Songfacts®:

• Written about the same time as the Lynott/Downey/Gorham composition of the same name, any similarity does not transcend the coincidental title. Running to 4 minutes 54 seconds, Al co-wrote "Bad Reputation" with regular collaborator Peter White. The first track on side 2 of the vinyl release of Last Days Of The Century, it features some tasteful lead guitar.
• The big question though is who is the song about? At that time, Al was still chasing the ghost of his first true love, Mandi, who features in a number of his early songs until she was exorcised by the 1988 release "Where Are They Now?" Clearly this song is not about her, but about an unnamed unrequited obsession, though for those who know him personally there is perhaps a clue in the line "You only want the things that you can't have." >>

  Suggestion credit:
  Alexander Baron - London, England, for above 2