Propaganda are a German synthpop group, formed in Düsseldorf, West Germany, in 1982 by Ralf Dörper (a member of the German industrial band Die Krupps). The original trio also consisted of Andreas Thein and vocalist Susanne Freytag. With the inclusion of classically trained musician and composer Michael Mertens and singer Claudia Brücken (who had worked with Freytag in her previous band, The Topolinos) music journalist Paul Morley signed the band to Trevor Horn's newly formed ZTT Records label