NICOTINE GAL
Born in the Sheringham / Cromer area, Molly lived her whole life on the North Norfolk coast.
She married local schoolteacher, Albert Bayfield, and they lived in a cottage in Mundsley.
Molly was a secretary at the hospital in King’s Lynn.
Albert was an amateur musician. His old school friend, the local postman, Alan Smethurst, would frequently come to their house for a jamming session.
One day, the three of them went for a walk along the beach. They rolled their own cigarettes and Alan said he would write a song about Molly. She thought he was joking.
Soon afterwards, Alan was signed up by a record company. He became known as, ‘The Singing Postman’, always performing in Norfolk dialect. After a twelve-year career with the Post Office, Alan resigned, going professional in 1965.
Meanwhile, Molly and Albert had their only child, a son called Michael.
The following year, whilst the boy was still a baby, Molly was giving him a bath. She had the radio on, playing pop hits.
On the radio came a song by Alan called, ‘Hev Yew Gotta Loight, Boy’.
As Molly listened, she realised the song was about her, despite the fact that Alan had changed her name to Molly Windley.
‘Molly Windley, she smook like a chimley,
But she’s my Nicotine Gal’.
Molly said, “I nearly dropped the poor little fella (Michael) because I realised he had written about me.”
Alan had changed her name to Windley to make it rhyme with ‘Chimley’.
Molly did smoke – “I used to have two or three a day – but no more than that.”
The song had a lot of poetic license. In it, Molly ends up marrying The Singing Postman, although in real life she stayed happily married to Albert for over fifty years.
It also has Molly demanding a cigarette whilst standing at the altar.
The song went to number seven in the charts and outsold The Beatles’ song, ‘Ticket to Ride’ – but only in Norfolk.
The Singing Postman performed on Top of the Pops, alongside The Rolling Stones.
In 1967, Alan won the Ivor Novello Award for the best novelty song of the year. He called it, “The most exciting moment of my career.”
Molly quit cigarettes when her son said, “If you don’t stop smoking, I won’t sit on your lap anymore.”
She became a chiropodist (and later worked for Social Services) and the family moved to the village of Clenchwarton.
Things did not go so well for the Singing Postman. He was forced to retire in 1970 due to stage fright and arthritis in his hands. He also had a serious alcohol problem.
Alan became an electrician on the Grimsby docks, living in a Salvation Army hostel.
It was whilst he was there that he was visited by Rolf Harris, who had covered one of his songs.
Alan did get some royalties when Ovaltine used his most famous song for an advert.
Alan died in 2000.
Every year, there is a Singing Postman celebration in nearby Blakeney.
Molly’s husband, Albert, predeceased her. She moved into a care home in King’s Lynn.
At Molly’s death, her son, Michael, said that she didn’t talk about being in the song much, but if it was mentioned, it always brought a smile to Molly’s face. “If the song came up, I think she was quite proud of it, and it was fun, and she loved Norfolk and the local culture.”
He added, “She was quite proud to have been – unwittingly – a part of that. She enjoyed it very much.”
RIP – Roll-ups In Popcharts.
