Propaganda

Originally formed in Germany, the synth-pop group Propaganda assembled vocalist Claudia Brücken, drummer Michael Mertens, and keyboard players Susanne Freytag together with Ralf Dorper. The four-piece headed to England during 1983 and secured a contract with ZTT Records, the same label that represented Frankie Goes to Hollywood and Art of Noise. Early the next year their opening single “Dr. Mabuse” entered the British Top 30, yet more than twelve months elapsed before any successor appeared. In May 1985 “Duel” surpassed that start by reaching number 21.

One month afterward the band delivered its debut album A Secret Wish; the ensuing tour prompted the enlistment of bassist Derek Forbes and drummer Brian McGee, both previously of Simple Minds. Following the later-1985 issuance of the remix set Wishful Thinking, Dorper became the first founding member to depart, and soon afterward the original lineup fractured amid lengthy litigation to exit ZTT. The act resurfaced in 1988 comprising Mertens, Forbes, McGee, and American vocalist Betsi Miller. This configuration moved to Virgin and issued 1234 in 1990; the single “Heaven Give Me Words” reached the British Top 40 that year while “Only One Word” registered a milder showing several months later.

Meanwhile Claudia Brücken—who had remained at ZTT largely because of her marriage to label-owner Paul Morley—joined Thomas Leer to form Act. The duo placed “Snobbery and Decay” on the charts in mid-1987 and released their sole album Laughter, Tears, and Rage in 1988. By the turn of the decade Brücken had launched a solo career, charting only the single “Absolut (E)” from her 1991 album Love, And a Million Other Things. Although neither the band nor Brücken had issued fresh recordings for some time, speculation about a Propaganda reunion circulated through the mid-’90s.