"The Nine Lives of Dr. Mabuse" (often shortened to "Dr. Mabuse") is the debut single by German new wave/

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s b ...

band

Propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded l ...

. The song was produced by

Trevor Horn Trevor Charles Horn (born 15 July 1949) is an English record producer and musician. His influence on pop and electronic music in the 1980s was such that he has been called "the man who invented the eighties". Horn took up the bass guitar at an ...

and was released on his label,

ZTT ZTT Records is a British record label founded in 1983 by the record producer Trevor Horn, the businesswoman Jill Sinclair and the ''NME'' journalist Paul Morley. They released music by acts including Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Grace Jones, ...

in 1984. It appears on the band's debut album '' A Secret Wish''. The song was a moderate chart hit in the UK and Switzerland, peaking at numbers 27 and 14, respectively. In Germany, the song reached the top 10, peaking at No. 7. The song is a reference to the character in the three

Fritz Lang Friedrich Christian Anton Lang (; December 5, 1890 – August 2, 1976), better known as Fritz Lang (), was an Austrian-born film director, screenwriter, and producer who worked in Germany and later the United States.Obituary ''Variety Obituari ...

films; '' Dr. Mabuse the Gambler'', ''

The Testament of Dr. Mabuse ''The Testament of Dr. Mabuse'' (), also called ''The Last Will of Dr. Mabuse'', is a 1933 German crime-thriller film directed by Fritz Lang. The movie is a sequel to Lang's silent film ''Dr. Mabuse the Gambler'' (1922) and features many cast a ...

'' and ''

The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse ''The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse'' (German ) is a 1960 black-and-white crime thriller film directed by Fritz Lang in his final film. A West German/French/Italian international co-production, it starred Peter van Eyck, Dawn Addams and Gert Fröb ...

''. A music video was produced, featuring Polish actor

Vladek Sheybal Vladek Sheybal (born Władysław Rudolf Zbigniew Sheybal; 12 March 1923 – 16 October 1992) was a Polish character actor, singer and director of both television and stage productions. He was well known for his portrayal of the chess grandmaste ...

as the titular character. The 12" version features a cover of

the Velvet Underground The Velvet Underground were an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1964. Its classic lineup consisted of singer and guitarist Lou Reed, Welsh multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and percussionis ...

's "

Femme Fatale A ( , ; ), sometimes called a maneater, Mata Hari, or vamp, is a stock character of a mysterious, beautiful, and Seduction, seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers, often leading them into compromising, deadly traps. She is an archetype ...

" as its B-side. The cover was also released on the 1985

various artists A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

compilation album ''I Q 6 Zang Tumb Tuum Sampled'' and on the 2002 compilation '' Outside World''. An instrumental remix of this song called "Abuse" appeared in the opening credits of the

John Hughes John Hughes may refer to: Arts and Entertainment Literature *John Hughes (poet) (1677–1720), English poet *John Hughes (1790–1857), English author *John Ceiriog Hughes (1832–1887), Welsh poet *John Hughes (writer) (born 1961), Australian au ...

1987 film '' Some Kind of Wonderful'', in which

Mary Stuart Masterson Mary Stuart Masterson (born June 28, 1966) is an American actress and director. After making her acting debut as a Child actor, child in The Stepford Wives (1975 film), ''The Stepford Wives'' (1975), Masterson took a ten-year hiatus to focus on ...

's character, Watts, drums along to the dominant percussion. This version does not appear on the film's official soundtrack, however. Towards the end of the song, just before the climax, some gibberish appears. It is actually the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

question "Warum schmerzt es, wenn mein Herz den Schlag verpasst?" played backwards. The English translation is "Why does it hurt when my heart misses the beat?", the first lyrics of the song.

Track listings

UK 12"

– 12 ZTAS 2/

Island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

– 13SI-238 (Japan) #"Das Testaments Des Mabuse" – 10:14 #"Femme Fatale (The Woman with the Orchid)" – 4:22 #"(The Ninth Life Of...) Dr. Mabuse" – 4:06 UK 7" ZTT – ZTAS 2 #"Dr. Mabuse" (special instrumental mix) – 5:18 #"Dr. Mabuse Der Spieler" – 5:38 UK cassette ZTT – CTIS 101 #"Das Testaments Des Mabuse" – 10:08 #"Dr. Mabuse (A Paranoid Fantasy)" – 4:19 Europe 12" Island – 601 222 #"Dr. Mabuse" (DJ remix) – 9:50 #"Femme Fatale (The Woman with the Orchid)" – 3:19 #"(The Ninth Life Of...) Dr. Mabuse" – 4:06 Europe 7" Island – 106 281 #"Dr. Mabuse: The First Side: 'A To-Day'" – 4:20 #"Dr. Mabuse der Spieler: The Second Side: 'B To-Morrow'" – 5:41 New Zealand 12"

Festival A festival is an event celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, Melā, mela, or Muslim holidays, eid. A ...

– X 14104 #"Dr. Mabuse" (13th Life mix) – 6:32 #"Femme Fatale (The Woman with the Orchid)" – 3:19 #"(The Ninth Life Of...) Dr. Mabuse" – 4:06 Digital download ZTT – ZTDS66 (Definition Series) #"Dr. Mabuse (A Paranoid Fantasy)" – 4:21 #"Dr. Mabuse der Spieler (An International Incident)" – 5:41 #"Das Testaments Des Mabuse" – 10:16 #"Femme Fatale (The Woman with the Orchid)" – 3:21 #"Dr. Mabuse (The Ninth Life Of...)" – 4:11 #"Testament Four" – 0:24 #"Die Tausend Augen Des Mabuse" – 9:46 #"Im Stahlnetz Des Mabuse" – 3:16 #"Strength to Dream (The First Life Of...)" – 2:29 Digital download ZTT – "Dr. Mabuse (His Last Will and Testament)" (The Beast of Propaganda) #"Dr. Mabuse (The 13th Life Of...)" – 6:34 #"Dr. Mabuse" (special instrumental mix) – 5:25 #"Femme Fatale (The Orchid)" – 3:21 #"Dr. Mabuse" (Anton Corbijn video mix) – 4:51 #"Testament Six" – 0:31 #"Dr. Mabuse" (12" remix for Germany) – 6:07 #"Das Testament Des Dr Mabuse" (12" edit for Germany) – 9:54 #"Dr. Mabuse (An International Conclusion)" – 5:40 #"Strength to Dream (As Testament Seven)" – 3:16

Chart performance

References

External links

Propaganda - Abuse (Dr. Mabuse remix)
on YouTube {{authority control 1984 songs 1984 debut singles Propaganda (band) songs Song recordings produced by Trevor Horn Music videos directed by Anton Corbijn ZTT Records singles Island Records singles