Whether it's his writing on hit 1980s show Tutti Frutti or the illustrations in his latest book Donald & Benoit, based on bedtime stories for his own children, John Byrne is loved for many reasons.

As a result, the 71-year-old's book festival appearance this week attracted an audience of all ages. On closer inspection, I started to notice a few round-framed spectacles, lots of long hair and then the giveaway - someone with an original 12" LP of The Beatles Ballads.

Paul Dickson, 36, from Ormiston in East Lothian, was among those who queued to meet him. He tells us why in the Audioboo below.

We asked Byrne to share a book festival memory with us. Here's his response:

"I remember being asked by the BBC to pick up a film crew and stick them in the back of my old Landrover and drive around Edinburgh city centre whilst interviewing Garrison Keillor who sat relaxed but tight-lipped in the passenger seat.

"I have never seen the end result. That was at the 1985 Book Festival."

See today's Guardian Review for a celebration of Byrne's painting and the story behind his signature name, Patrick.