Song · Propaganda
“Dr. Mabuse” by Propaganda
“Dr. Mabuse” by Propaganda appears on 1 radio countdown from 1 station in 1984. Its best result is #31 on the John Peel's Festive Fifty of 1984. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #125 alternative song of 1984.
Propaganda announced themselves in 1984 with "Dr. Mabuse", or "The Nine Lives of Dr. Mabuse" to give it the full title, the German synth-pop band's first single. Trevor Horn produced it and released it on his own ZTT label, and it turns up on their debut album, A Secret Wish, too. Ralf Dörper, Michael Mertens and Andreas Thein wrote the music, Dörper and Mertens the words, and the subject is the character at the center of three Fritz Lang films.
It's new wave with a cold, cinematic menace, and it hides a trick near the climax: a line of German run backwards. Anton Corbijn directed the video, with Polish actor Vladek Sheybal as Mabuse, and the single went to number 7 in Germany. Flip the 12-inch and there's the band's take on "Femme Fatale" by the Velvet Underground.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | 31 | John Peel (BBC Radio 1) | John Peel's Festive Fifty of 1984 | 48 |
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