The death last week of Andreas Thein-an original member of German synth pop band Propaganda-had me reminiscing about one of my favourite 80's groups. I remember late nights listening to CBC Radio programme Brave New Waves and hearing Propaganda played regularly.
The two songs they played the most were "P-Machinery" and "Duel," both big hit singles in1985 and both featured on the band's excellent A Secret Wish LP. "Duel" was the bigger hit in England where it peaked at number 21. The dark song has some of the best lyrics written in that era for that music genre: "The first cut won't hurt at all / The second only makes you wonder / The third will have you on your knees / You start bleeding / I start screaming". Listen to the extended mix to the song below:
Propaganda started in Dusseldorf Germany (also home to Kraftwerk) and were originally an industrial band who recorded one single "Disziplin" that was a tribute to Throbbing Gristle's "Discipline". The power of that song led them to relocate to England and sign to Trevor Horn's infamous ZZT label-which was also home to Frankie Goes to Hollywood and The Art of Noise.
The band didn't last long in it's original form, breaking up in 1987 after singer Claudia Brücken left to pursue a solo career (she later formed the band Act with Thomas Leer). The band regrouped with new members and released one final album in 1990 titled 1234.
There have been a couple of reunions where most of the original members got back together, including in 2005 performing at a tribute concert to Trevor Horn and his record label ZZT and in 2007 they appeared on a German TV show.
In 2010 they reissued A Secret Wish on a two disc CD. You can find it on Amazon or check your local record store.
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