Fifty years after the Miami Showband massacre, survivor Des Lee has spoken of the night loyalist paramilitaries ambushed the pop group at a fake army checkpoint in County Down, killing three members. The attack, which took place on 31 July 1975, remains one of the most shocking atrocities of the Troubles, yet it carries strangely little traction in Britain.
Lee, now 79, was the band's saxophonist and bandleader. He recalls how the Miami Showband, often dubbed the 'Irish Beatles', topped the Irish singles chart seven times and drew screaming crowds of thousands. On the night of the massacre, the band were returning from a gig in Banbridge when they were stopped at what they believed to be a legitimate army checkpoint. In reality, it was operated by the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF).
As the band members got out of their minibus, they were lined up and shot. Three died instantly: singer Fran O'Toole, guitarist Tony Geraghty and trumpeter Brian McCoy. Lee survived by playing dead, lying still among his fallen bandmates. 'It was absolutely despicable,' he says, 'to think that those people who were supposed to be protecting us had planned our murder.'
The massacre was part of a wider pattern of sectarian violence during the Troubles, which claimed more than 3,600 lives. Lee's memoir, 'My Saxophone Saved My Life', recounts the events of that night and his subsequent struggle to come to terms with the loss of his friends. He describes the showband scene as a rare space where Catholics and Protestants could mix freely, 'a punter was a punter, no matter what religion, creed or colour.'
Lee grew up in Catholic West Belfast and learned his craft on a vibrant music scene that included a teenage Van Morrison. Joining the Miami Showband in 1967 was a dream come true. 'Girls were screaming,' he recalls. 'We would have 2,500 people inside watching us, and 2,500 outside trying to get in.' The band's popularity, however, made them a target for loyalists who saw their cross-community appeal as a threat.
Despite the passage of 50 years, the pain remains raw for Lee. He hopes his story will ensure the victims are not forgotten. 'It's important to remember what happened,' he says, 'and to remember the lads who died.'
