Propaganda's Andreas Thein has passed away after a battle with cancer.

The musician, who was a co-founder of the German synthpop group, died aged 59 on Thursday (May 30).

The news was confirmed by ZTT Records, who posted on their Facebook page:

"We are very sad to announce that Andreas Thein passed away yesterday, after a battle with cancer. Andreas was an original co-founder of Propaganda, as well as the cult new wave groups groups Kino and Rififi."

Propaganda's first album came in the shape of 1985's 'A Secret Wish', which spawned tracks like 'Duel' and 'Dr. Mabuse'.

Thein later formed the bands Rififi and Kino following his departure from Propaganda.