| Allan Smethurst (aka The Singing Postman) was
born in
Bury in Lancashire in 1927 but at the age of two his
family moved to Sheringham in North Norfolk.
His mother was originally from Stiffkey, so he grew up
with the Norfolk accent. It wasn't until he was 21 that
he taught himself to play the guitar - inspired by the
likes of George Formby, Frank Crummit and Jimmie
Rodgers.
Smethurst sent
a demo tape to Ralph Tuck who compered a regional radio
programme called 'Wednesday Morning' and soon after Tuck set up his own recording company and
produced the SPs first record - which appeared in 1964.
Hev
Yew Gotta Loight, Boy? rose to 7th in the
national charts and for a brief period the SP was
outselling both The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. In
1965 Smethurst gave up his day job at the Post Office
and embarked on a full time musical career. At this
time, he appeared on Top of the Pops and
won an Ivor Novello
Award for best Novelty Song. However, he soon began to
suffer from stage fright and started to drink heavily.
Smethurst recorded some 80 songs - most of which employed
the Norfolk dialect - including: My Valentine,
I Miss My Miss from Diss and Oi Can't Get a Noice
Loaf of Bread. Although he appeared to be a comedic
figure - always performing in his Royal mail uniform -
his song lyrics had considerable depth and evoked a
romantic and nostalgic picture of his Norfolk childhood.
It was almost as though he was trying to escape from the
present - as his song Yew Carnt Keep Livin' in the
Past articulates.
Local girl Mollie Bayfield was immortalised in his best
known song
as his chain smoking Norfolk sweetheart Molly Windley -
'down along th' Mundesley shore'.
Smethurst died
in poverty in the Salvation Army Hostel in Grimsby on 22 December, 2000.
He had previously worked as a electrician on Grimsby
Docks. While living in the hostel, he was visited by Rolf Harris who once had a hit
with one of his songs. Towards the end of his life
'Ovaltine'
picked up
Hev Yew Gotta Loight, Boy? for their TV
add and Smethurst started to get royalties again.
Each year there is a an event held at the Harbour Room
in Blakeney to celebrate the work of the Singing
Postman.
|
Supported
by Norfolk Tourism