Propaganda - A Secret Wish (1985) + Wishful Thinking (1985)

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Propaganda - A Secret Wish (1985) + Wishful Thinking (1985)

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Synth-pop band Propaganda was formed in Germany by vocalist Claudia Brücken and drummer Michael Mertens plus keyboard players Susanne Freytag and Ralf Dorper. The quartet moved to England in 1983 and signed to ZTT Records, also the home of Frankie Goes to Hollywood and Art of Noise. Propaganda's first single, "Dr. Mabuse," reached the British Top 30 in early 1984, but the band's second release was more than a year in coming. Finally, in May 1985, "Duel" trumped the debut single by hitting number 21.

Propaganda's first album A Secret Wish appeared one month later, and the resulting tour necessitated the addition of bassist Derek Forbes and drummer Brian McGee – both formerly with Simple Minds. After the release of the remix album Wishful Thinking later that year, Dorper became the first original member to leave the band, and Propaganda splintered soon after, due to a prolonged legal battle to leave ZTT. The group finally re-emerged in 1988 with Mertens, Forbes, McGee and American vocalist Betsi Miller. The quartet signed with Virgin, and released 1234 in 1990. The single "Heaven Give Me Words" broke the British Top 40 in 1990, and "Only One Word" placed modestly later that year.

Meanwhile, Claudia Brücken – who had stayed with ZTT in large part because of her marriage to label-owner Paul Morley – formed Act with Thomas Leer. The duo charted "Snobbery and Decay" in mid-1987 and released their only album, Laughter, Tears, and Rage in 1988. Brücken became a solo act by the turn of the decade, and charted only one single, "Absolut (E)," from her 1991 album Love, And a Million Other Things. Though neither the band nor Brücken had recorded recently, rumours flew during the mid-'90s that a Propaganda reunion was in the works.

Biography by John Bush, Allmusic.com

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Propaganda - A Secret Wish (1985) + Wishful Thinking (1985)

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Propaganda - A Secret Wish (1985) + Wishful Thinking (1985)

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Propaganda - A Secret Wish (1985) + Wishful Thinking (1985)

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With guests including David Sylvian, Heaven 17's Glenn Gregory, and Steve Howe, A Secret Wish is synth-rock with an eye toward orchestrated pop as well as a bit of sampler experimentation in the grand ZTT tradition of Art of Noise. There's a distinct lack of songwriting on the album, and though the synth-grooves are tight enough to keep it flowing for most of its length, A Secret Wish occasionally falls flat from its own weight.

Review by Keith Farley, Allmusic.com

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Propaganda - A Secret Wish (1985) + Wishful Thinking (1985)

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In the '80s, remix records were usually either solipsistic synth noodling with very little appeal for the average listener or, worse still, crass commercial attempts to eek a few additional dollars from die hard fans. Propaganda was apparently prepared to answer accusations of that sort. The record jacket for Wishful Thinking, their 1985 collection of remixed "disturbdances" of songs from their debut, A Secret Wish, defends the remix concept with a quotation from Goethe: "and refashioning the fashioned/ lest it stiffen into iron/ is a work of endless vital activity." Somehow Wishful Thinking seems deserving of Goethe's defense. These remixes are vital and original creations in their own right. At times they even seem to surpass the quality of the original poppier versions. The driving dance beats, mesmerizing gothic chords, and swirling ambient guitars create a melancholic ethos of considerable artistic merit. Perhaps the key is the reduction in emphasis on the sometimes grating sing/shout vocals by Claudia Brucken and Susan Freytag. And though some mixes do begin to get dull when they are reduced to thumping bass and grinding drums, the vast majority of this project is more dynamic than that.

Review by Evan Cater, Allmusic.com