Sheffield Beatles fan got Fab Four’s autographs as a girl – and then met Paul McCartney and told him all about it!

Fiona McCormick, who is from Sheffield but now lives in Hampshire and works in London, recalled going to see the Fab Four at Sheffield City Hall at her very first concert.

She said: “On this day I was being looked after by a babysitter. I would have been around 11 and I had gone with her to the City Hall where she knew someone who worked there.

“As they were stood chatting by the door, some young guys pushed past us and one of them handed me some black and white pictures which were all signed by The Beatles.

“I now work in a VIP building and last Christmas Paul McCartney held a private party where I work. I did get to speak to him and I was telling him this story and how I remembered the concert being loud and exciting and my very first one. He laughed and said one day I would be richer than him. I was surprised how grounded he was.”

She added: “I was Beatle-mad back then. I had the wig and collected bubble gum cards. The fact it was my very first concert, I do not remember it as I did other concerts as I got older.

Read this: The 8 Sheffield ‘eyesore’ buildings people love to hate

“I remember there being a lot of excitement and being very noisy. People were screaming and shouting but I was I think around 11 and the fact I had a babysitter seems pretty ridiculous today but she took me along.

“I did not really notice they were signed until someone told me.” Fiona said she thought the pictures were in storage.

“I have been lucky enough to meet a few famous people”

She has memories of other bands as well: “My first big crush was David Jones of The Monkees which I loved. I waited two hours at Manchester Airport to see The Monkees a few years later but only got a fleeting glimpse. But then some years later David Jones did pantomime in the UK and I got to meet him – he was really nice like I always knew he would be.

"Then came the big one, David Cassidy – I was truly in love with him.”

“I have been lucky enough to meet a few famous people in my time as I have always loved music,” said Fiona. “But I hate these meet and greets they do now that add a lot of money on to ticket prices.”

She shared a picture of herself with Michael Ball at the London Palladium in 2002, recalling: “It was premiere night for Chitty Bang Bang which he was amazing in, along with the wonderful Brian Blessed and the wonderful Richard O’Brien who did Crystal Maze – he played the Child Catcher – and of course the car, it was an amazing show.”

Fiona is a keen member of our Facebook group, Retro and Memories – Sheffield Star. Why not join it and share your own recollections of Sheffield past?

Read this: Amazing pictures show the lives of Sheffield coal miners through the decades