ZANG TUMMM TUMB ARTICLES “the first draft of history”

You might think that chart success means abandoning those mundane daytime jobs in favour of the wildly glamorous, jet-setting life of a pop-star. Not so for German group Propaganda. Rolf works in a bank, Michael plays percussion for the Dusseldorf symphony orchestra and Claudia (who recently married Z.T.T. supremo Paul Morley) has had a succession of bizarre jobs including a spell with a female dance troupe.

Although Germany boasts one of the biggest record buying markets in the world, its not really that good at producing its own pop music. Remember 99 Red Balloons? Michael explains: “Youre so lucky in Britain. The young men here can leave school at 16 and start to do what they want. In Germany we have to do 18 months National Service. Lots of people pretend to be sick or mad to avoid it. Its such a stupid rule. I suppose thats why there arent so many good German bands. A year-and-a-half in the army is enough to put anyone off.”

So will Propaganda be moving to the worlds rock ‘n roll capital, London? “We dont have to really. Its only a few hours flying time from Dusseldorf, and anyway we have to hang on to our jobs!”

Propagandas new single Duel (from their soon-to-be-released album A Secret Wish) is a decidely more jolly affair than the menancing Dr. Mabuse which threatened the Top 20 late last year. “Its a parody of a pop song,” giggles Claudia. “And its about love of course”. With a title like Duel what else could it be about?!