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John said that 'Mean Mr. Mustard'
was inspired by a newspaper story about a miser who
concealed his cash wherever he could in order to prevent
people forcing g him to spend it. The line about stuffing a
'ten bob note' (a British ten shilling note) up his nose
John admitted was his own invention, claiming that it had
nothing to do with snorting cocaine.
Tony Bramwell believes another
colourful London character also provided John with
inspiration for this song. "There was an old 'bag lady' who
used to hang around the Knightsbridge end of Hyde Park,
close to the army barracks," he remembers. "He had all her
possessions in plastic bags and slept in the park. I'm sure
that she had something to do with the song."
Written in India, 'Mean Mr.
Mustard' was recorded with 'Sun King' in one continuos
piece. In the original version, Mr. Mustard had a sister
called Shirley but John changed it to Pam when he realized
that it could more easily segue into 'Polythene
Pam'.
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