Propaganda (band)
735772
210872261
2008-05-07T19:53:17Z
201.252.197.193
/* Singles */
{{Infobox Musical artist <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Musicians -->
| Name = Propaganda
| Img = Propaganda - A Secret Wish - inner booklet group pic.jpg
| Background = group_or_band
| Origin = [[Düsseldorf]], [[Germany]]
| Genre = [[Synthpop]]
| Years_active = 1982–1990, 2005-present
| Label = [[ZTT Records|ZTT]]<br>[[Virgin Records|Virgin]]<br>[[Amontillado Music]]
| Associated_acts = [[Die Krupps]]<br>[[Simple Minds]]
| URL =
| Current_members = [[Susanne Freytag]]<br>[[Michael Mertens]]
| Past_members = [[Claudia Brücken]]<br>[[Ralf Dörper]]<br>[[Derek Forbes]]<br>[[Brian McGee]]<br>[[Betsi Miller]]<br>[[Andreas Thein]]
}}
'''Propaganda''' is a musical group formed in [[Düsseldorf]], [[Germany]] in 1982.
==Early history==
Propaganda was formed in Düsseldorf, Germany in 1982 by Ralf Dörper (a member of the German [[industrial music|industrial]] band [[Die Krupps]]), part-time DJ Andreas Thein and singer Susanne Freytag. As a trio, they made demo recordings for future release. With the inclusion of classically trained musician and composer Michael Mertens and 19-year old vocalist [[Claudia Brücken]], journalist [[Paul Morley]] signed the band to [[Trevor Horn]]'s newly-formed [[ZTT Records]] label.
The group relocated to the United Kingdom and released the single "Dr. Mabuse", named after the [[Doctor Mabuse|fictional character]] made famous by film maker [[Fritz Lang]]. A dark slab of rhythmic synthpop, the release reached number 27 in the UK Top 40 in April 1984, and number 7 in Germany. The group appeared on various TV shows in the UK, including Channel 4's "[[The Tube (TV series)|The Tube]]". Here, as well as performing "Dr. Mabuse", they also gave one of their few performances of a cover version of [[Throbbing Gristle]]'s song "[[Discipline (Throbbing Gristle single)|Disziplin]]". The band had included the song in their original demo and it was intended to be their debut single, but Throbbing Gristle blocked this. As Paul Morley marketed the band as a twisted, hellish version of [[ABBA]], Michael Mertens remained in the background as an invisible fifth member - although this was not to last long.
Before the year was out Thein had left the band, and with Mertens now filling the gap left by his departure, the band forged ahead with recording their follow-up single and debut album. However both of these were to be delayed as a result of the unexpectedly huge success of ZTT's most famous signing, [[Frankie Goes to Hollywood]]. As the label was still in its infancy, ZTT were forced to spend all their limited resources on promoting and marketing the Liverpudlian five-piece. This also meant that Trevor Horn was unable to produce Propaganda's album. [[Stephen Lipson]], one of Horn's established studio engineers, took his place. As a result Propaganda's second single, the more pop-oriented "[[Duel (song)|Duel]]", didn't surface until April 1985. Perhaps the band's most recognisable release, it was also their most successful single in the UK, reaching number 21. It led to the band making their one and only appearance on the flagship BBC music programme, "[[Top of the Pops]]", in June of that year.
With Frankie Goes to Hollywood tax exiles in Eire, the band effectively headlined "The Value of Entertainment", a series of showcase gigs of ZTT signings, held at the [[Ambassadors Theatre]] in London in May 1985. The shows also featured [[Art of Noise]] (Paul Morley addressing the audience after three dancers had performed to AON tracks), [[Anne Pigalle]], [[Andrew Poppy]] and [[Instinct (band)|Instinct]]. Propaganda, minus Ralf Dörper (who, as the band's lyricist and conceptualist, did not play any instruments as such) were joined on stage by former [[Simple Minds]] bassist [[Derek Forbes]] and ex-[[Japan (band)|Japan]] drummer [[Steve Jansen]]. <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.discogs.com/release/819687 |title=''ZTT: The Value Of Entertainment (Time Capsule Version)'' laserdisc |accessdate=2008-04-08}}</ref>
==Debut album==
The first week of July finally saw the release of ''[[A Secret Wish]]'', the band's debut album. Receiving considerable critical acclaim and some commercial success, it rose to no. 16 in the album charts. The album was followed by another single, "p:Machinery", in August 1985, which only reached number 50 in the UK, but was a big hit in France, The Netherlands, Germany, and Switzerland. The 12-inch version of this release caused controversy (even within the group) as Paul Morley thought it was a good idea to have the sleeve feature a quote by writer [[J. G. Ballard]] praising the activities of the German terrorist group [[Red Army Faction]]. [[Ariola Records|Ariola]], who distributed ZTT's releases in Germany, refused to carry the 12" as a result, so the quote was changed on the German release to another by Ballard on the aesthetic perfection of German suburbs.
The group (again, minus Ralf Dörper) spent the rest of the year on their "Outside World" tour, taking in Europe and America. They were joined once again by Derek Forbes on bass, his fellow ex-Simple Minds cohort [[Brian McGee]] on drums, and Kevin Armstrong on guitar, with backing tapes used for most of the keyboard parts. In the meantime a remix album, ''[[Wishful Thinking (album)|Wishful Thinking]]'', was compiled by Paul Morley and [[Bob Kraushaar]], and released in November 1985. Originally intended for the American club market, the album was also released in Europe, but against the wishes of the group themselves. Its UK album chart placing was telling, reaching only no. 82. A remixed version of "p:Machinery" was also re-released as a single, only four months after its original release. In the UK, it too failed to make an impact, charting at an even lowlier 87, but it was a big success in France, and Germany.
==Split==
After making a second appearance on "The Tube" in January 1986 things went quiet for Propaganda. In late 1985 their management introduced them to the London based music lawyer Brian Carr of Compton Carr, who studied both contracts Propaganda have been given to by ZTT Records and Perfect Songs, contracts which had been signed by the band members without legal advice.
The lawyer explained to the group that under these contracts, the members of the group could go on making records for the rest of their lives and never make any money from them.
This was the point where everything ended between Propaganda and ZTT Records/Perfect Songs Ltd. Claudia Brücken left Propaganda to pursue a solo career. She stayed with ZTT, having married the label's publicist Paul Morley. She joined [[Thomas Leer]] to form [[Act (band)|Act]], who in 1988 released their only album ''[[Laughter, Tears and Rage]]''. In 1991 she released a solo album (''[[Love: And a Million Other Things]]'') for [[Island Records]]. Nowadays she's working with [[Paul Humphreys]] as [[Onetwo (band)|Onetwo]].
==New line-up==
In 1990, the band signed to [[Virgin Records]] and Mertens returned with a new Propaganda line-up which included vocalist [[Betsi Miller]], and two former Simple Minds members, bassist Derek Forbes and drummer Brian McGee. The result was a new album called ''[[1234 (album)|1234]]'', produced by [[Ian Stanley]] and [[Chris Hughes (record producer)|Chris Hughes]] (of [[Tears for Fears]] fame), on which Freytag and Dörper made guest appearances. Despite a radio-friendly first single "Heaven Give Me Words", co-written by 1980s "synthpop king" [[Howard Jones (musician)|Howard Jones]], and an album of intelligent material, the new Propaganda were not a huge success, perhaps in part due to [[MTV]] dropping the video for "Heaven Give Me Words" after only very few plays. Times were changing; melodic synthpop quickly became out of fashion as [[house music|house]] became all the rage.
==Reunion and second split==
In 1998, Mertens, Brücken and Freytag reunited, signed an options deal with [[East West Records]], and began working on new material. Several tracks were completed, including one produced by [[Tim Simenon]] and featuring [[Martin Gore]] on guitar. A video for one song, "No Return", was produced in [[Morocco]] and directed by "[[Keyser Söze|Keyser Soze]]" (likely a pseudonym) in December 1998. Two minute clips of it, along with photos of the shoot, were released via the band's official website in early 2000. However, no album materialized, and in January 2002, Brücken announced, "The reunion was worth a try, but did not work out." Later that year, an untitled nine-track CD was leaked via file-sharing networks on the Internet. Track titles were "Ignorance", "Who's The Fool", "Beast Within", "No Return", "To The Future", "Turn To The Sun", "Dream Within A Dream", "Cloud 9", and "Anonymous". The latter two were later recorded by Brücken for the Onetwo album ''[[Instead (album)|Instead]]''.
==Recent activity==
In early 2005, Propaganda, now Susanne Freytag and Michael Mertens, started to release new material on the German independent label Amontillado Music. [http://www.amontillado-music.com/] In November of the same year, the original Propaganda line-up with Brücken and Dörper but without Thein performed at the [[Wembley Arena]] showcase of Trevor Horn's lifetime celebration. The band played "Dr. Mabuse". [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fEDeyWQqoE]. In October 2007 the same Propaganda line-up appeared on RTL Germany "The Ultimate Chart Show" and performed an edited version of "Dr. Mabuse". [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gMXZ_xtD3I]
==Discography==
===Albums===
*''[[A Secret Wish]]'' ({{Start date|1985|7|1}})
*''[[Wishful Thinking (album)|Wishful Thinking]]'' ([[Remix album]], released {{Start date|1985|11|17}})
*''[[1234 (album)|1234]]'' (1990)
*''[[Outside World]]'' ([[Compilation album]], released {{Start date|2002|7|2}})
===Singles===
{|class="wikitable"
!align="left"|Release date
!align="left"|Song
!width="40"|{{flagicon|United Kingdom}}<br>75
!width="40"|{{flagicon|Germany}}<br>100
!width="40"|{{flagicon|The Netherlands}}<br>40
!width="40"|{{flagicon|France}}<br>
!width="40"|{{flagicon|Switzerland}}<br>
|-
|align="left"|{{Start date|1984|2|27}}
|align="left"|"Dr. Mabuse"
|align="center"|27 <ref name="everyhit">{{cite web |url=http://www.everyhit.com |title=everyhit.com search results for Propaganda |accessdate=2008-04-08}}</ref>
|align="center"|7
|align="center"|
|align="center"|
|align="center"|14 <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lescharts.com/showitem.asp?key=1112&cat=s |title=lescharts.com page for "Dr. Mabuse" |accessdate=2008-04-08}}</ref>
|-
|align="left"|{{Start date|1985|4|7}}
|align="left"|"Duel"
|align="center"|21 <ref name="everyhit"/>
|align="center"|30
|align="center"|5 <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.radio538.nl/web/show/id=44685/chartid=6222 |title=De Nederlandse Top 40, week 31, 1985 |accessdate=2008-04-08}}</ref>
|align="center"|
|align="center"|
|-
|align="left"|{{Start date|1985|7|29}}
|align="left"|"p:Machinery"
|align="center"|50
|align="center"|26
|align="center"|12 <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.radio538.nl/web/show/id=44685/chartid=6613 |title=De Nederlandse Top 40, week 37, 1985 |accessdate=2008-04-08}}</ref>
|align="center"|10 <ref name="lescharts_pmachine">{{cite web |url=http://www.lescharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Propaganda&titel=P%3A+Machinery&cat=s |title=lescharts.com page for "p:Machinery" |accessdate=2008-04-08}}</ref>
|align="center"|29 <ref name="lescharts_pmachine"/>
|-
|align="left"|{{Start date|1985|11|25}}
|align="left"|"p:Machinery (Reactivated)"
|align="center"|83
|align="center"|16
|align="center"|
|align="center"|24
|align="center"|
|-
|align="left"|{{Start date|1990}}
|align="left"|"Heaven Give Me Words"
|align="center"|36 <ref name="everyhit"/>
|align="center"|
|align="center"|
|align="center"|
|align="center"|
|-
|align="left"|{{Start date|1990}}
|align="left"|"Only One Word"
|align="center"|71
|align="center"|
|align="center"|
|align="center"|
|align="center"|
|-
|align="left"|{{Start date|1990}}
|align="left"|"How Much Love"
|align="center"|
|align="center"|
|align="center"|
|align="center"|
|align="center"|
|-
|align="left"|{{Start date|1991}}
|align="left"|"Wound in My Heart"
|align="center"|
|align="center"|
|align="center"|
|align="center"|
|align="center"|
|-
|align="left"|{{Start date|1995|7}}
|align="left"|"p:Machinery (anniversary reissue)"
|align="center"|
|align="center"|
|align="center"|
|align="center"|
|align="center"|
|-
|align="left"|{{Start date|2006}}
|align="left"|"Valley of the Machine Gods"
|align="center"|
|align="center"|
|align="center"|
|align="center"|
|align="center"|
|-
|}
==References==
{{reflist}}
== External links ==
* [http://www.p-fan.de/ P-Fan.de] - extensive Propaganda fan site
* [http://www.amontillado-music.com/ Amontillado Music] - current label
* [http://www.zttaat.com/ Zang Tuum Tumb and all that]
[[Category:German musical groups]]
[[Category:ZTT Records artists]]
[[Category:1980s music groups]]
[[Category:1990s music groups]]
[[Category:German pop music groups]]
[[Category:German electronic music groups]]
[[Category:Synthpop]]
[[Category:New Wave groups]]
[[Category:Musical groups established in 1982]]
[[de:Propaganda (Band)]]
[[fr:Propaganda]]
[[it:Propaganda (gruppo)]]
[[nl:Propaganda (band)]]
[[ja:プロパガンダ (バンド)]]
[[fi:Propaganda (yhtye)]]