The Miami Showband

The Miami Showband were an Irish showband in the 1960s and 1970s led firstly in 1962 by singer Jimmy Harte, followed by Dickie Rock and later by Fran O'Toole. They had seven number-one records on the Irish singles chart.

The band's career was interrupted at the height of their fame when three members – Fran O'Toole, Tony Geraghty, and Brian McCoy – were murdered in 1975 by loyalist terrorists, in a botched attack initially intended to convince the British government that the band had been involved in smuggling explosives across the Irish border.

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

The band was established in Dublin 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, and as the town of Palm Beach in Florida is near to Miami, 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 album 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, 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 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" (a version of the 1910 Fruitgum Company 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 and performed at Carnegie Hall.

Popular with both Catholics and Protestants, the Miami Showband regularly played to audiences on both sides of the Irish border throughout the Troubles and were known to some as the "Irish Beatles". The band's saxophonist, Des Lee, would later recollect: "We entertained everybody. Didn't matter what colour, what creed, or where we were playing, whether it was north or south 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.