Propaganda

Propaganda is a German synth-pop band founded in 1982. The group enjoyed its greatest musical success in the 1980s. The mastermind and founder is keyboardist Ralf Dörper. He had just left the band Die Krupps and was performing with Andreas Thein and Susanne Freytag under the name Propaganda. After their first two songs, Paul Morley and Trevor Horn of ZTT Records became interested in Propaganda. In 1983, Michael Mertens and Claudia Brücken join the band. A year later, the first single "Dr. Mabuse " was released . The single became an international hit. In Germany, the song climbed to number 7 in the top 10, and in Great Britain it also entered the charts at number 27. The second single "Duel " also became a hit in 1985. The same year, Propaganda released their first album, A Secret Wish. It reached number 16 in the UK and 24 in Germany. Later, another hit is recorded with " p:Machinery ". Disputes break out with the ZTT label. Claudia Brücken left the band. It wasn't until 1990 that the album 1234 was released with new singer Betsi Miller. Even before the album's release, founder Ralf Dörper left Propaganda. However, he still has a decisive influence on the hit songs "Vicious Circle" , " Wound in My Heart " and "Only One Word". The biggest single success, however, was "Heaven Give Me Words" . The song reached number 36 in the UK and number 40 in Germany. After that, Propaganda took a back seat. Short-lived reformations followed, sometimes with the original line-up. In 2004, for example, Propaganda performed at London's Wembley Arena in November, in honor of producer Trevor Horn. In 2022, singers Susanne Freytag and Claudia Brücken joined forces. Under the name xPropaganda, they released the album The Heart Is Strange.