By day, Bill Finlayson was a mild-mannered lorry driver for his family haulage firm around the streets of Glasgow.

But by night, he provided the soundtrack to 40 years’ worth of “proposals, engagements and affairs” in one of the city’s most beloved live music venues.

The demolition of the Baby Grand in Charing Cross to make way for a new £250m development was met with an outpouring of support from those who have spent an evening accompanied by Mr Finlayson’s gentle backing track of jazz standards.

Now, at the age of 91, he is preparing to play at the venue one last time before it closes its doors for good.

“I think it is amazing that I’ve got away with it for so long,” he told BBC Scotland.

“It’s a pity that it has come to an end.

“I’m very sad for all of the staff here that this place has been going for 40 years and all of a sudden, it’s come to an end.”

Bill was 51 when he first walked through the doors of the bar and restaurant weeks after owner Billy McAneney opened to customers on Elmbank Street in November 1984.

He found himself instantly besotted by the atmosphere and the buzzing crowd of regulars.

His father, Alec, who passed away in 1970, had also been a pianist and worked alongside Bill at the Finlayson and Son firm.

But it was the release from that day job of sitting in a lorry cab which kept Bill coming back every weeknight.

“This was the place to be seen in Glasgow back then, it really was,” he said.

“It was two or three deep at the bar. There was an atmosphere about the place and I just loved it.

“But it was also a labour of love. Coming in here at night was just so therapeutic, it was a different way of life to driving a lorry all day.”

Among those regularly frequenting the bar were a rotating cast of stage actors on runs at the nearby King’s Theatre.

They provided him with some of his most memorable performances.

“Normally I finished in here about 10 at night, but there was a show on at the King’s, The Sound of Music,” he said.

“I was still in here at midnight that evening because all the cast came in after it.

“All the songs I played, they seemed to know and even though they had already been singing for hours, they sang all night with me.”

The bar will no longer be trading as of Friday.

A special menu featuring some dishes from the original 1984 menu is on offer for those pulling up a seat at “the last stand”.

Prices have also been rolled back to their rates from that era.

Bill recalled playing the song “Young and Foolish” in his first performance at the venue.

The music and lyrics were originally written by renowned musical duo Albert Hague and Arnold Horwitt for the Broadway musical Plain and Fancy in 1955.

It was later recorded by the likes of Tony Bennett, Bing Crosby and Johnny Mathis among countless others, but perhaps became best known as a number 20 UK hit for Dean Martin later in the decade.

Bill said he has opened his set with the track every night since then.

“Now, I’m old and more foolish, but I’ve always started off with that,” he said.

“I still feel that I could have gone on for a couple of years. But then again, maybe at my age it is time to call it a day.”

The Baby Grand has come a long way from the “concrete jungle” inherited by Billy McAneney when he took over the lease in 1983.

Back then, it was an empty shell with austere stone walls, a drab grey ceiling and a rock-hard concrete floor.

It took almost a year for renovations to make it ready for opening night to be completed.

Thousands have come through the door since, despite the Charing Cross area changing around it.

The former HMRC offices have vanished, as have the Strathclyde Regional Council headquarters.

The new development will feature new homes, student accommodation and a hotel.

It will also see the loss of the 300 Bath Street office building and its unique bridge over the M8 motorway.

However, Billy said its demolition was a “great way to go” and he would rather the bar closed altogether than be taken over and “turned in to something it wasn’t”.

“I think the place has aged with the piano players. We used to be full of trendy folk,” he said.

“There’s been a lot of people come in here. They have got engaged in here, people have proposed, people have had affairs. There have been monumental moments and monumental people.

“Throughout the 40 years, the clientele have been fantastic.”