Miami Showband massacre survivor Stephen Travers has told how an African charity crusade has inspired the group’s comeback.

Stephen went to poverty-ravaged Tanzania during the summer to witness the work done by Children in Crossfire.

He described his trip as a “life-changing experience” which will make him appreciate every minute of his Miami reunion — their first tour for more than 30 years. Last Wednesday night they played at the Grand Opera House in Belfast.

Three members of the Miami Showband — Fran O’Toole, Tony Geraghty and Brian McCoy — were gunned down by the UVF on July 31, 1975 as they made their way home from a gig in Banbridge.

Stephen, now 57, was lucky to survive.

He said: “People were asking for a reunion of the band and we decided to do a tour, but we wanted to do the first two concerts for a charity.

“We wanted to give something back because there was great support from people all through the years and when we were raising funds for the Miami Showband monument in Dublin.

“So it was suggested to us by our promoter David Hull that we use it to raise money for Children in Crossfire.

“We wanted to do shows in Belfast and Dublin to unite the fanbase that we had years ago.

“It will show that the sound of the Miami has outlasted the sound of the guns that tried to kill us and drive a wedge between two great communities.

“That’s very important to me — the whole thing’s symbolic.”

Stephen met up with charity founder Richard Moore, who invited him to see the work of the organisation in east Africa.

Richard is also a victim of the Troubles. In 1972, aged just 10, the Londonderry man was blinded by a rubber bullet on his way from school.

Stephen said: “Richard’s such a charismatic man. I was immediately massively impressed and you feel very humble when you’re with him.

“My trip to Tanzania was a life-changing experience. Everything that’s ever happened to me in my life I’ve always treated as an adventure, whether it’s good or bad.

“The first day we were in Dar es Salaam and Richard took us to the Ocean Road Cancer Care centre for children, run by a young doctor from Wicklow called Trish Scanlon.

“We walked in the door and immediately this little boy walked over to me, a lovely little fella and he had a tumour the size of my fist on the side of his face.

“I immediately knew this was not about me. This was not my adventure; this is about these little kids.

“All these kids had cancer, from ages three and upwards, and there were far too many children there for the facility to work with.

“And you feel very quickly that you’re in the presence of greatness when you see the carers, the doctors, the volunteers — and especially Richard Moore.”

Stephen said he sees a link between the tragic scenes he witnessed in Africa and the 1975 atrocity that saw his three pals killed.

He said: “The connection is that a life is a life. To play with Fran O’Toole and Tony Geraghty was a real privilege.

“What I’m saying is that you see the potential in these people, and I was absolutely convinced that Fran and Tony had the potential to do amazing things in the world of music.

“But obviously their potential was never realised, it was just cut short.

“So ever after that you say to yourself ‘a life’s a life’ and the potential could in be a little boy in Africa who grows up to be Nelson Mandela or whatever. They could change the world.

“So you can just not afford this apathy and you can’t afford to say ‘let them die’.”

Now the band are set to follow up two fundraising gigs at the Grand Opera House in Belfast and a Dublin venue by going on tour for the first time since the 1975 atrocity.

The Ireland-wide comeback tour kicks off at the Braid Arts Centre, Ballymena in November before going right into the New Year.

Stephen and original band members Des Lee and Ray Millar are accompanied on stage by Horslips singer Johnny Fean as well as Gerry Brown, Barry Woods and Maurice Crum.

Stephen, from Carrick-On-Suir, Co Tipperary, said: “It’s been 30 years since the last tour and I’ll never say never to more after this.

“The fun and the banter and everything is fantastic, it’s great to be with everybody and we feel very comfortable together.

“We’re older, wiser — and maybe a little wider!

“It’s called the Joy to the World tour because of a record we did with the children of Hazelwood Integrated College, a cross-community school in Belfast. There is a lot of symbolism in these concerts and in the rest of the tour because we’ll continue to promote Children in Crossfire, we’re very committed to that.

“But also throughout the country it’s a case of telling people to come out and celebrate the fact that the music has lasted longer than the sound of the guns.”