“Duel” by Propaganda

Propaganda, the German synth-pop group, pulled "Duel" off their debut album A Secret Wish as its second single and put it out in Britain in April 1985. It became their biggest hit there, reaching No. 21 and landing them their one and only turn on Top of the Pops that June. Ralf Dörper, Claudia Brücken and Michael Mertens wrote it, and Stewart Copeland supplied the drums and percussion.

The fun part is its evil twin. The single came backed with "Jewel (Rough Cut)", the same lyrics delivered with far more venom, mostly by Susanne Freytag, over heavy beats and industrial clatter; a 12-inch mix piled on more effects, and an instrumental version made the album. Two more tracks stitched the pair together: "Bejewelled" alternates between them, and "Jewelled", on the remix album Wishful Thinking, runs the melodies of "Duel" over the rhythms of "Jewel".

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.