"Mr. Raffles (Man, It Was Mean)" is a song by the British rock band Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, released in 1975 as the second and final single from their third studio album The Best Years of Our Lives. It was written by Harley, and produced by Harley and Alan Parsons. On the album, the song's title is shortened to "Mr. Raffles". The song reached No. 13 in the UK.

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 decided that "Mr. Raffles (Man, It Was Mean)" would be released as the album's second single. Released in May, the song peaked at No. 13 and remained in the UK Top 50 for six weeks. It had debuted at No. 40 in early June.

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

Speaking to Mojo in 2010, 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!"

"Mr. Raffles (Man, It Was Mean)" was released by EMI Records on 7" vinyl in the UK, Belgium, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. It was released in Yugoslavia by Jugoton. In the UK, a promotional demo/DJ copy was also issued by EMI. 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.

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