There was a song that started “Man, it was mean” recorded by Steve Harley and his group Cockney Rebel. The song was called "Mr. Raffles (Man, It Was Mean)."
I never really thought about the meaning behind the song's title until now.
The lyrics are quite disturbing, which, as a 15-year-old, when it came out, I never noticed. Hearing it again today, I began to be interested in what it all related to and how it relates to me.
"Mr. Raffles (Man It Was Mean)" was the second release from the parent album, The Best Years of Our Lives. It was the group's third hit after "Judy Teen" and "Mr. Soft." The album also featured the brilliant "Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)," which is the song Steve Harley is most remembered for. The song appears in The Full Monty, (1997), was used in a 2006 Marks & Spencer advertisement, and during the opening of episode 3 of Phoenix Nights series 1 (2001). It also featured in adverts for Furniture Village and even in an advert for Viagra Connect in the UK in May 2018.
However, Mr. Justice Raffles was a fictional master thief and con artist created by author E.W. Hornung. So what is going on here with Mr. Harley?
Reports say that Harley used this name to invoke a religious allegory. Harley was a very intelligent person and a devout Christian. The first verse suggests this:
“Man, it was mean to be seen in the robes you wore for Lent, you must’ve known that it was Easter.”
Harley was known for drawing from his own life and the people he encountered. He had polio as a boy, got over that and became a journalist and then formed the band. The vivid imagery and narrative style of his delivery suggest in the song that he might have been reflecting on specific individuals he knew or observed, who presented themselves in one way but acted differently behind closed doors.
Think about this. Have YOU ever encountered anyone who says, "Wow, you’re a legend," said with fun and joy, only for them to come over differently later, leading to a sense of betrayal by someone who presented themselves as trustworthy but proved otherwise?
I think Harley was having these thoughts as his band was breaking up because they wanted more than just playing along with him.
There were words too, I certainly did not know, at 15 years old. For example, “there were a thousand manitas.” This is a Spanish word referring to small hand movements or gestures. The line "There were a thousand manitas being exchanged for pesetas" suggests a scene where small gestures or deals are being made, perhaps in a marketplace or a similar setting where people are exchanging goods or services for money. The use of "manitas" here could evoke images of clandestine transactions, subtle exchanges, or even the idea of people reaching out for money in a somewhat shady or dubious manner. People making underhand deals, perhaps?
The idea of "manitas" being exchanged for pesetas (the currency of Spain before the Euro) may symbolise such petty transactions, underhanded deals, or the way people might exploit small gestures or actions for monetary gain.
I bought this album, probably my first album, when it was released on 22 March 1975. It was on vinyl. I had left school and was working in a factory called Air Oil Burner in Horton Road near Heathrow. After a six months I knew that I wanted to do something else besides a mundane job, so I decided to join the Royal Navy a year later, in January 1976.
I passed the exams for Maths and English and had the necessary acumen to be a naval air mechanic, and it changed my life forever. I don’t know if that song or that album influenced me to think about my life, but it is an album I still listen to today. Possibly, because of the memories of that bygone age of the 1970s. The title of the album “The Best Years of Our Lives” is poignant reminder under the playful piano melody of Mr Raffles and which sets the scene for Harley’s bemused lyrics, which rate somewhere between Bowie and Dylan in their exotic enjoyment of language.
His delivery is extraordinary too, rolling words around his mouth with relish as he tells a story filled with exotic allusions, taking us from Amsterdam to Barcelona places I have since visited.
In my world, in 1975, life was mean. The UK under Labour’s Harold Wilson faced high inflation rates, which reached nearly 25% that year. This caused a rise in the cost of living and economic instability. The country was experiencing the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis, which led to higher energy prices and economic difficulties. The Tory leader before Wilson, Edward Heath, had brought us into the European Common Market in 1973. The 1970s saw numerous strikes and industrial actions, particularly from trade unions, as workers demanded better pay and conditions. Sound familiar?
Like many people, our family lived in council housing in an urban area of West London, but people often faced challenges such as inadequate housing conditions and rising crime rates. I suppose here we are, almost fifty years later; having lived through a pandemic and facing rises in the cost of living and experiencing wars abroad and rising crime rates at home , (especially knife crime): we are now dealing with similar strikes and energy issues as everyday challenges for households increase under the current Tory government. Will things get better under Labour - who knows , the 'thousand manitas ' being promised by "changed Labour" seem to grab the attention of the younger generation, but people forget what the economy and personal allowances were all about under the previous labour government.
In 1975, I wanted to get something else from life. Having left comprehensive school with no qualifications, I needed to change my “robes” from factory worker to something else, something I could be proud of. I guess like Mr. Raffles, I was trying to be something other than a factory labourer apprentice.
Mr Raffles, according to the author, was a “man about town, cricket star, socially successful.” He weighed up and exploited any lucrative and challenging situation to his advantage. His exploits bristle with risk-taking, and there is almost certainly an intentionally tongue-in-cheek element, a "boys' own" quality of good old "derring-do" about the stories—those "ripping yarns."
So thank you Mr Stephen Nice, best known as Steve Harley, I shed a tear when you died aged 73 on March 23, 2024, of cancer. You still “Make Me Smile"- the pièce de résistance on that album I bought before my Navy days. That cheerful piece, powered by a bouncing bassline and an infectious “ooh la-la-la” hook sung by female backing singers. It was the perfect fit for the your eccentric vocal style. The Lyrics that were part sung and robotic in the way he delivered the line “for only metal, what a bore” meant it’s only money, guys, and that’s boring when his band decided they wanted more from him.
The lyrics and Harley's narrative style of Mr Raffles, have mirrored my own experiences of encountering people who presented themselves as trustworthy only to betray that trust later. The subtle manipulations and underhanded deals, symbolised by "manitas being exchanged for pesetas," evoke the many small betrayals and challenges I faced, both in my early job and later in my career.
In 1975, the UK was dealing with economic hardship and social upheaval, much like I was dealing with personal uncertainty and the desire for a better future. My decision to join the Royal Navy was my own way of changing my "robes" and taking control of my destiny, much like the character of Mr. Raffles sought to exploit opportunities for a better life.
Looking back, I see that Harley's music was possibly a soundtrack to my own struggles and triumphs. Life in 1975 was indeed mean—filled with challenges, betrayals, and the harsh realities of growing up in a turbulent era. But just like in the song, there was also a sense of resilience and the pursuit of something better. Surely, things can only get better ?
Mean, but Meaningful
There is something about a song, sometimes it’s not seen
But there was something in the air that night and man it was mean!
Kick off the robes and set your course
Do it for you and ignore the force
Take every criticism and bag it up
Grab another coffee from the sacrificial cup
When you have the desire, then, light the fire
Bring in songs, sung by your choir
Bring in the deals, and don’t despair
Remember, there is always someone worse off out there
Find yourself the motivator, it's housed in your song
It might sound stupid now, but it might just be wrong
One day you will look back and finally glean
That life is always fine, but sometimes it’s mean.