At night when we were recording [Walls and Bridges] we always took Julian to the studio. It was his summer holiday, so we didn't think it wrong to keep him up to eleven or twelve at night, as he could sleep late the next day. He could also nap at the studio. julian followed John around the studio, watching in awe while his father worked on the album. John would casually explain things to Julian, allowing him to sit at the control board so that he could work the equipment side by side with John.

One night Julian was practicing on the snare drum and John told the engineers to turn on the equipment. Then he went into the studio and sang and played "Ya,Ya" -- another old standard he had done in the early days of the Beatles -- while Julian accompanied him. Later, after Walls and Bridges was pressed, John gave Julian a huge surprise. He told Julian that the performance had been included on the album.

Julian was astonished. "Why did you do that?" he gasped. "If I'd known it was going on the album, I'd have played better!"

John was taken aback. He turned to me and said, "I thought he'd get a kck out of it."

"You see," I replied, "He's as fussy a musician as you are."

-- from May's book Loving John