Mr. Raffles (Man, It Was Mean)

Background

In February 1975, Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel reached the UK number one spot with "Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)", which was released as the lead single from The Best Years of Our Lives. After the album reached the UK Top 5 in March, Harley, the band and EMI Records all came to agreement to release "Mr. Raffles (Man, It Was Mean)" as the album's second single. Released in May, the song peaked at #13, lasting within the UK Top 50 for six weeks. It had debuted at #40 in early June.

Like the The Best Years of Our Lives album, the song was recorded either at Abbey Road Studios or Air Studios, both in London, during November and December 1974. The song was mastered at EMI Studios.

In the June 2010 issue of Mojo magazine, Harley revealed that the song's titular character refers to the fictional thief A. J. Raffles, created by author E. W. Hornung. He explained:

"Raffles was a master thief. He was a con artist too. I use his name to invoke a religious allegory, yes. We see religion and its leaders in our own ways: Sham: "Man, it was mean to be seen in the robes you wore for Lent, you must've known that it was Easter." The Devil within: "Then in Amsterdam you were perfect fun. You never let on you had a gun and then you shot that Spanish Dancer." Truthfully, I always think these references and allusions are obvious to listeners, and it feels a little pretentious to explain. It's not T.S. Eliot, I know, but I was a serious young man!"

Release

The single was released by EMI Records on 7" vinyl in the UK, Belgium, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. A Yugoslavian edition was also released through Jugoton. In the UK, a promotional demo copy/DJ copy of the single was also issued by EMI. The Australian edition of the single was released on 14 July 1975.

For its release as a single, "Mr. Raffles (Man, It Was Mean)" was edited down by a minute and a half to make a three-minute version. This single version remained exclusive to the single until its release on the 2014 'Definitive Edition' of The Best Years of Our Lives.

The single featured the B-Side "Sebastian (Live)" - a live version of Cockney Rebel's 1973 debut single, from the album The Human Menagerie. The B-Side was recorded live at the Hammersmith Odeon, London, on 14 April 1975, and is over 10 minutes long. The track was written by Harley, and this live version was produced by Harley and Parsons. The vinyl noted on the b-side "Live version: Increase volume to compensate for reduced level." The live version featured drummer Stuart Elliott's younger brother Lyndsey Elliott playing additional percussion, as well as English guitarist Snowy White, who joined the band on the The Best Years of Our Lives tour as rhythm guitarist.

All releases of "Mr. Raffles (Man, It Was Mean)", except in the UK, Finland, Australia and New Zealand, came with picture sleeves, which featured differing photographs of Harley. The Belgian release was the only version of the single not to feature a photograph, using large text over a black background instead.

Following its original release on The Best Years of Our Lives, and as a single, the song has since appeared on many Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel compilations, including the 1975 American release A Closer Look, the 1980 EMI release The Best of Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel, the 1987 EMI release Greatest Hits, the 1992 EMI UK release Make Me Smile - The Best of Steve Harley And Cockney Rebel, as well as the 2006 EMI remastered three-disc box-set The Cockney Rebel - A Steve Harley Anthology.

Promotion

On 5 June 1975, the band's performance on the UK music show Top of the Pops was broadcast. Although the audio from the performance survives, the footage was later wiped by the BBC and is presumed lost.

The song has been performed live by Harley and the band on many occasions. Various live versions of the song have appeared on a number of official releases as a result. On 14 April 1975, Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel performed the song as part of their set at the Hammersmith Odeon in London. This concert was filmed and released as a film titled Between the Lines. In 1989, a live performance of the song was professionally filmed during the band's "Come Back, All is Forgiven" tour. The footage, including the song, was released on VHS that year, titled The Come Back, All is Forgiven Tour: Live. Audio CD versions of the concert have since been released across Europe in many guises.

A live version also appeared on the 1995 Windsong International UK compilation Live at the BBC, which Harley had recorded during a session for Nicky Campbell in 1992. Numerous audience recordings and video footage exists of the track being performed live in recent years.

Track listing

1. "Mr. Raffles (Man, It Was Mean)" - 3:03
2. "Sebastian (Live Version)" - 10:49

1. "Mr. Raffles (Man, It Was Mean)" - 4:33
2. "Sebastian (Live Version)" - 10:49

1. "Mr. Raffles (Man, It Was Mean)" - 2:55
2. "Sebastian (Live Version)" - 10:49

Critical reception

In the 8 April 1975 issue of Record & Popswop Mirror, a review of The Best Years of Our Lives album stated: "...Thus the minute ragtime overture preceded by eerie space-age sounds, leads into songs which have both poetic form and quality. "Mr Raffles" deserves to be singled out as an absolute classic, but each song has a distinct character, culminating in the personal message - the title track."

In the 1996 book Rock: The Rough Guide by Jonathan Buckley and Justin Lewis, the song was commented upon in context of the album: "The anthemic title track "The Best Years of Our Lives" and "Mr. Raffles" (the follow-up single to "Make Me Smile") both found Harley at his lyrical best."

Donald A. Guarisco of AllMusic spoke of the song in a retrospective review of the album. He commented: "This album was a big hit in his native England, thanks to the fact that it spawned two major hit singles. The first was "Mr. Raffles," a surreal yet romanticized portrait of a convention-flaunting outlaw. The odd lyrics work thanks to the phenomenal tune backing them up, which contrasts gentle verses built on piano and acoustic guitar with choruses that work in a surprising but slickly integrated reggae beat."

In another retrospective AllMusic review of the 1976 compilation A Closer Look, Guarisco described the song as "an impressionistic tune that layers surreal, Bob Dylanesque wordplay over a lushly produced musical backdrop that mixes keyboard-driven soft pop with reggae." Guarisco also highlighted "Mr. Raffles (Man, It Was Mean)" as an album standout, from A Closer Look, by labeling it an AMG Pick Track.

Personnel

Additional personnel