Propaganda - A Secret Wish (CD 1998)

I'd had this on cassette for ever, and had put it on mini-disc for the car. When the disc stopped working I decided it was time to buy a copy on CD. Well, listening to it on CD instead of my original cassette I soon realised what I'd been missing in the quality of sound, not to mention the the fact that the length of the original cassette meant, I had actually been denied the entire reportoire as two tracks were not actually on the tape!!
Possibly the most famous track on the CD are the Duel & Jewel, which were remixed together for the BBC's Top Gear Rally Report program back in the dark ages!!
Great album, great vendor and another 100% Ebay Satisfaction rating

Propaganda have been described as 'Abba from Hell' and this album encapsulates their own, individual sound.

Coming as they did from the Frankie Goes to Hollywood era of 'Power Pop' their music was powerful yet melodic.

This 80's music sits well in any modern playlist.

Enjoy!

Propaganda were an 80s synth-pop band I got to know when a friend played some in his home studio, we both had a passion for the production techniques and the technology as well as the songs and rhythms. I was a big fan of the Pet Shop Boys at the time but there wasnt much of this genre available as synthesizers were relatively new in main stream music. This album was produced by Stephen Lipson who produced the PSBs first album 'Please', and Trevor Horn who was an artist in his own right (remember video killed the radio star?) and part of musical art movement 'The Art of Noise', it was Horns label ztt that the album was released on. The music has a very 'studio production' feel to it, you get the sense that the people making it are very creative and exacting in detail, the rhythms and drive behind the production have a definite, confident aim and coupled with Claudia Bruckens powerful voice produce vibrant and dynamic tracks that really drive at the emotions expressed in the lyrics. The lyrics also added fabulously to the flow of music, a kindve intelligent drive at how our emotions are affected by those with less honest passions as well as the emotional turmoil that is life itself, coupled with Steve Lipsons production that has always been something other worldly and somehow taps into your imagination like nothing else, they produced some big, powerful tracks that really took you to the places that only really good music can, it captured that flow, that ride of an emotional journey where you felt your emotions rising, giving them detail, a direction and a focus and leading them to some finale where you then quietly fall back to earth again once its over, a slightly different person, a better one, for simply having been there...

The band apparently had contractual complications and the formation changed, apparently mainly due to a lack of a proper contract similar to the situation at Factory records, the line up changed and I believe two of the members formed a duo of which I know nothing about. There was another album released some years later but this was under a different line up and had very little success, Ive heard a couple of tracks and to be honest I dont really know how or why they even tried to use the same name, the motive was completely different and the music and production was distinctly several hundred miles off-shore compared to the original.

Trevor Horn has become one of the biggest producers of our time, Steve Lipson has worked with several other bands and both have worked with the Pet Shop Boys on several occasions as has Bob Kraushaar who engineered this album and went on to produce some of the best albums ever made, interestingly for me personally is that Claudia Brucken and Michael Mertens of the original band eventually got married and returned to Michaels home town of Chorley in Lancs(England), my home town which is kinda cool..

I dont think Propaganda had amazing commercial success, the track most people will know is Duel because it was used for a while by the BBC as the Tv theme for their world rally coverage, I think they had a strong following within their genre and it still remains quite unique if a little dated these days.

I bought mine from ebay for posterity, Ive downloaded the tracks online but something that hits the mark as well as this is harder to find these days and needs to be kept for future reference, something this dynamic, confident and powerful hardly seems to exist anymore..

Many thanx

Claudia Brunken is the main singer.
The group is Propaganda
Duel is the song.

A secret wish ( the album ) can be found around the doors for £8.48 and its a testiment to the group how it still sounds fresh even today when it was made over 24 years ago

Liked one track when it was released in 1985, like the rest of the album. Great purchase! Spotted this cd on e-bay, bid for it and was fast delivered!