The Miami Showband

A popular Irish band of the 1960s led by singer Dickie Rock, The Miami Showband enjoyed many hits before the murder of three of its members in a massacre linked to the Northern Irish conflict in 1975. Formed in 1962 as the Downbeats Quartet, the band, led by singer Dickie Rock, scored its first two hits with Elvis Presley covers, "There's Always Me" (1963) and "I'm Yours " (1964), before going on to enjoy a string of hits throughout the decade, including the #1 hits "Every Step of the Way" (1965), "Wishing It Was You" (1965) and "Come Back to Stay", the song that won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1966. After the departure of four members to form The Sands, Dickie Rock & the Miami Showband welcomed new musicians, including pianist Fran O'Toole, and moved towards a pop and folk style with their cover of the 1910 Fruitgum Company hit "Simon Says" and the album The Wind Will Change Tomorrow (1970), before taking up residency at Carnegie Hall in Las Vegas. Dickie Rock's departure in 1972 created a void that was filled by Fran O'Toole, who became the band's leader, and who tackled American country on the album Miami Country (1974). On July 30, 1975, after a concert in Banbridge, Northern Ireland, the band's Dublin-bound bus was stopped by Northern Irish independence activists, who detonated a bomb in the vehicle, killing three of the musicians - Fran O'Toole, Brian McCoy and Tony Geraghty. The band survived the massacre by reforming in 1976, and remained active until 1982. Reunions with former members took place in 2008 and 2015. Dickie Rock, who embarked on a solo career in 1973, died on December 6, 2024 at the age of 88.

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