Tributes flood in for showband legend Brendan Bowyer after death at 81

Brendan Bowyer in his heyday

Ivan Little

A survivor of the Miami Showband massacre, Stephen Travers, has joined BBC presenter Gerry Kelly in leading tributes to Waterford-born singer Brendan Bowyer who has died at his home in America, where Elvis Presley once recorded one of his songs after seeing him on stage.

Mr Travers, who was badly injured in the 1975 UVF attack, said 81-year-old Brendan, who gained international fame for massive hit The Hucklebuck, was and always would be the "king of the showband era in Ireland".