| "Duel" | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Propaganda | ||||||||
| from the album A Secret Wish | ||||||||
| B-side | Jewel | |||||||
| Released | April 7, 1985 | |||||||
| Format | 7", 12", Cassette single, Picture disc | |||||||
| Genre | Synthpop, New Wave | |||||||
| Label | ZTT | |||||||
| Writer(s) | Claudia Brücken, Ralf Dörper,Michael Mertens | |||||||
| Producer | Stephen Lipson | |||||||
| Propaganda singles chronology | ||||||||
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"Duel" is the second single by German pop group Propaganda and was included on their first album A Secret Wish.
Released in the United Kingdom in April 1985, it became their most successful single in the UK, reaching no. 21. This led to the band making their one and only appearance on the flagship BBC music programme, "Top of the Pops", in June of that year.
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"Duel" was original released with an alternative version of the track, "Jewel (rough cut)" on the b-side. This featured the same lyrics delivered in a more aggressive manner over a backing track of heavy beats and industrial sound effects.
A 12-inch mix, "Jewel (cut rough)" extended this with further sound effects, and an instrumental version appeared on the group's debut album, A Secret Wish.
The two approaches to the song were combined in two different tracks. "Bejewelled" played the song through, alternating between the two versions, while "Jewelled", on the remix album Wishful Thinking, combined elements of both, with the melodies of "Duel" playing alongside the rhythms of "Jewel".
| Chart (1985) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| German Top100 Singles | 30 |
| Dutch Top 40[1] | 5 |
| UK Singles Chart[2] | 21 |
| Italian Chart | 3 |
The song is often played at the stadium of Heart Of Midlothian Football Club during home matches . A remix, "Jewelled", was also used as the title and credits music of the BBC programme Rally Report (later Top Gear Rally Report) covering the Lombard RAC Rally (now called Rally GB) which is the UK round of the World Rally Championship.
The Jewel track was also used by Channel 4 for its American Football coverage in the late 1980s and by Granada Television for its regional Granada Goals Extra programme in the early 1990s.
This song was covered (an spanish translation called "Hoy Comienza tu derrota") in the 80's by a Venezuelan Singer called Mellisa, for her album "Melissa III". The song was released as a very successful single.
British singer Mandy Smith recorded a cover version of "Duel" for her debut album in 1987.
In August 2007 Sophie Ellis-Bextor recorded and released a cover of "Duel" as a B-side to her single "Today the Sun's on Us".
In 2009, UK girlband The Dolly Rockers sampled the bridge and melody from "Duel"to form the basis for their song, "How Did I End Up With U".