In the early hours of 31 July 1975 the popular Miami Showband were driving back to Dublin following a gig in Banbridge . At Buskhill ( outside Newry ) they were stopped at a checkpoint by Ulster Volunteer Force ( UVF ) gunmen wearing British Army uniforms . Some of the gunmen were Ulster Defence Regiment ( UDR ) soldiers . The gunmen ordered the group to line-up facing a ditch . As one gunman took the names and addresses of the band members , two others hid a bomb in the back of their minibus . However , the bomb detonated prematurely , and the two men were blown to bits . The surviving gunmen then opened fire on the five band members , killing three and wounding two . According to journalists Peter Taylor and Alan Murray , the attack on the Bayardo was retaliation for the massacre
opened fire on the five band members
Miami Showband killings
Bayardo Bar attack