Dorian Lynskey delivers a fairly in-depth look in fandom, pre and post-Beatlemania in a piece that ran yesterday in London’s The Observer, which is owned by The Guardian Media Group.

“You soaked up energy from the crowd,” said Linda Ihle, a Beatles fan who attended the band’s first Shea Stadium show in 1965. “The screaming never stopped. We could barely hear the music because the sound systems weren’t very good back then. There were police everywhere, trying to keep fans from jumping on to the field. It was a happening, to use a word from the time. It was the event itself. It was being there.”

For the full story head to The Guardian.