Get Back: Beatles superfan seeks Fab Four memories

A Beatles superfan has appealed for help to collect the memories of anyone who saw the legendary band play in Sheffield or were swept up by local Beatlemania.

Emma Bowden is interviewing local residents and collaborating with other music historians to capture the area's connection to the Fab Four.

The 44-year-old, originally from North Lincolnshire, but who now lives in Heeley, said she planned to display the memories as part of an online collection and magazine, before providing the material to Sheffield's city archives.

"It fills me with joy to hear these stories, so I'm making it a bit more formalised and pulling them together so people don't just think I'm an enthusiastic weirdo," she said.

Bowden explained that although she was born in the 1980s, and therefore "not a first generation fan", she grew up during the Britpop craze of the 90s - which commonly drew inspiration from the 1960s stars.

"If you loved Oasis in 1995, you loved the Beatles - it started there," she said.

However, Bowden said that as she got older, she spent less time listening to the band until she was diagnosed with secondary breast cancer in 2019.

"I found myself listening to them more and more because they were familiar and a real comfort, she said.

"After the Covid pandemic, I had a revelatory moment when I realised their music had soundtracked some really important points of my life."

But when her eight-year-old son asked last year whether the band had ever performed in Sheffield, she realised she did not know the answer.

She subsequently discovered that the band took to the stage seven times in the city, including at the Azena Ballroom in Gleadless Town End - which is now a Co-Op supermarket.

"I went to have a look. I bought a pint of milk and stood where I thought the stage was - soaking in the vibes," she recollected.

Bowden said she did not let it be at that point, and continued her research, inspiring her to kickstart the new project.

She said she had also attended performances by the Sheffield Beatles Project, a local 30-piece tribute band, and joined fans who had come together at the International Beatleweek in Liverpool.

"It's beautiful to see the huge age range of fans, but what's really gorgeous is seeing so many older people still holding on to their love of this music," she said.

"Being a fan when you're a teenager, it forms so much of your identity - and to celebrate that is really beautiful."

Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds or catch up with the latest episode of Look North.