Miami returns to final gig venue

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/northern_ireland/7703514.stm

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The Miami Showband, which lost three members in a UVF attack in 1975, is to return to the town where they played on the night of the murders.

They were returning from a show in Banbridge when their van was stopped by a bogus UDR patrol near Newry.

Three musicians were killed when a UVF bomb exploded prematurely.

The band have been rehearsing for a nationwide tour and will play in Banbridge in December. The tour begins with a show in Ballymena on Saturday.

Miami member Steve Travers said they wanted to return to Banbridge to pay a tribute to the people who had made them so welcome.

"Banbridge marked the last time we were really happy on stage, so Banbridge is a very good memory for us," he said.

Singer Fran O'Toole, guitarist Tony Geraghty and trumpeter Brian McCoy were killed and two other members of the band were badly injured as the bomb exploded while the UVF gang attempted to place it in the Miami minibus.

The re-formed group returned to Belfast in September this year when they were warmly received in the Grand Opera House.