Allan Smethurst

Allan Smethurst (November 19 1927 - December 23 2000), aka The Singing Postman was an English postman and singer.

Smethurst was raised in Sheringham, Norfolk, although he may have been born in Lancashire. [ [http://home.freeuk.com/s-parrott/smethhurstnews.htm Allan Smethurst ] ] [ [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20051203/ai_n15906329 THE SINGING POSTMAN: Red-letter days | Independent, The (London) | Find Articles at BNET.com ] ] His mother came from the village of Stiffkey.

Smethurst hummed tunes on his daily post round for many years, before writing and singing songs in his native Norfolk dialect in the 1950s. An audition tape sent to the BBC earned him a spot on Ralph Tuck's local radio show, and Tuck promoted Smethurst under his own record label, "The Smallest Recording Organisation in the World".

In 1966, the Singing Postman's best known hit "Hev Yew Gotta Loight, Boi?" won Smethurst the Ivor Novello Award for best novelty song of the year. The hit knocked the Beatles from the top of the East Anglia hit parade and remained in the charts for nine weeks. The song had a small comeback in 1994 when it was featured on a television commercial for Ovaltine.

After appearing on "The Des O'Connor Show", he signed with EMI and went on to record over 80 songs. He quit the music business in 1970.

Smethurst died in December 2000 after living the last twenty years of his life in a Salvation Army hostel in Grimsby.

Tribute acts

Winston Harrold, a working farmer from East Dereham in Norfolk, regularly performs as "The Singing Farmer". He has recorded a number of tribute albums, including "Are Yew Orlight Boy?" and "The Singing Postman Tribute".Fact|date=August 2007

Discography

* The Singing Postman (EP) 20 in UK EP charts
* First Delivery (EP) 7 in UK EP charts [Brown Kutner and Warwick "The Complete book of the British Charts" Omnibus Press]

ongs

*"Bin Born A Long Time"
*"45 Stringed Guitar"
*"When The Moon Peeps O'er The Hill"
*"Hev Yew Gotta Loight Bor?"
*"Followin' Th' Binder Round"
*"The Devil's Hoofprints"
*"Roundabout"
*"Miss from Diss"
*"Moind yer head, bor"
*"You'll hatta come along a me"

other songs included:

*ha' yer fa'er got a dickey, bor?
*oi shot a rabbit up a tree
*the motorbike song
*Mystery of Owld Tom's Grave

References

External links

* [http://www.anglianmusic.co.uk/index.html?songpages/postmancds.htm~mainFrame Anglian Music] includes sound clips from Smethurst's songs
* [http://www.literarynorfolk.co.uk/Poems/hev_yew_gotta_loight_boy.htm 'Hev Yew Gotta Loight, Boy?' lyrics]
* [http://www.literarynorfolk.co.uk/singing_postman.htm Singing Postman biographical information]
* [http://www.london-books.co.uk/speakers_postman.html Singing Postman Article]