Here's your chance to record your Beatles memories
04/04/2008
They changed popular music for ever and shaped the tastes, fashions and outlook of a whole generation. But what are YOUR memories of the Fab Four? And which dates are seared into your memory because of events like John Lennon dying, "Help" coming to your cinema, or the Beatles appearing at your local concert hall?
Whether you remember these iconic dates with fondness or sadness, or have other Beatles-related memories, you can help scientists at the University of Leeds create the biggest database of ‘autobiographical memories’ ever attempted by taking part in the Magical Memory Tour.
The online survey, devised by psychologists Professor Martin Conway and Dr Catriona Morrison from the Leeds Memory Group, aims to enhance our understanding of human memory by uncovering the role the Beatles and their music play in our personal histories.
Psychologists know that certain cues are successful at triggering the recollection of events from our lives – our ‘autobiographical memories’. Music in particular has a strong emotive and recollective power in relation to our long-term memory.
The results of the Magical Memory Tour will help further our understanding of how children develop a capacity for memory, how adults process memory and how memory changes in older adulthood.
The survey is aimed at anyone, anywhere, who has a memory relating to the Beatles – you don’t have to be a fan to get involved! Participants should think about the first thing that comes to mind from their life that is related to the Beatles. It may be a very vivid memory relating to a particular album, song, news story - or even band member.
As well as givign you the chance to inlut youur own memories, you can also explore other people’s - the site is full of fascinating and often very personal memories. Which albums evoke the most memories? Which songs evoke positive or negative memories? Which news events are most vividly remembered?
Launched in partnership with the BA (British Association for the Advancement of Science), the results for the survey will be announced at the BA Festival of Science (6-11 September) in Liverpool.