Propaganda
A powerhouse of German electronic industry, Propaganda was formed in 1982 by Claudia Brucken, Ralf Dorper, Suzanne Freytag, Michel Mertens and Andreas Thein.
With Thein dropping away after their first single, they made the classic two girl/two boy formation that Melody Maker referred to as “Abba from Hell.” Inspired by Fritz Lang’s 1931 film M, quoting Arthur Schopenhauer and with Anton Corbijn making his directorial debut for the accompanying video, that single – ‘Dr Mabuse’ - was one of one of the darkest, most foreboding records Trevor Horn has ever produced.
Their accompany album, A Secret Wish (1985) and follow-up single ‘Duel’ both damaged the charts, perfectly wielding Propaganda’s unique sound which was a product of their diverse backgrounds: Ralf Dorper’s former group was hardcore German industrialists Die Krupps, Mertens was from the Dusseldorf Symphony Orchestra.
Adding to what Morley described as their “surreal variety act,” Propaganda were another of his and Horn’s signings to ZTT Records. But the band split in 1986 not long after third single ‘p:Machinery’. Brucken went on to form Act with electronica pioneer Thomas Leer and Mertens later put together a completely new, one-off Propaganda line-up for the more euro-flavoured album 1234 in 1990.
