Molly Bayfield, who spent her entire life in Norfolk, has passed away at the age of 92. She gained fame as the inspiration for Allan Smethurst, better known as the Singing Postman, who immortalized her in his novelty hit, Hev Yew Gotta Loight, Boy.
Smethurst, singing in his distinctive Norfolk accent, referred to her as Molly Windley, his “little nicotine gal.” The song, released in 1965, became an unexpected hit in the UK and remains his best-known work.
As a young woman, Molly was friends with Smethurst. In the late 1950s or early 1960s, he visited her and her husband, Albert Bayfield, in Mundesley. The two shared a few cigarettes over lunch and a walk along the beach, which Molly recalls as an ordinary day.
Years later, while bathing her young son Mike, she heard Hev Yew Gotta Loight, Boy on the radio. The song describes her as someone “who smook like a chimley,” repeatedly asking, “hev yew gotta loight boy?”
Molly only smoked occasionally and soon quit after her son warned her that he wouldn’t sit on her lap if she continued. Her humorous reflection on the song shows her light-hearted nature.
The song’s success brought Smethurst an Ivor Novello award for best novelty song in 1966. In Norfolk, it even briefly outsold The Beatles’ Ticket to Ride. While Smethurst romanticized Molly in the song, she remained happily married to Albert for over 50 years.
Molly had a long career as a secretary at Cromer Hospital, later working as a chiropodist and in social services. The couple lived in Clenchwarton near King’s Lynn and had two grandsons. Molly moved into a care home in King’s Lynn in 2023.
