O'Toole. They had seven number-one records on the

Irish singles chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are ...

. The band's career was interrupted at the height of their fame when three members – Fran O'Toole, Tony Geraghty, and Brian McCoy – were killed in 1975 by

loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...

terrorists, in a botched attack initially intended to convince the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

government that the band had been involved in smuggling

explosive An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An ex ...

s across the

Irish border Irish commonly refers to: * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the island and the sovereign state ***Erse (disambiguatio ...

. The band reformed in 1976 but would disband in 1982, later reuniting and reforming. The Miami Showband played their final gig in 2015.

Career

The band was established in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

in 1962 by impresario Tom Doherty. He recruited an existing group, the Downbeats Quartet, comprising Joe Tyrell (piano), Tony Bogan (drums), Clem Quinn (guitar), and Martin Phelan (saxophone), and augmented them with singer Jimmy Harte who at the time was a member of The Ambassadors Showband in Dublin, joined trumpeter Tommy O'Rourke, trombonist and vocalist Murty Quinn, and bass player Denis Murray. The group's first engagement was at the Palm Beach Ballroom in

Portmarnock Portmarnock () is a coastal town in County Dublin, Ireland, north of the city of Dublin, with significant beaches, a modest commercial core and inland residential estates, and two golf courses, including one of Ireland's best-known golf clubs. , ...

, and as the town of Palm Beach in Florida is near to

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, they were named the Miami Showband. They rapidly became one of the top showbands in the country. For family reasons, and to finish his education in early 1963 Jimmy left the Miami, by now a very successful band, and a replacement, Dickie Rock (at the time, a member of another group, the Melochords) was found. In December 1963 the Miami had their first single, a version of the

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

track " There's Always Me" reached number one in the Irish charts They had four further number one hits over the next two years: " I'm Yours" and "From the Candy Store on the Corner" (both 1964), and "Every Step of the Way" and "Wishing It Was You" (both 1965). In 1966, the band were chosen to sing Ireland's entry in the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international Music competition, song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster ...

, and their song "Come Back To Stay" also reached the top of the charts. They also appeared on British TV, on ''

Sunday Night at the London Palladium ''Tonight at the London Palladium'' is a British television variety show that is hosted from the London Palladium theatre in the West End. Originally produced by ATV for the ITV network from 1955 to 1969, it went by its original name ''Sunday ...

'' and '' Thank Your Lucky Stars''. In 1967, four members of the band—Murty Quinn, Tommy O'Rourke, Denis Murray and Martin Phelan—split away to form their own group, The Sands. They were replaced by songwriter and singer Fran O'Toole, Paul Ashford, Pat McCarthy, Des Lee (born Des McAlea) and Brian McCoy. The group's final number one came with "

Simon Says Simon Says is a children's game for three or more players. One player takes the role of "Simon" and issues instructions (usually physical actions such as "jump in the air" or "stick out your tongue") to the other players, which should be foll ...

" (a version of the

1910 Fruitgum Company The 1910 Fruitgum Company is an American bubblegum pop band of the 1960s. The group's ''Billboard'' Hot 100 hits were "Simon Says", "May I Take a Giant Step", " 1, 2, 3, Red Light", "Goody Goody Gumdrops", " Indian Giver", "Special Delivery", ...

song) in 1968. McCarthy and Tony Bogan later left and were replaced by Danny Ellis and Martin Brannigan. The group released an album, ''The Wind Will Change Tomorrow'', in 1970, and in the early 1970s played a residency in

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

and performed at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

The Troubles

Popular with both

Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

and

Protestants Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

, the Miami Showband regularly played to audiences on both sides of the

throughout

the Troubles The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed t ...

and were known to some as the "Irish

Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

". The band's

saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

, Des Lee, would later recollect: "We entertained everybody. Didn't matter what colour, what

creed A creed, also known as a confession of faith, a symbol, or a statement of faith, is a statement of the shared beliefs of a community (often a religious community) which summarizes its core tenets. Many Christian denominations use three creeds ...

, or where we were playing, whether it was

north North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

south South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

at that terrible time in Northern Ireland. We looked upon it as giving two hours of fun to people to get away from the Troubles." In 1972, the group had another major change, when Dickie Rock left to front his own band. He was initially replaced in the Miami Showband at first by brothers Frankie and Johnny Simon and then, briefly, by Billy Mac (born Billy MacDonald). Following the sacking of Mick Roche (Billy Mac's replacement) in 1974, Fran O'Toole fronted the band, the group often being billed as "Fran O'Toole and the Miami". The album ''Miami Country'' was released in 1973. Line-up changes continued, and by 1975 the last remaining member of the original line-up, Clem Quinn, had left. The group then comprised Des Lee, Brian McCoy, Tony Geraghty, Fran O'Toole, Steve Travers and Ray Millar. Four of the band hailed from Northern Ireland: two of whom were Catholic; and two Protestant.
Site of the Miami Showband massacre

On 30 July 1975, the Miami Showband performed a gig at the ''Castle Ballroom'' in

Banbridge Banbridge ( ) is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies on the River Bann and the A1 road and is named after a bridge built over the Bann in 1712. It is in the civil parish of Seapatrick and the historic barony of Iveagh Upper ...

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 552,261. It borders County Antrim to the ...

, Northern Ireland. The band played live for an estimated 450 people before drummer Ray Millar left to spend the evening with his parents in Antrim. The remaining five members of the band travelled south by minibus back to

Massacre

At approximately 2:30 a.m. on 31 July 1975, the band were stopped at a bogus military checkpoint by gunmen dressed in

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

uniform in the

townland A townland (; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a traditional small land division used in Ireland and in the Western Isles of Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of medieval Gaelic origin, predating the Norman invasion, and mo ...

of Buskhill, outside of

Newry Newry (; ) is a City status in Ireland, city in Northern Ireland, standing on the Newry River, Clanrye river in counties County Down, Down and County Armagh, Armagh. It is near Republic of Ireland–United Kingdom border, the border with the ...

. All were ordered to exit the vehicle and line up by the roadside, facing away from the vehicle with their hands on their heads as individuals they initially believed were members of the

Ulster Defence Regiment The Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) was an infantry regiment of the British Army established in 1970, with a comparatively short existence ending in 1992. Raised through public appeal, newspaper and television advertisements,Potter p25 their offi ...

searched their van for explosives or weaponry."The Mystery of the Miami Murders". ''Sunday Business Post''. Tom McGurk. 31 July 2005
Retrieved 7 April 2011 In efforts to allay any fears or suspicions, one of these individuals jokingly asked the band members, "Which one of you is

?" Upon hearing this, one of the Protestant band members, Brian McCoy, nudged bassist Stephen Travers' elbow with his own, reassuring him all was well and of his belief the individuals were members of the

. Unbeknownst to the band members, the individuals were actually members of a

paramilitary group, the

Ulster Volunteer Force The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) is an Ulster loyalism, Ulster loyalist paramilitary group based in Northern Ireland. Formed in 1965, it first emerged in 1966. Its first leader was Gusty Spence, a former Royal Ulster Rifles soldier from North ...

(UVF). Two gunmen, Harris Boyle and Wesley Somerville, attempted to hide a

time bomb A time bomb (or a timebomb, time-bomb) is a bomb whose detonation is triggered by a timer. The use or attempted use of time bombs has been for various purposes including insurance fraud, terrorism, assassination, sabotage and warfare. They are a ...

on the minibus, with the intention for the device to explode upon the band's reaching the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

. However, the device exploded prematurely, killing both Boyle and Somerville and hurling the band's saxophonist, Des Lee, into a ditch.Taylor, p.148 The remaining gunmen then opened fire on the band members, killing O'Toole (age 29), McCoy (age 32) and Geraghty (age 24) and wounding Travers. Lee escaped any further injury by feigning death. Two serving

soldiers and one former UDR soldier later received life sentences after having been found guilty of murder.

Reformation

The year after the killings, the Miami Showband regrouped and continued to perform. Des Lee fronted the band until leaving in 1978, later moving to South Africa. The group remained active until 1982, led by Charlie Chapman. They then split up and their management formed a new band, The New Miami, fronted by Caroline Allen. Another new band using the Miami name was formed in 1996, featuring Gerry Brown, brother of the singer Dana. In August 2005, Lee, Travers and Millar reunited on stage at a Miami Showband Memorial Concert in Dublin. Following that, a tour was organised in 2008 with the trio being augmented by Gerry Brown, Johnny Fean (formerly of the band Horslips), and Barry Woods. The Miami Showband played their final concert on 21 August 2015. The venue for this concert was a location in Banbridge, close to the ''Castle Ballroom'', where the band had played on the evening prior to the UVF ambush. Memorial to the Miami Showband

In an interview granted to the press prior to this gig, saxophonist Des Lea stated: "It will be a very fitting close in Banbridge; it's going to be a very emotional evening as we're back in the town where the massacre occurred. It's emotional and heart-wrenching, but I know Fran, Brian and Tony would be very proud."

Aftermath

A monument at

Parnell Square Parnell Square () is a Georgian square sited at the northern end of O'Connell Street in the city of Dublin, Ireland. It is in the city's D01 postal district. History Formerly named ''Ruthland Square'', it was renamed after Charles Stewart ...

North, Dublin, dedicated to the dead Miami Showband members, was unveiled at a ceremony on 10 December 2007 attended by Lee and Travers. The

Taoiseach The Taoiseach (, ) is the head of government or prime minister of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the President of Ireland upon nomination by Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...

Bertie Ahern Bartholomew Patrick "Bertie" Ahern (born 12 September 1951) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach from 1997 to 2008, and as Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1994 to 2008. A Teachta Dála (TD) from 1977 to 2011, he served ...

, said of O'Toole, McCoy and Geraghty:

"Their murder was an atrocity which had such a profound impact on everyone on this island. It is remembered with sadness to this very day....We remember the affection in which they were held by people the length and breadth of Ireland. Their popularity crossed all boundaries and all traditions. They simply wanted to entertain everyone who had a love of music. At a dark time, they were a shining light for so many."

Tom Doherty died on 21 April 2009. Former band members Martin Phelan and Paul Ashford (born 1950,

Bray Bray may refer to: Places France * Bray, Eure, in the Eure ''département'' * Bray, Saône-et-Loire, in the Saône-et-Loire ''département'' * Bray-Dunes, in the Nord ''département'' * Bray-en-Val, in the Loiret ''département'' * Bray-et-Lû ...

, County Wicklow) died in 2010 and 2011 respectively. A stamp was issued on 22 September 2010 by

An Post (; literally 'The Post') is the state-owned provider of Mail, postal services in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. An Post provides a "universal postal service" to all parts of the country as a member of the Universal Postal Union. Services provide ...

commemorating the Miami Showband. This was one of a series of four stamps issued in Ireland to celebrate the "golden age" of the Irish showband scene from the 1950s to the 1970s. The 55-cent stamp was designed with a 1967 publicity photograph of the band, fronted by Dickie Rock. Two of the band members killed in the massacre at Bushkill, Fran O'Toole and Brian McCoy, are also featured.

Singles discography (partial list)

* Nov-1963^a – " There's Always Me" / "Boys" (No. 1) * Mar-1964^a – " I'm Yours" / " Please Don't Drag That String Around" (No. 1) * Oct-1964^a – "From The Candy Store on the Corner" / "

Twenty Flight Rock "Twenty Flight Rock" is a song originally performed by Eddie Cochran in the 1956 film comedy ''The Girl Can't Help It'', and released as a single the following year. The song was published in 1957 as written by Ned Fairchild and Eddie Cochran, by ...

" (No. 1) * Dec-1964^a – "Just For Old Time's Sake" / "Me Not You" (No. 2) * Jan-1965^a – "Round And Round" / "Shake A Little Baby" (No. 2) * May-1965^a – "Every Step of the Way" / "Rock And Roll Music" (No. 1) * Aug-1965^a – "(I Left My Heart) In San Francisco" / "One By One" (No. 4) * Oct-1965^a – "Wishing It Was You" / "Georgie Porgie" (No. 1) * Dec-1965^b – "Buck's Polka" / "O Sole Mio" (No. 8) * Jan-1966^c – "One Kiss (For Old Time's Sake)" / "Someone Told Me" (No. 3) * Feb-1966^a – "Come Back To Stay" / "Can't Make Up My Mind" (No. 1) * Nov-1966^a – "Darling I Love You" / "Suspicion" (No. 4) * Jan-1967^a – "When You Cry" / "To Whom It Concerns" (No. 7) * Apr-1967^c – "There Goes My Everything" / "Make Believe" (No. 17) * May-1967^a – "Baby I'm Your Man" / "Mairzy Doats And Dozy Doats" (No. 13) * Jun-1968^a – "Simon Says" / "Somebody Else Is Taking My Place" (No. 1) * Nov-1968^a – "Christmas Time And You" / "The Little Boy Santa Forgot" (No. 10) * Apr-1969^a – "Emily" / "Waterfall" (No. 12) * May-1969^d – "Goody Goody Gumdrops" / "Then I'll Count Again" * Jul -1969^a – "The Wanderer" / "Uncle Tristian's Moonship" * Nov-1969^d – "Jack And Jill" / "Rectify" * Jul-1970^a – "When My Train Comes In" / "Day by Day" (No. 15) * -1970^a – "Burning Bridges" / "Run to the Clown" * May-1971^a – "My Heart Keeps Telling Me (I Love Melanie So)" / "We Did It Together" (No. 7) * Oct-1971^a – "Cathedral in the Pines" / "Go" (No. 15) * Nov-1971^e – "Shake A Hand" / "My Pledge of Love" * Jan-1972^a – "Mini Monster E.P.", (No. 9) ("Till" / "Just For Old Times Sake" / "Georgie Porgie" / "From The Candy Store on the Corner") * Jul-1972^a – "Lot 109" / "Teardrop on Teardrop" * Jul-1972^e – "Loco Porti (Crazy For You)" / "The Writing on the Wall" (No. 19) * Dec-1972^a – "Lollipops Lace And Lipstick" / "When You Cry" * Mar-1973^e – "Captain Zero" / "Bye-Bye" * Jul-1974^f – "There Won't Be Anymore" / " It Never Rains in Southern California" * Sep-1974^e – "Clap Your Hands And Stomp Your Feet" / "Drift Away" (No. 8) * Sep-1975^e – "Love Is" / "Tell Me Again" (No. 3) * Oct-1976^d – "Hold on To Love" / "Angel of Love" (No. 1) * Jun-1977^e – "Out There Singing" / "Can't You Understand" (No. 7) * -1978 – "Don't Put The Boy Down" * Aug-1978 – "I Like It Like That" / "My Life Is Rock and Roll" * May-1979 – "Too Much Is Going On" / "Miami Melody" * -1979 – "Reelin' and Rockin' with Susie" / "Clap Your Hands, Stomp Your Feet" * -1980 – "Words And Music" / "Save The Last Dance For Me" ^a = Features Dickie Rock ^b – Features Clem Quinn ^c – Features Murty Quinn ^d – Features Des Lee ^e – Features Fran O'Toole ^f – Features Brian McCoy

References

Notes

Cited works and further reading

* *

External links

Miami Showband – Discography
(archived) * * 2020 ''

Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...

'
''interview''
with bassist Stephen Travers {{DEFAULTSORT:Miami Showband, The 1962 establishments in Ireland Deaths by firearm in Northern Ireland Irish pop music groups July 1975 in the United Kingdom Musical groups established in 1962 Musical groups from Dublin (city) People killed by security forces during The Troubles (Northern Ireland) People killed by the Ulster Volunteer Force 1960s in Irish music 1970s in Irish music 1980s in Irish music