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Propaganda were a synthpop group formed in Germany in the early 1980s by Andreas Thein and Ralf Dörper, later adding third member Michael Mertens. Following a limited-release single in Germany, they were spotted by Trevor Horn and signed to his ZTT label.
Having relocated to the UK, the group added vocalists Susanne Freytag and Claudia Brücken, and released the single "Dr. Mabuse" which reached the UK Top 30. The group, now minus Thein, set about recording their debut album A Secret Wish, but ZTT's failure to release the album for nearly a year led to friction between group and label. When finally released, preceded by the hit single "Duel", the album did receive considerable critical acclaim, but the group members had lost faith in ZTT, and 1986's remix album Wishful Thinking was compiled by producers Steven Lipson and Bob Kraushaar without input from the group.
Claudia Brücken stayed with ZTT, having married the label's publicist Paul Morley. She joined with Thomas Leer to form Act, who in 1988 released their only album Laughter, Tears and Rage.
In 1990, Mertens returned with a new line-up which included vocalist Betsi Miller and bassist Bryan Forbes, and a new LP 1234 on which Freytag and Dörper made guest appearances. Despite a radio-friendly lead-off single "Heaven Give Me Words", the new Propaganda were not a huge success.
Album Discography
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