Duel (song)

"Duel"
Single by Propaganda
from the album A Secret Wish
B-side	Jewel
Released	April 7, 1985 (1985-04-07)
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
"Dr. Mabuse" (1984) "Duel" (1985) "p:Machinery" (1985)
Shaped picture disc

"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.

Alternative version - Jewel

"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 performance

Chart (1985)	Peak position
German Top100 Singles	30
Dutch Top 40[1]	5
UK Singles Chart[2]	21
Italian Chart	3

Use as a sports theme

The song is often played at the stadium of Heart Of Midlothian Football Club during home matches^{[citation needed]}. 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.

Cover versions

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".

External links

• Duel lyrics at lyrics-songs.com
• Duel discography at ZTT and All That

References

1. ^ "De Nederlandse Top 40, week 31, 1985". http://www.radio538.nl/web/show/id=44685/chartid=6222. Retrieved 2008-02-16. 
2. ^ "chartstats.com page for "Duel"". http://www.chartstats.com/songinfo.php?id=12451. Retrieved 2008-08-04.