
The Bass Player
Surviving the Miami Showband Massacre
Stephen Travers(Author)
Yvonne Watterson(Co-Author)
New Island Books (Publisher)
Published on 18. September 2025
Book
Paperback/Softback
304 pages
978-1-84840-833-3 (ISBN)
Description
Stephen Travers has lived two lives. His first was as a young bass player, immersed in music, friendship, and the thrill of gigs on the road with The Miami Showband. But on July 31, 1975, that life shattered on the A1 road at Buskhill in County Down when a Loyalist gang ambushed the band, murdering three of his friends in an attack that would become one of the darkest moments of The Troubles. In the quiet aftermath, in a nearby field, Stephen awoke to his second life-as a survivor.
This second life led him down unexpected paths: as an author, composer, producer, and international speaker on peace and reconciliation. Over decades, he worked to support other survivors, challenge suspected state collusion, and seek justice in a landmark case against the British Ministry of Defence. Yet, despite these achievements, Stephen found himself drawn back to that field, revisiting the young man he had been moments before the massacre-searching for closure, a reunion with his former self.
Now, fifty years later, he has written The Bass Player, a love letter and eulogy for that first life. This book is both a deeply personal reckoning and a song for all those silenced by conflict, offering a path toward healing and, finally, peace.
This second life led him down unexpected paths: as an author, composer, producer, and international speaker on peace and reconciliation. Over decades, he worked to support other survivors, challenge suspected state collusion, and seek justice in a landmark case against the British Ministry of Defence. Yet, despite these achievements, Stephen found himself drawn back to that field, revisiting the young man he had been moments before the massacre-searching for closure, a reunion with his former self.
Now, fifty years later, he has written The Bass Player, a love letter and eulogy for that first life. This book is both a deeply personal reckoning and a song for all those silenced by conflict, offering a path toward healing and, finally, peace.
Reviews / Votes
'From the wreckage of the Miami Showband massacre, Stephen Travers is a voice of hope and compassion for all' -- Seamus Mallon, Good Friday Agreement key negotiator 'When Travers isn't affectionately recalling his love of music, his numerous studio sessions and the power of his instrument, he's making an eloquent declaration for the importance of truth and the preservation of memory in the telling of those histories' * Irish Examiner *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Dublin
Ireland
Illustrations
8pp colour plates
Dimensions
Height: 152 mm
Width: 234 mm
Thickness: 21 mm
Weight
358 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-84840-833-3 (9781848408333)
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Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Stephen Travers is an author, composer, producer and international speaker. In 2019, he co-founded Truth and Reconciliation Platform (TaRP) which provides a space for survivors of the Troubles, regardless of their social, religiousor political background, to speak about their experiences. He now lives in Cork, where he continues with his writing and music.