AFTER almost 50 years in the business, Barney McCue, one of the last remaining cinema projectionists in the country, is taking a back seat.

The 65-year-old has been a projectionist all his working life, having served a three- year apprenticeship with the ABC chain after leaving school in 1964, and he has worked at the Glasgow Film Theatre for 32 years.

And now, after reaching the position of Chief Projectionist and Technical Manager at the GFT, he is retiring ... with mixed feelings.

"I don't feel the job has worn me out," he says.

"It's just time I suppose. I've been 49 years in the business, doing it since I left school and it's time for a change."

He now plans to do some DIY, enjoy his garden and to spend more time with his wife, Sadie.

Sadie, 62, has also worked at the GFT for 30 years, and she and Barney are retiring together on the same day.

In his time he's welcomed several generations of movie talent to Glasgow, including legendary star Mickey Rooney and eccentric director Quentin Tarantino, who he describes as "from a different world".

But it's the customers and staff of the GFT he'll miss most.

"I'll miss the company," he said. "They're more than colleagues; you spend as much if not more time with them than you do in your home. We're like a family."

Head of Cinemas at the GFT, and co-director of the Glasgow Film Festival, Allison Gardner, will certainly miss Barney.

She said: "I've enjoyed working with Barney. His knowledge of cinema is legendary. Since I started, the GFT has increased the number of films screened from 300 to over 570 a year.

"I hope he has a fantastic retirement and a chance to put his feet up."

Barney has never moved too far from his roots. He was born above a cinema, The Grand in Glasgow's Cowcaddens, and it played a big part in his early life.

He said: "The projection booth door was always left open so I would always look inside it when I was going up the stairs to the house. I later found out they had to leave the doors open because of the fumes."

Like most people in Glasgow at the time, Barney and his family were great cinemagoers, and he has fond memories of his visits.

He said: "After The Grand closed down in the late 50s, we used to go just round the corner to The Cambridge, and I remember Green's Playhouse well.

"I don't think it ever saw a lick of paint right enough - a massive cinema and the seats were falling apart."

Barney started out in The Princes cinema in Springburn, then moved to Riddrie and Clydebank before returning to the city centre to the ABC in Sauchiehall Street, which was due to be converted into multiple screens.

After only a few weeks the chief projectionist left, and Barney took on his post at the age of just 21, looking after one of the biggest cinemas in the city.

There are far fewer cinemas in Glasgow now than when Barney was a boy, of course, but the biggest change he has seen over his career is the shift from real reels of film to digital projection, a development that has seen many cinema projectionists lose their jobs over the last few years, especially at the bigger chains which are now almost entirely automated.

He said: "It's all computerised now.

"I can struggle by with e-mail and stuff but you practically need a degree in computing now.

"It's just a case of downloading films into a server now and pressing a few buttons."

The GFT can still screen films in the old 35mm and 70mm formats, one of very few cinemas left in the country with the capability, and Barney admits to missing those days.

He said: "It was a real hands-on job and there was a bit of pride in it.

"You brought the lights down, you opened the curtains, you laced the film up and made sure it was in focus, changed the reels and set the sound.

"We were part of the film experience. Now you can be anywhere in the building and the show will start itself.

"Most of the time things run pretty smoothly, but people only remember the rare occasions where it doesn't, like one time at the ABC where we were showing Airplane, and the whole film was projected onto the floor.

"All the other times the show runs perfectly. The only comment someone should make to me is that it wasn't a very good film. If they say it wasn't in focus or something then I feel it's my fault."

Film fan Barney is a huge science-fiction fan and names On the Beach, starring Gregory Peck and Ava Gardner, as one of his favourites movies. He feels blessed to have spent his life doing something he loves.

He said: "I've always treated this as a hobby, because I love the job so much, and it's great to get paid for your hobby."