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Falco (musician)
Encyclopedia
Johann Hölzel (19 February 1957 – 6 February 1998), better known by his stage name Falco, was an Austrian
pop
and rock
musician and rapper. He had several international hits: "Der Kommissar
", "Rock Me Amadeus
", "Vienna Calling", "Jeanny
", "The Sound of Musik", "Coming Home (Jeanny Part 2)" and posthumously, "Out Of The Dark". He is the first and only artist to date whose principal language was German to score a number-one hit in the United States with "Rock Me Amadeus". His estate claims he has sold 40 million albums and 20 million singles to date, which makes him the best selling Austrian singer of all time.
, he was able to keep time with the drumbeat in songs he heard on the radio. He was given a baby grand piano for his fourth birthday; a year later, his birthday gift was a record player which he used to play music by Elvis Presley, Cliff Richard, and the Beatles. At age five, he auditioned for the Vienna Music Academy, where it was confirmed that he had perfect pitch
.
In 1963, Hölzel began his schooling at a Roman Catholic private school; four years later, at age ten, he switched to the Rainer Gymnasium in Vienna. Shortly thereafter his father Alois Hölzel left the family. From then on, Hölzel was raised by his mother and grandmother and remained very close to them all his life.
He left school at sixteen in 1973 due to absenteeism. His mother then insisted he begin an apprenticeship with the Austrian employee pension insurance institute, but this only lasted a short time. At seventeen, he volunteered for eight months of military service with the Austrian army.
He entered the Vienna Music Conservatory in 1977, but left after one semester to "become a real musician". For a short time, he lived in West Berlin
while singing in a jazz-rock band and exploring the club scene. When he returned to Vienna he was calling himself "Falco", reportedly in tribute to the East German ski jumper Falko Weißpflog (he changed one letter to make the name more international), and playing in the Austrian bands Spinning Wheel and Hallucination Company.
En route to becoming an international rock star in his own right, he was bass
player in the Austrian hard rock
-punk rock
band Drahdiwaberl (from 1978 until 1983). With Drahdiwaberl he wrote and performed the song "Ganz Wien" ("All Vienna"), which he would also include on his debut solo album, Einzelhaft (Solitary Confinement ). He also played bass with the space disco
band Ganymed
in 1981.
" ("The Commissioner") from the 1982 album Einzelhaft
. A German language song about drug consumption that combines rap verses with a sung chorus, Falco's record was a number-one success in many countries but failed to break big in the US. The song, however, would prove to have a life of its own in two English-language versions. British rock
band After the Fire
recorded an English cover version, loosely based on Falco's lyrics and also called "Der Kommissar" (with "uh-oh" and "alles klar Herr Kommissar" the only other lyrics held over from the original). This time, the song shot to number five in the United States
(their only major hit there) in 1983, though it failed to crack the UK Top 40. That same year, American singer Laura Branigan
recorded a version of the song with new English lyrics under the title "Deep In The Dark" on her album Branigan 2
.
After a second album, Junge Roemer
(Young Romans) failed to provide a repeat to his debut single's success (outside of Austria
and Germany
, where the album topped the charts), Falco began to experiment with English lyrics in an effort to broaden his appeal, and chose a new production team. The result would be the most popular album and single of his career.
Falco recorded "Rock Me Amadeus
" inspired in part by the Oscar
-winning film Amadeus
, and the song became a worldwide hit in 1986. This time, his record reached #1 in the US and UK, bringing him the success that had eluded him in that major market a few years earlier. The song remained in the top spot of the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks and his album, Falco 3
, fittingly peaked at the number three position on the Billboard album charts. The Austrian singers climbed to the upper reaches of the Billboard Top R&B Singles Chart (once called the "Black Singles" chart), peaking at number 6, becoming the first major hit by a white artist since Blondie's chart-topping "Rapture" six years earlier. Falco 3 peaked at number 18 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
charts. Ultimately, "Rock Me Amadeus" went to the #1 spot in over a dozen countries including Japan
. Follow-up single "Vienna Calling" was another international pop hit, peaking at #18 of the Billboard Charts and #17 on the US Cash Box Charts in 1986. A double A-side 12" single featuring remixes of those two hits peaked at #4 on the US Dance/Disco charts.
"Jeanny
", the third release from the album Falco 3, brought the performer back to the top of the charts across Europe. Highly controversial when it was released in Germany
and the Netherlands
, the story of "Jeanny" was told from the point of view of a rapist and possible murderer. Several DJs and radio stations refused to play the ballad, which was ignored in the US, though it became a huge hit in many European countries, and inspired two sequels on later albums.
In 1986, the album Emotional was released, produced by Rob and Ferdi Bolland (Bolland & Bolland
). Songs on the album included "Coming Home (Jeanny Part 2)," "The Kiss of Kathleen Turner
", and "Kamikaze Capa" which was written as a tribute to the late photojournalist Robert Capa
. "The Sound of Musik" was another international success, and a Top 20 US dance hit, though it failed to make the US pop charts.
In 1987 he went on "Emotional" world tour ending in Japan. In the same year he sang a duet with Brigitte Nielsen
, "Body Next to Body"; the single was a Top 10 hit in the Germanic
countries. The album Wiener Blut
(Viennese Blood) was released in 1988 but it did not get much publicity outside Germany and Austria.
In 1990, he wrote a song about Cindy Crawford
and Tatjana Patitz
, "Tanja P. not Cindy C.", which appeared on the album Data de Groove.
After 1986 there were a number of European hits, but Falco was rarely heard in the US and the UK. His 1992 comeback attempt, the album Nachtflug
(Night Flight) including the song "Titanic", was successful in the German speaking territories, but failed to chart internationally.
Falco died of severe injuries received from a collision with a bus in his Mitsubishi Montero
on the road linking the towns of Villa Montellano
and Puerto Plata
, in the Dominican Republic
on 6 February 1998, just two weeks before his 41st birthday. It was initially reported that the autopsy showed high blood levels of alcohol and cocaine, however this was later dismissed. At the time of his death, he was planning a comeback. He was buried in the Zentralfriedhof
(Central Cemetery) in Vienna, Austria.
of the group The Bloodhound Gang
, the song "Mope
" is a tribute to Falco, and he is referred to as a "money making player that ain't with us no more" and a "gang banging thug that never seen it coming."
In 1998, Rob and Ferdi Bolland
(Dutch producers and co-writers of about half of Falco's albums) released the EP Tribute to Falco under the name The Bolland Project feat. Alida. The title track featured samples of Falco's music; the other tracks were "We Say Goodbye" and "So Lonely".
The film Falco – Verdammt, wir leben noch! was released in Austria on 7 February 2008, ten years and one day after Falco's death. This title is also the name of a posthumously-released album by Falco
which translates to "Damn, we're still alive!" Written and directed by Thomas Roth, the movie features musician Manuel Rubey as adult Johann 'Falco' Hölzel. The end credits include the line "With love, Ferdi & Rob", his frequent collaborators the Bollands.
Falco's good friend Niki Lauda
named one of the Boeing airplanes in his Lauda Air
fleet "Falco" after the singer.
Although "Der Kommissar
" saw nearly contemporaneous and fairly straightforward mainstream covers including the loose translation by After The Fire
and the reinterpretation by Laura Branigan
, both in 1982/1983, Falco's song "Rock Me Amadeus
" has received a more enduring, if humorous, usage several decades after its release, in a number of films, television shows and commercials. The 2009 film Adventureland
features "Rock Me Amadeus" multiple times as part of an amusement park's background music, to the eventual disdain of its denizens. The original track is featured in humorous situations in commercials for the Subaru
Impreza sedan and E-Trade financial services (2008). The track has been sampled by groups including the Bloodhound Gang
, who also refer to Falco, in their 1999 song "Mope
", and by German rapper Fler
in "NDW 2005" from Neue Deutsche Welle
. In 2004, Mexican rock band Molotov
released a tribute in their comedy style, called "Amateur (Rock Me Amadeus)".
More frequently "Rock Me Amadeus" has been interpolated for comedic effect. In 1986, "Weird Al" Yankovic
parodied the song in his song "Polka Party". In The Simpsons
episode "A Fish Called Selma
" (1996), an offbeat variation is featured in a musical presentation of Planet of the Apes
with the repeated tag of "Amadeus, Amadeus" transferred to "Dr. Zaius
, Dr. Zaius". A similar usage appears in another satirical US cartoon series, Family Guy
(season 4 episode 6
, 2005). The Daily Show with Jon Stewart featured a parody, "Iraq Me Dave Petraeus", as a musical intro to a briefly recurring segment involving the US General's doctrine regarding the war in 2007/2008.
In 1985 a parody version of "Rock Me Amadeus
" entitled, "Rock Me Jerry Lewis" was credited to Bud Latour
and fellow Phoenix, Arizona
disc jockey, Mike Elliott. To the dedicated parody community, LaTour is mostly only known as 'Bud' LaTour. "Rock Me Jerry Lewis" climbed to Number 1 on The Dr. Dememto's Funny Five chart and grew to a notoriety that prompted mentions and airplay on Casey Kasem's
Top 40 Radio Show as well as a call from Jerry Lewis
himself. Furthermore, Jerry Lewis would begin to use the song at his personal appearances and stage shows. While in Phoenix, Arizona for a muscular dystrophy benefit at a bowling alley, Jerry Lewis invited 'Bud' LaTour and Mike Elliott to bowl with him. He was kind enough to sign 500 copies of the "Rock Me Jerry Lewis" 7" record.
A later episode of The Simpsons, "Behind the Laughter
", features Willie Nelson
saying, "Thank you, Taco, for that loving tribute to Falco," within another fictional tribute. Falco has been referenced in the US satirical cartoon series American Dad and The Tick
. In an episode of Family Guy
entitled "German Guy", Falco's song "Der Kommisar" was used when Franz Gutentag made a Chris look-alike puppet and it sang and danced to the song. Chris later states "that was the German-est thing I've ever seen", however Falco was Austrian.
!rowspan="2"|Year
!rowspan="2"|Title
!colspan="20"|Peak position
Johann (Hans) Hölzel (19 February 1957 – 6 February 1998), better known by his stage name Falco, was an Austrian
pop
and rock
musician and rapper. He had several international hits: "Der Kommissar
", "Rock Me Amadeus
", "Vienna Calling", "Jeanny
", "The Sound of Musik", "Coming Home (Jeanny Part 2)" and posthumously, "Out Of The Dark". He is the first and only artist to date whose principal language was German to score a number-one hit in the United States with "Rock Me Amadeus". His estate claims he has sold 40 million albums and 20 million singles to date, which makes him the best selling Austrian singer of all time.
, he was able to keep time with the drumbeat in songs he heard on the radio. He was given a baby grand piano for his fourth birthday; a year later, his birthday gift was a record player which he used to play music by Elvis Presley, Cliff Richard, and the Beatles. At age five, he auditioned for the Vienna Music Academy, where it was confirmed that he had perfect pitch
.
In 1963, Hölzel began his schooling at a Roman Catholic private school; four years later, at age ten, he switched to the Rainer Gymnasium in Vienna. Shortly thereafter his father Alois Hölzel left the family. From then on, Hölzel was raised by his mother and grandmother and remained very close to them all his life.
He left school at sixteen in 1973 due to absenteeism. His mother then insisted he begin an apprenticeship with the Austrian employee pension insurance institute, but this only lasted a short time. At seventeen, he volunteered for eight months of military service with the Austrian army.
He entered the Vienna Music Conservatory in 1977, but left after one semester to "become a real musician". For a short time, he lived in West Berlin
while singing in a jazz-rock band and exploring the club scene. When he returned to Vienna he was calling himself "Falco", reportedly in tribute to the East German ski jumper Falko Weißpflog (he changed one letter to make the name more international), and playing in the Austrian bands Spinning Wheel and Hallucination Company.The preceding four paragraphs include translated material from the German version of this article.
En route to becoming an international rock star in his own right, he was bass
player in the Austrian hard rock
-punk rock
band Drahdiwaberl (from 1978 until 1983). With Drahdiwaberl he wrote and performed the song "Ganz Wien" ("All Vienna"), which he would also include on his debut solo album, Einzelhaft (Solitary Confinement ). He also played bass with the space disco
band Ganymed
in 1981.
" ("The Commissioner") from the 1982 album Einzelhaft
. A German language song about drug consumption that combines rap verses with a sung chorus, Falco's record was a number-one success in many countries but failed to break big in the US. The song, however, would prove to have a life of its own in two English-language versions. British rock
band After the Fire
recorded an English cover version, loosely based on Falco's lyrics and also called "Der Kommissar" (with "uh-oh" and "alles klar Herr Kommissar" the only other lyrics held over from the original). This time, the song shot to number five in the United States
(their only major hit there) in 1983, though it failed to crack the UK Top 40. That same year, American singer Laura Branigan
recorded a version of the song with new English lyrics under the title "Deep In The Dark" on her album Branigan 2
.
After a second album, Junge Roemer
(Young Romans) failed to provide a repeat to his debut single's success (outside of Austria
and Germany
, where the album topped the charts), Falco began to experiment with English lyrics in an effort to broaden his appeal, and chose a new production team. The result would be the most popular album and single of his career.
Falco recorded "Rock Me Amadeus
" inspired in part by the Oscar
-winning film Amadeus
, and the song became a worldwide hit in 1986. This time, his record reached #1 in the US and UK, bringing him the success that had eluded him in that major market a few years earlier. The song remained in the top spot of the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks and his album, Falco 3
, fittingly peaked at the number three position on the Billboard album charts. The Austrian singers climbed to the upper reaches of the Billboard Top R&B Singles Chart (once called the "Black Singles" chart), peaking at number 6, becoming the first major hit by a white artist since Blondie's chart-topping "Rapture" six years earlier. Falco 3 peaked at number 18 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
charts. Ultimately, "Rock Me Amadeus" went to the #1 spot in over a dozen countries including Japan
. Follow-up single "Vienna Calling" was another international pop hit, peaking at #18 of the Billboard Charts and #17 on the US Cash Box Charts in 1986. A double A-side 12" single featuring remixes of those two hits peaked at #4 on the US Dance/Disco charts.
"Jeanny
", the third release from the album Falco 3, brought the performer back to the top of the charts across Europe. Highly controversial when it was released in Germany
and the Netherlands
, the story of "Jeanny" was told from the point of view of a rapist and possible murderer. Several DJs and radio stations refused to play the ballad, which was ignored in the US, though it became a huge hit in many European countries, and inspired two sequels on later albums.
In 1986, the album Emotional was released, produced by Rob and Ferdi Bolland (Bolland & Bolland
). Songs on the album included "Coming Home (Jeanny Part 2)," "The Kiss of Kathleen Turner
", and "Kamikaze Capa" which was written as a tribute to the late photojournalist Robert Capa
. "The Sound of Musik" was another international success, and a Top 20 US dance hit, though it failed to make the US pop charts.
In 1987 he went on "Emotional" world tour ending in Japan. In the same year he sang a duet with Brigitte Nielsen
, "Body Next to Body"; the single was a Top 10 hit in the Germanic
countries. The album Wiener Blut
(Viennese Blood) was released in 1988 but it did not get much publicity outside Germany and Austria.
In 1990, he wrote a song about Cindy Crawford
and Tatjana Patitz
, "Tanja P. not Cindy C.", which appeared on the album Data de Groove.
After 1986 there were a number of European hits, but Falco was rarely heard in the US and the UK. His 1992 comeback attempt, the album Nachtflug
(Night Flight) including the song "Titanic", was successful in the German speaking territories, but failed to chart internationally.
Falco died of severe injuries received from a collision with a bus in his Mitsubishi Montero
on the road linking the towns of Villa Montellano
and Puerto Plata
, in the Dominican Republic
on 6 February 1998, just two weeks before his 41st birthday. It was initially reported that the autopsy showed high blood levels of alcohol and cocaine, however this was later dismissed. At the time of his death, he was planning a comeback. He was buried in the Zentralfriedhof
(Central Cemetery) in Vienna, Austria.
of the group The Bloodhound Gang
, the song "Mope
" is a tribute to Falco, and he is referred to as a "money making player that ain't with us no more" and a "gang banging thug that never seen it coming."
In 1998, Rob and Ferdi Bolland
(Dutch producers and co-writers of about half of Falco's albums) released the EP Tribute to Falco under the name The Bolland Project feat. Alida. The title track featured samples of Falco's music; the other tracks were "We Say Goodbye" and "So Lonely".
The film Falco – Verdammt, wir leben noch! was released in Austria on 7 February 2008, ten years and one day after Falco's death. This title is also the name of a posthumously-released album by Falco
which translates to "Damn, we're still alive!" Written and directed by Thomas Roth, the movie features musician Manuel Rubey as adult Johann 'Falco' Hölzel.Falco – Verdammt, wir leben noch! IMDb Page The end credits include the line "With love, Ferdi & Rob", his frequent collaborators the Bollands.
Falco's good friend Niki Lauda
named one of the Boeing airplanes in his Lauda Air
fleet "Falco" after the singer.
Although "Der Kommissar
" saw nearly contemporaneous and fairly straightforward mainstream covers including the loose translation by After The Fire
and the reinterpretation by Laura Branigan
, both in 1982/1983, Falco's song "Rock Me Amadeus
" has received a more enduring, if humorous, usage several decades after its release, in a number of films, television shows and commercials. The 2009 film Adventureland
features "Rock Me Amadeus" multiple times as part of an amusement park's background music, to the eventual disdain of its denizens. The original track is featured in humorous situations in commercials for the Subaru
Impreza sedan and E-Trade financial services (2008). The track has been sampled by groups including the Bloodhound Gang
, who also refer to Falco, in their 1999 song "Mope
", and by German rapper Fler
in "NDW 2005" from Neue Deutsche Welle
. In 2004, Mexican rock band Molotov
released a tribute in their comedy style, called "Amateur (Rock Me Amadeus)".
More frequently "Rock Me Amadeus" has been interpolated for comedic effect. In 1986, "Weird Al" Yankovic
parodied the song in his song "Polka Party". In The Simpsons
episode "A Fish Called Selma
" (1996), an offbeat variation is featured in a musical presentation of Planet of the Apes
with the repeated tag of "Amadeus, Amadeus" transferred to "Dr. Zaius
, Dr. Zaius". A similar usage appears in another satirical US cartoon series, Family Guy
(season 4 episode 6
, 2005). The Daily Show with Jon Stewart featured a parody, "Iraq Me Dave Petraeus", as a musical intro to a briefly recurring segment involving the US General's doctrine regarding the war in 2007/2008.The Daily Show: Iraq Me Dave Petraeus
In 1985 a parody version of "Rock Me Amadeus
" entitled, "Rock Me Jerry Lewis" was credited to Bud Latour
and fellow Phoenix, Arizona
disc jockey, Mike Elliott. To the dedicated parody community, LaTour is mostly only known as 'Bud' LaTour. "Rock Me Jerry Lewis" climbed to Number 1 on The Dr. Dememto's Funny Five chart and grew to a notoriety that prompted mentions and airplay on Casey Kasem's
Top 40 Radio Show as well as a call from Jerry Lewis
himself. Furthermore, Jerry Lewis would begin to use the song at his personal appearances and stage shows. While in Phoenix, Arizona for a muscular dystrophy benefit at a bowling alley, Jerry Lewis invited 'Bud' LaTour and Mike Elliott to bowl with him. He was kind enough to sign 500 copies of the "Rock Me Jerry Lewis" 7" record.
A later episode of The Simpsons, "Behind the Laughter
", features Willie Nelson
saying, "Thank you, Taco, for that loving tribute to Falco," within another fictional tribute. Falco has been referenced in the US satirical cartoon series American Dad and The Tick
. In an episode of Family Guy
entitled "German Guy", Falco's song "Der Kommisar" was used when Franz Gutentag made a Chris look-alike puppet and it sang and danced to the song. Chris later states "that was the German-est thing I've ever seen", however Falco was Austrian.
!rowspan="2"|Year
!rowspan="2"|Title
!colspan="11"|Peak positions
|-
!width="30"|AUT
!width="30"|GER
!width="30"|CH
!width="30"|UK
!width="30"|U.S.
!width="30"|CAN
!width="30"|NOR
!width="30"|NL
!width="30"|SWE
!width="30"|ITA
!width="30"|EUR
|-
|1982
|Einzelhaft
|align="center"|1
|align="center"|19
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|64
|align="center"|31
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|45
|align="center"|21
|align="center"|
|-
|1984
|Junge Roemer
|align="center"|1
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|
|-
|1985
|Falco 3
|align="center"|1
|align="center"|2
|align="center"|1
|align="center"|32
|align="center"|3
|align="center"|7
|align="center"|3
|align="center"|15
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|
|-
|1986
|Emotional
|align="center"|1
|align="center"|1
|align="center"|5
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|7
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|
|-
|1988
|Wiener Blut
|align="center"|2
|align="center"|9
|align="center"|12
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|
|-
|1990
|Data de Groove
|align="center"|11
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|
|-
|1992
|Nachtflug
|align="center"|1
|align="center"|73
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|
|-
|1998
|Out of the Dark (Into the Light)
|align="center"|1
|align="center"|3
|align="center"|4
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|
|-
|1999
|Verdammt wir leben noch
|align="center"|3
|align="center"|35
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|
|-
|2007
|Einzelhaft (25th Anniversary Edition)
|align="center"|22
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|-
|2009
|The Spirit Never Dies
|align="center"|1
|align="center"|3
|align="center"|33
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|-
|2010
|Falco 3 (25th Anniversary Edition)
|align="center"|22
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|-
|}
!rowspan="2"|Year
!rowspan="2"|Title
!colspan="11"|Peak positions
|-
!width="30"|AUT
!width="30"|GER
!width="30"|CH
!width="30"|UK
!width="30"|U.S.
!width="30"|CAN
!width="30"|NOR
!width="30"|NL
!width="30"|SWE
!width="30"|ITA
!width="30"|EUR
|-
|1991
|The Remix Hit Collection
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|51
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|
|-
|1996
|Greatest Hits
|align="center"|2
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|
|-
|1997
|Greatest Hits Vol. II
|align="center"|8
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|
|-
|1998
|Best Of
|align="center"|7
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|
|-
|1998
|The Hit-Singles
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|7
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|
|-
|1999
|The Final Curtain – The Ultimate Best Of
|align="center"|1
|align="center"|2
|align="center"|6
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|
|-
|1999
|Live Forever (live album)
|align="center"|34
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|
|-
|2007
|Hoch wie nie (Best Of)
|align="center"|1
|align="center"|2
|align="center"|5
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|18
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|6
|-
|2008
|Falco Symphonic (Wiener Neustadt 1994)
|align="center"|1
|align="center"|15
|align="center"|34
|align="center"|
|align="center"|
|align="center"|
|align="center"|
|align="center"|
|align="center"|
|align="center"|
|align="center"|34
|-
|}
!rowspan="2"|Year
!rowspan="2"|Title
!colspan="20"|Peak position
Falco in the Austrian charts(S)Falco-Singles in the Swiss charts (S)Falco in the UK Single-Charts
Falco in the Netherland "Nationale Hitparade Top 50" (S)
Falco-Singles in the French charts I (S)Falco in the French charts II (S)Falco in the italian Single-Charts(S)
"Der Kommissar" #1 in Italy(S)Falco in the Spanish Single-Charts(S)
"Rock me Amadeus" 1986 number one in Spain(S)Falco in the Norwegian charts (S)
Johann (Hans) Hölzel (19 February 1957 – 6 February 1998), better known by his stage name Falco, was an Austrian
pop
and rock
musician and rapper. He had several international hits: "Der Kommissar
", "Rock Me Amadeus
", "Vienna Calling", "Jeanny
", "The Sound of Musik", "Coming Home (Jeanny Part 2)" and posthumously, "Out Of The Dark". He is the first and only artist to date whose principal language was German to score a number-one hit in the United States with "Rock Me Amadeus". His estate claims he has sold 40 million albums and 20 million singles to date, which makes him the best selling Austrian singer of all time.
, he was able to keep time with the drumbeat in songs he heard on the radio. He was given a baby grand piano for his fourth birthday; a year later, his birthday gift was a record player which he used to play music by Elvis Presley, Cliff Richard, and the Beatles. At age five, he auditioned for the Vienna Music Academy, where it was confirmed that he had perfect pitch
.
In 1963, Hölzel began his schooling at a Roman Catholic private school; four years later, at age ten, he switched to the Rainer Gymnasium in Vienna. Shortly thereafter his father Alois Hölzel left the family. From then on, Hölzel was raised by his mother and grandmother and remained very close to them all his life.
He left school at sixteen in 1973 due to absenteeism. His mother then insisted he begin an apprenticeship with the Austrian employee pension insurance institute, but this only lasted a short time. At seventeen, he volunteered for eight months of military service with the Austrian army.
He entered the Vienna Music Conservatory in 1977, but left after one semester to "become a real musician". For a short time, he lived in West Berlin
while singing in a jazz-rock band and exploring the club scene. When he returned to Vienna he was calling himself "Falco", reportedly in tribute to the East German ski jumper Falko Weißpflog (he changed one letter to make the name more international), and playing in the Austrian bands Spinning Wheel and Hallucination Company.The preceding four paragraphs include translated material from the German version of this article.
En route to becoming an international rock star in his own right, he was bass
player in the Austrian hard rock
-punk rock
band Drahdiwaberl (from 1978 until 1983). With Drahdiwaberl he wrote and performed the song "Ganz Wien" ("All Vienna"), which he would also include on his debut solo album, Einzelhaft (Solitary Confinement ). He also played bass with the space disco
band Ganymed
in 1981.
" ("The Commissioner") from the 1982 album Einzelhaft
. A German language song about drug consumption that combines rap verses with a sung chorus, Falco's record was a number-one success in many countries but failed to break big in the US. The song, however, would prove to have a life of its own in two English-language versions. British rock
band After the Fire
recorded an English cover version, loosely based on Falco's lyrics and also called "Der Kommissar" (with "uh-oh" and "alles klar Herr Kommissar" the only other lyrics held over from the original). This time, the song shot to number five in the United States
(their only major hit there) in 1983, though it failed to crack the UK Top 40. That same year, American singer Laura Branigan
recorded a version of the song with new English lyrics under the title "Deep In The Dark" on her album Branigan 2
.
After a second album, Junge Roemer
(Young Romans) failed to provide a repeat to his debut single's success (outside of Austria
and Germany
, where the album topped the charts), Falco began to experiment with English lyrics in an effort to broaden his appeal, and chose a new production team. The result would be the most popular album and single of his career.
Falco recorded "Rock Me Amadeus
" inspired in part by the Oscar
-winning film Amadeus
, and the song became a worldwide hit in 1986. This time, his record reached #1 in the US and UK, bringing him the success that had eluded him in that major market a few years earlier. The song remained in the top spot of the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks and his album, Falco 3
, fittingly peaked at the number three position on the Billboard album charts. The Austrian singers climbed to the upper reaches of the Billboard Top R&B Singles Chart (once called the "Black Singles" chart), peaking at number 6, becoming the first major hit by a white artist since Blondie's chart-topping "Rapture" six years earlier. Falco 3 peaked at number 18 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
charts. Ultimately, "Rock Me Amadeus" went to the #1 spot in over a dozen countries including Japan
. Follow-up single "Vienna Calling" was another international pop hit, peaking at #18 of the Billboard Charts and #17 on the US Cash Box Charts in 1986. A double A-side 12" single featuring remixes of those two hits peaked at #4 on the US Dance/Disco charts.
"Jeanny
", the third release from the album Falco 3, brought the performer back to the top of the charts across Europe. Highly controversial when it was released in Germany
and the Netherlands
, the story of "Jeanny" was told from the point of view of a rapist and possible murderer. Several DJs and radio stations refused to play the ballad, which was ignored in the US, though it became a huge hit in many European countries, and inspired two sequels on later albums.
In 1986, the album Emotional was released, produced by Rob and Ferdi Bolland (Bolland & Bolland
). Songs on the album included "Coming Home (Jeanny Part 2)," "The Kiss of Kathleen Turner
", and "Kamikaze Capa" which was written as a tribute to the late photojournalist Robert Capa
. "The Sound of Musik" was another international success, and a Top 20 US dance hit, though it failed to make the US pop charts.
In 1987 he went on "Emotional" world tour ending in Japan. In the same year he sang a duet with Brigitte Nielsen
, "Body Next to Body"; the single was a Top 10 hit in the Germanic
countries. The album Wiener Blut
(Viennese Blood) was released in 1988 but it did not get much publicity outside Germany and Austria.
In 1990, he wrote a song about Cindy Crawford
and Tatjana Patitz
, "Tanja P. not Cindy C.", which appeared on the album Data de Groove.
After 1986 there were a number of European hits, but Falco was rarely heard in the US and the UK. His 1992 comeback attempt, the album Nachtflug
(Night Flight) including the song "Titanic", was successful in the German speaking territories, but failed to chart internationally.
Falco died of severe injuries received from a collision with a bus in his Mitsubishi Montero
on the road linking the towns of Villa Montellano
and Puerto Plata
, in the Dominican Republic
on 6 February 1998, just two weeks before his 41st birthday. It was initially reported that the autopsy showed high blood levels of alcohol and cocaine, however this was later dismissed. At the time of his death, he was planning a comeback. He was buried in the Zentralfriedhof
(Central Cemetery) in Vienna, Austria.
of the group The Bloodhound Gang
, the song "Mope
" is a tribute to Falco, and he is referred to as a "money making player that ain't with us no more" and a "gang banging thug that never seen it coming."
In 1998, Rob and Ferdi Bolland
(Dutch producers and co-writers of about half of Falco's albums) released the EP Tribute to Falco under the name The Bolland Project feat. Alida. The title track featured samples of Falco's music; the other tracks were "We Say Goodbye" and "So Lonely".
The film Falco – Verdammt, wir leben noch! was released in Austria on 7 February 2008, ten years and one day after Falco's death. This title is also the name of a posthumously-released album by Falco
which translates to "Damn, we're still alive!" Written and directed by Thomas Roth, the movie features musician Manuel Rubey as adult Johann 'Falco' Hölzel.Falco – Verdammt, wir leben noch! IMDb Page The end credits include the line "With love, Ferdi & Rob", his frequent collaborators the Bollands.
Falco's good friend Niki Lauda
named one of the Boeing airplanes in his Lauda Air
fleet "Falco" after the singer.
Although "Der Kommissar
" saw nearly contemporaneous and fairly straightforward mainstream covers including the loose translation by After The Fire
and the reinterpretation by Laura Branigan
, both in 1982/1983, Falco's song "Rock Me Amadeus
" has received a more enduring, if humorous, usage several decades after its release, in a number of films, television shows and commercials. The 2009 film Adventureland
features "Rock Me Amadeus" multiple times as part of an amusement park's background music, to the eventual disdain of its denizens. The original track is featured in humorous situations in commercials for the Subaru
Impreza sedan and E-Trade financial services (2008). The track has been sampled by groups including the Bloodhound Gang
, who also refer to Falco, in their 1999 song "Mope
", and by German rapper Fler
in "NDW 2005" from Neue Deutsche Welle
. In 2004, Mexican rock band Molotov
released a tribute in their comedy style, called "Amateur (Rock Me Amadeus)".
More frequently "Rock Me Amadeus" has been interpolated for comedic effect. In 1986, "Weird Al" Yankovic
parodied the song in his song "Polka Party". In The Simpsons
episode "A Fish Called Selma
" (1996), an offbeat variation is featured in a musical presentation of Planet of the Apes
with the repeated tag of "Amadeus, Amadeus" transferred to "Dr. Zaius
, Dr. Zaius". A similar usage appears in another satirical US cartoon series, Family Guy
(season 4 episode 6
, 2005). The Daily Show with Jon Stewart featured a parody, "Iraq Me Dave Petraeus", as a musical intro to a briefly recurring segment involving the US General's doctrine regarding the war in 2007/2008.The Daily Show: Iraq Me Dave Petraeus
In 1985 a parody version of "Rock Me Amadeus
" entitled, "Rock Me Jerry Lewis" was credited to Bud Latour
and fellow Phoenix, Arizona
disc jockey, Mike Elliott. To the dedicated parody community, LaTour is mostly only known as 'Bud' LaTour. "Rock Me Jerry Lewis" climbed to Number 1 on The Dr. Dememto's Funny Five chart and grew to a notoriety that prompted mentions and airplay on Casey Kasem's
Top 40 Radio Show as well as a call from Jerry Lewis
himself. Furthermore, Jerry Lewis would begin to use the song at his personal appearances and stage shows. While in Phoenix, Arizona for a muscular dystrophy benefit at a bowling alley, Jerry Lewis invited 'Bud' LaTour and Mike Elliott to bowl with him. He was kind enough to sign 500 copies of the "Rock Me Jerry Lewis" 7" record.
A later episode of The Simpsons, "Behind the Laughter
", features Willie Nelson
saying, "Thank you, Taco, for that loving tribute to Falco," within another fictional tribute. Falco has been referenced in the US satirical cartoon series American Dad and The Tick
. In an episode of Family Guy
entitled "German Guy", Falco's song "Der Kommisar" was used when Franz Gutentag made a Chris look-alike puppet and it sang and danced to the song. Chris later states "that was the German-est thing I've ever seen", however Falco was Austrian.
!rowspan="2"|Year
!rowspan="2"|Title
!colspan="11"|Peak positions
|-
!width="30"|AUT
!width="30"|GER
!width="30"|CH
!width="30"|UK
!width="30"|U.S.
!width="30"|CAN
!width="30"|NOR
!width="30"|NL
!width="30"|SWE
!width="30"|ITA
!width="30"|EUR
|-
|1982
|Einzelhaft
|align="center"|1
|align="center"|19
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|64
|align="center"|31
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|45
|align="center"|21
|align="center"|
|-
|1984
|Junge Roemer
|align="center"|1
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|
|-
|1985
|Falco 3
|align="center"|1
|align="center"|2
|align="center"|1
|align="center"|32
|align="center"|3
|align="center"|7
|align="center"|3
|align="center"|15
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|
|-
|1986
|Emotional
|align="center"|1
|align="center"|1
|align="center"|5
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|7
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|
|-
|1988
|Wiener Blut
|align="center"|2
|align="center"|9
|align="center"|12
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|
|-
|1990
|Data de Groove
|align="center"|11
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|
|-
|1992
|Nachtflug
|align="center"|1
|align="center"|73
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|
|-
|1998
|Out of the Dark (Into the Light)
|align="center"|1
|align="center"|3
|align="center"|4
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|
|-
|1999
|Verdammt wir leben noch
|align="center"|3
|align="center"|35
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|
|-
|2007
|Einzelhaft (25th Anniversary Edition)
|align="center"|22
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|-
|2009
|The Spirit Never Dies
|align="center"|1
|align="center"|3
|align="center"|33
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|-
|2010
|Falco 3 (25th Anniversary Edition)
|align="center"|22
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|-
|}
!rowspan="2"|Year
!rowspan="2"|Title
!colspan="11"|Peak positions
|-
!width="30"|AUT
!width="30"|GER
!width="30"|CH
!width="30"|UK
!width="30"|U.S.
!width="30"|CAN
!width="30"|NOR
!width="30"|NL
!width="30"|SWE
!width="30"|ITA
!width="30"|EUR
|-
|1991
|The Remix Hit Collection
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|51
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|
|-
|1996
|Greatest Hits
|align="center"|2
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|
|-
|1997
|Greatest Hits Vol. II
|align="center"|8
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|
|-
|1998
|Best Of
|align="center"|7
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|
|-
|1998
|The Hit-Singles
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|7
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|
|-
|1999
|The Final Curtain – The Ultimate Best Of
|align="center"|1
|align="center"|2
|align="center"|6
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|
|-
|1999
|Live Forever (live album)
|align="center"|34
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|
|-
|2007
|Hoch wie nie (Best Of)
|align="center"|1
|align="center"|2
|align="center"|5
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|18
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|-
|align="center"|6
|-
|2008
|Falco Symphonic (Wiener Neustadt 1994)
|align="center"|1
|align="center"|15
|align="center"|34
|align="center"|
|align="center"|
|align="center"|
|align="center"|
|align="center"|
|align="center"|
|align="center"|
|align="center"|34
|-
|}
!rowspan="2"|Year
!rowspan="2"|Title
!colspan="20"|Peak position
Falco in the Austrian charts(S)Falco-Singles in the Swiss charts (S)Falco in the UK Single-Charts
Falco in the Netherland "Nationale Hitparade Top 50" (S)
Falco-Singles in the French charts I (S)Falco in the French charts II (S)Falco in the italian Single-Charts(S)
"Der Kommissar" #1 in Italy(S)Falco in the Spanish Single-Charts(S)
"Rock me Amadeus" 1986 number one in Spain(S)Falco in the Norwegian charts (S)Falco-Singles in the Sweden Charts(S)
Austrians
Austrians are a nation and ethnic group, consisting of the population of the Republic of Austria and its historical predecessor states who share a common Austrian culture and Austrian descent....
pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
and rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
musician and rapper. He had several international hits: "Der Kommissar
Der Kommissar (song)
"'" is a song first recorded by Falco in Austria in 1981, covered a year later by After the Fire and reworked in 1983 by Laura Branigan. Originally written by Robert Ponger and Falco, the Falco version reached the top of the charts in many countries....
", "Rock Me Amadeus
Rock Me Amadeus
"Rock Me Amadeus" is a 1985 song by Austrian pop musician Falco from his album Falco 3. It topped the singles charts on both sides of the Atlantic. It was Falco's only number one hit in either the United States or the United Kingdom, despite his popularity in Germany, his native Austria, and much...
", "Vienna Calling", "Jeanny
Jeanny
Jeanny is a song by the Austrian musician Falco, recorded in 1985 for Falco's album Falco 3. It was the third song released as a single out of the album in 1986...
", "The Sound of Musik", "Coming Home (Jeanny Part 2)" and posthumously, "Out Of The Dark". He is the first and only artist to date whose principal language was German to score a number-one hit in the United States with "Rock Me Amadeus". His estate claims he has sold 40 million albums and 20 million singles to date, which makes him the best selling Austrian singer of all time.
Early years
Falco began to show signs of unusual musical talent very early. As a toddlerToddler
A toddler is a young child, usually defined as being between the ages of one and three. Registered nurse, midwife and author, Robin Barker, states 'Any time from eight months onwards your baby will begin to realise he is a separate person from you...
, he was able to keep time with the drumbeat in songs he heard on the radio. He was given a baby grand piano for his fourth birthday; a year later, his birthday gift was a record player which he used to play music by Elvis Presley, Cliff Richard, and the Beatles. At age five, he auditioned for the Vienna Music Academy, where it was confirmed that he had perfect pitch
Absolute pitch
Absolute pitch , widely referred to as perfect pitch, is the ability of a person to identify or re-create a given musical note without the benefit of an external reference.-Definition:...
.
In 1963, Hölzel began his schooling at a Roman Catholic private school; four years later, at age ten, he switched to the Rainer Gymnasium in Vienna. Shortly thereafter his father Alois Hölzel left the family. From then on, Hölzel was raised by his mother and grandmother and remained very close to them all his life.
He left school at sixteen in 1973 due to absenteeism. His mother then insisted he begin an apprenticeship with the Austrian employee pension insurance institute, but this only lasted a short time. At seventeen, he volunteered for eight months of military service with the Austrian army.
He entered the Vienna Music Conservatory in 1977, but left after one semester to "become a real musician". For a short time, he lived in West Berlin
West Berlin
West Berlin was a political exclave that existed between 1949 and 1990. It comprised the western regions of Berlin, which were bordered by East Berlin and parts of East Germany. West Berlin consisted of the American, British, and French occupation sectors, which had been established in 1945...
while singing in a jazz-rock band and exploring the club scene. When he returned to Vienna he was calling himself "Falco", reportedly in tribute to the East German ski jumper Falko Weißpflog (he changed one letter to make the name more international), and playing in the Austrian bands Spinning Wheel and Hallucination Company.
En route to becoming an international rock star in his own right, he was bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
player in the Austrian hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
-punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band Drahdiwaberl (from 1978 until 1983). With Drahdiwaberl he wrote and performed the song "Ganz Wien" ("All Vienna"), which he would also include on his debut solo album, Einzelhaft (Solitary Confinement ). He also played bass with the space disco
Space disco
Space disco is a term used to describe the fusion of disco music with futuristic themes, sounds and visuals, which was popular in the late 1970s...
band Ganymed
Ganymed (band)
Ganymed was an Austrian/German space disco band founded in 1977.In 1978, they released their biggest hit, “It Takes Me Higher”, which hit #5 on the Austrian charts for four weeks and also hit #23 on the German charts...
in 1981.
Individual success
Falco's first hit was "Der KommissarDer Kommissar (song)
"'" is a song first recorded by Falco in Austria in 1981, covered a year later by After the Fire and reworked in 1983 by Laura Branigan. Originally written by Robert Ponger and Falco, the Falco version reached the top of the charts in many countries....
" ("The Commissioner") from the 1982 album Einzelhaft
Einzelhaft
Einzelhaft, , is the name of the first album by Falco. It was released in Austria, Germany, the United States, Japan, Spain, Italy, Canada, Sweden and Finland....
. A German language song about drug consumption that combines rap verses with a sung chorus, Falco's record was a number-one success in many countries but failed to break big in the US. The song, however, would prove to have a life of its own in two English-language versions. British rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band After the Fire
After the Fire
After the Fire are a British rock band that progressed from playing progressive rock to new wave over their initial twelve-year career, while having only one hit in the United States, and one hit in the United Kingdom .-Early career:Keyboard player Peter Banks originally formed the band in the...
recorded an English cover version, loosely based on Falco's lyrics and also called "Der Kommissar" (with "uh-oh" and "alles klar Herr Kommissar" the only other lyrics held over from the original). This time, the song shot to number five in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
(their only major hit there) in 1983, though it failed to crack the UK Top 40. That same year, American singer Laura Branigan
Laura Branigan
Laura Ann Branigan was an American singer-songwriter and actress of Italian and Irish ancestry. She is best known in the United States for her 1982 Platinum-certified hit "Gloria" and in Europe for the number-one single "Self Control"...
recorded a version of the song with new English lyrics under the title "Deep In The Dark" on her album Branigan 2
Branigan 2
- Personnel :* Laura Branigan - vocals* Dennis Belfield - bass guitar* Michael Boddicker - synthesizer* Robbie Buchanan - synthesizer, keyboards* Lenny Castro - percussion* Joe Esposito - background vocals* Jim Haas - background vocals...
.
After a second album, Junge Roemer
Junge Roemer
Junge Roemer is the second album by Austrian pop rap artist Falco, released in 1984.- Production and success :The album was a #1 hit in his native Austria. The title track was a hit single there as well as in Switzerland, and most notably in Spain, where it peaked at #2...
(Young Romans) failed to provide a repeat to his debut single's success (outside of Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, where the album topped the charts), Falco began to experiment with English lyrics in an effort to broaden his appeal, and chose a new production team. The result would be the most popular album and single of his career.
Falco recorded "Rock Me Amadeus
Rock Me Amadeus
"Rock Me Amadeus" is a 1985 song by Austrian pop musician Falco from his album Falco 3. It topped the singles charts on both sides of the Atlantic. It was Falco's only number one hit in either the United States or the United Kingdom, despite his popularity in Germany, his native Austria, and much...
" inspired in part by the Oscar
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
-winning film Amadeus
Amadeus (film)
Amadeus is a 1984 period drama film directed by Miloš Forman and written by Peter Shaffer. Adapted from Shaffer's stage play Amadeus, the story is based loosely on the lives of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri, two composers who lived in Vienna, Austria, during the latter half of the...
, and the song became a worldwide hit in 1986. This time, his record reached #1 in the US and UK, bringing him the success that had eluded him in that major market a few years earlier. The song remained in the top spot of the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks and his album, Falco 3
Falco 3
Falco 3 is the third album by Falco, released in 1985.In the U.S. it peaked at number 3 in the Billboard 200 albums charts and at #18 in their Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts....
, fittingly peaked at the number three position on the Billboard album charts. The Austrian singers climbed to the upper reaches of the Billboard Top R&B Singles Chart (once called the "Black Singles" chart), peaking at number 6, becoming the first major hit by a white artist since Blondie's chart-topping "Rapture" six years earlier. Falco 3 peaked at number 18 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The name of the chart was changed from Top R&B Albums in 1999...
charts. Ultimately, "Rock Me Amadeus" went to the #1 spot in over a dozen countries including Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. Follow-up single "Vienna Calling" was another international pop hit, peaking at #18 of the Billboard Charts and #17 on the US Cash Box Charts in 1986. A double A-side 12" single featuring remixes of those two hits peaked at #4 on the US Dance/Disco charts.
"Jeanny
Jeanny
Jeanny is a song by the Austrian musician Falco, recorded in 1985 for Falco's album Falco 3. It was the third song released as a single out of the album in 1986...
", the third release from the album Falco 3, brought the performer back to the top of the charts across Europe. Highly controversial when it was released in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, the story of "Jeanny" was told from the point of view of a rapist and possible murderer. Several DJs and radio stations refused to play the ballad, which was ignored in the US, though it became a huge hit in many European countries, and inspired two sequels on later albums.
In 1986, the album Emotional was released, produced by Rob and Ferdi Bolland (Bolland & Bolland
Bolland & Bolland
Bolland & Bolland are two Dutch music producers – the brothers Rob and Ferdi Bolland ....
). Songs on the album included "Coming Home (Jeanny Part 2)," "The Kiss of Kathleen Turner
Kathleen Turner
Mary Kathleen Turner is an American actress. She came to fame during the 1980s, after roles in the Hollywood films Body Heat, Peggy Sue Got Married, Romancing the Stone, The War of the Roses, Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Prizzi's Honor...
", and "Kamikaze Capa" which was written as a tribute to the late photojournalist Robert Capa
Robert Capa
Robert Capa was a Hungarian combat photographer and photojournalist who covered five different wars: the Spanish Civil War, the Second Sino-Japanese War, World War II across Europe, the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, and the First Indochina War...
. "The Sound of Musik" was another international success, and a Top 20 US dance hit, though it failed to make the US pop charts.
In 1987 he went on "Emotional" world tour ending in Japan. In the same year he sang a duet with Brigitte Nielsen
Brigitte Nielsen
Brigitte Nielsen is a Danish model, actress, musician and reality television personality who began her career modelling for Greg Gorman and Helmut Newton and several years later made appearances in the 1985 films Red Sonja and Rocky IV and is also known for her marriage to Sylvester Stallone...
, "Body Next to Body"; the single was a Top 10 hit in the Germanic
Germanic languages
The Germanic languages constitute a sub-branch of the Indo-European language family. The common ancestor of all of the languages in this branch is called Proto-Germanic , which was spoken in approximately the mid-1st millennium BC in Iron Age northern Europe...
countries. The album Wiener Blut
Wiener Blut (album)
Wiener Blut is the 1988 fifth album by Falco. It was dedicated to Falco's "daughter", Bianca, recorded in 1987 and should be the last album produced by Bolland & Bolland...
(Viennese Blood) was released in 1988 but it did not get much publicity outside Germany and Austria.
In 1990, he wrote a song about Cindy Crawford
Cindy Crawford
Cynthia Ann "Cindy" Crawford is an American model. Known for her trademark mole just above her lip, Crawford has adorned hundreds of magazine covers throughout her career. She was named #3 on VH1's 40 Hottest Hotties of the 90s...
and Tatjana Patitz
Tatjana Patitz
Tatjana Patitz is a German model and actress who rose to international prominence in the 1980s and 1990s, representing top fashion designers, campaigns, and collections, and who continues to model today.-Modelling career:...
, "Tanja P. not Cindy C.", which appeared on the album Data de Groove.
After 1986 there were a number of European hits, but Falco was rarely heard in the US and the UK. His 1992 comeback attempt, the album Nachtflug
Nachtflug
Nachtflug is the seventh album by Falco.In Germany, Falco returned to the album and single charts after 4 years of absence there, during which he only charted singles in his home country of Austria...
(Night Flight) including the song "Titanic", was successful in the German speaking territories, but failed to chart internationally.
Death
Mitsubishi Pajero
The Mitsubishi Pajero is a sport utility vehicle manufactured by Mitsubishi Motors. It was named after Leopardus pajeros, the Pampas Cat which is native to the Patagonia plateau region of southern Argentina. However, since pajero is an offensive term for "wanker" in Spanish, alternative names have...
on the road linking the towns of Villa Montellano
Villa Montellano
Villa Montellano is a town in the Puerto Plata province of the Dominican Republic.- Sources :* – World-Gazetteer.com...
and Puerto Plata
Puerto Plata
Puerto Plata is one of the northern provinces of the Dominican Republic. The area has become an increasingly popular tourist attraction since the late 1990s mainly due to its fine beaches...
, in the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
on 6 February 1998, just two weeks before his 41st birthday. It was initially reported that the autopsy showed high blood levels of alcohol and cocaine, however this was later dismissed. At the time of his death, he was planning a comeback. He was buried in the Zentralfriedhof
Zentralfriedhof
The Zentralfriedhof is one of the largest cemeteries in the world, largest by number of interred in Europe and most famous cemetery among Vienna's nearly 50 cemeteries.-Name and location:...
(Central Cemetery) in Vienna, Austria.
Tributes and popular culture
In the album Hooray for BoobiesHooray for Boobies
Hooray for Boobies is the third studio album by American alternative rock band Bloodhound Gang, released on October 4, 1999 in Europe and February 29, 2000 in the US. Produced by Jimmy Pop and Richard Gavalis, it was the band's second release on Geffen Records following the gold-selling One Fierce...
of the group The Bloodhound Gang
The Bloodhound Gang
The Bloodhound Gang may be a reference to:*The Bloodhound Gang , a segment on the program 3-2-1 Contact*The Bloodhound Gang, a band that took its name from the TV show segment...
, the song "Mope
Mope
"Mope" is the fourth single released from The Bloodhound Gang's 1999 album Hooray for Boobies. The song and music video feature a man in a Pac-Man suit, portrayed as being on crack.-Track listing:# "Mope"...
" is a tribute to Falco, and he is referred to as a "money making player that ain't with us no more" and a "gang banging thug that never seen it coming."
In 1998, Rob and Ferdi Bolland
Bolland & Bolland
Bolland & Bolland are two Dutch music producers – the brothers Rob and Ferdi Bolland ....
(Dutch producers and co-writers of about half of Falco's albums) released the EP Tribute to Falco under the name The Bolland Project feat. Alida. The title track featured samples of Falco's music; the other tracks were "We Say Goodbye" and "So Lonely".
The film Falco – Verdammt, wir leben noch! was released in Austria on 7 February 2008, ten years and one day after Falco's death. This title is also the name of a posthumously-released album by Falco
Verdammt wir leben noch
Verdammt wir leben noch is Falco's posthumously-published album. The cd consists of unreleased Falco tracks, including Krise, the final song he ever recorded.-Track listing:#Verdammt Wir Leben Noch - 5:14...
which translates to "Damn, we're still alive!" Written and directed by Thomas Roth, the movie features musician Manuel Rubey as adult Johann 'Falco' Hölzel. The end credits include the line "With love, Ferdi & Rob", his frequent collaborators the Bollands.
Falco's good friend Niki Lauda
Niki Lauda
Andreas Nikolaus "Niki" Lauda is an Austrian former Formula One racing driver and three-time F1 World Champion. More recently an aviation entrepreneur, he has founded and run two airlines and was manager of the Jaguar Formula One racing team for two years.- Early years in racing :Born in Vienna,...
named one of the Boeing airplanes in his Lauda Air
Lauda Air
Lauda Air is an airline based in Schwechat, Austria. It operates scheduled leisure flights and charters to holiday destinations in Europe and North Africa. Its main base is Vienna International Airport. Lauda Air is a member of the Austrian Airlines Group and a affiliate Star Alliance...
fleet "Falco" after the singer.
Although "Der Kommissar
Der Kommissar (song)
"'" is a song first recorded by Falco in Austria in 1981, covered a year later by After the Fire and reworked in 1983 by Laura Branigan. Originally written by Robert Ponger and Falco, the Falco version reached the top of the charts in many countries....
" saw nearly contemporaneous and fairly straightforward mainstream covers including the loose translation by After The Fire
After the Fire
After the Fire are a British rock band that progressed from playing progressive rock to new wave over their initial twelve-year career, while having only one hit in the United States, and one hit in the United Kingdom .-Early career:Keyboard player Peter Banks originally formed the band in the...
and the reinterpretation by Laura Branigan
Laura Branigan
Laura Ann Branigan was an American singer-songwriter and actress of Italian and Irish ancestry. She is best known in the United States for her 1982 Platinum-certified hit "Gloria" and in Europe for the number-one single "Self Control"...
, both in 1982/1983, Falco's song "Rock Me Amadeus
Rock Me Amadeus
"Rock Me Amadeus" is a 1985 song by Austrian pop musician Falco from his album Falco 3. It topped the singles charts on both sides of the Atlantic. It was Falco's only number one hit in either the United States or the United Kingdom, despite his popularity in Germany, his native Austria, and much...
" has received a more enduring, if humorous, usage several decades after its release, in a number of films, television shows and commercials. The 2009 film Adventureland
Adventureland (film)
Adventureland is a 2009 Retro comedy-drama film written and directed by Greg Mottola. The film stars Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Margarita Levieva, Ryan Reynolds, Martin Starr, Bill Hader, and Kristen Wiig.-Plot:...
features "Rock Me Amadeus" multiple times as part of an amusement park's background music, to the eventual disdain of its denizens. The original track is featured in humorous situations in commercials for the Subaru
Subaru
; is the automobile manufacturing division of Japanese transportation conglomerate Fuji Heavy Industries .Subaru is internationally known for their use of the boxer engine layout popularized in cars by the Volkswagen Beetle and Porsche 911, in most of their vehicles above 1500 cc as well as...
Impreza sedan and E-Trade financial services (2008). The track has been sampled by groups including the Bloodhound Gang
Bloodhound Gang
Bloodhound Gang is a Collegeville, Pennsylvania-based American comedy band, although it began as a rap group and gradually changed its genre throughout the years...
, who also refer to Falco, in their 1999 song "Mope
Mope
"Mope" is the fourth single released from The Bloodhound Gang's 1999 album Hooray for Boobies. The song and music video feature a man in a Pac-Man suit, portrayed as being on crack.-Track listing:# "Mope"...
", and by German rapper Fler
Fler
Patrick Losensky better known as Fler, is a German rapper. He also uses the pseudonym Frank White after the character in King of New York....
in "NDW 2005" from Neue Deutsche Welle
Neue Deutsche Welle (album)
Neue Deutsche Welle is the 1st solo album by German rapper Fler.The album is accused of having nationalist views, because of his lyrics in songs like "Neue Deutsche Welle", such as the line: Das ist schwarz, rot, gold - hart und stolz ...
. In 2004, Mexican rock band Molotov
Molotov (band)
Molotov is a four-time Latin Grammy Award-winning Mexican rock band formed in Mexico City on September 23, 1995. Their lyrics feature a mixture of Spanish and English, rapped and sung by all members of the group. Musically, Molotov blends heavy basslines with heavy guitar riffs...
released a tribute in their comedy style, called "Amateur (Rock Me Amadeus)".
More frequently "Rock Me Amadeus" has been interpolated for comedic effect. In 1986, "Weird Al" Yankovic
"Weird Al" Yankovic
Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic is an American singer-songwriter, music producer, accordionist, actor, comedian, writer, satirist, and parodist. Yankovic is known for his humorous songs that make light of popular culture and that often parody specific songs by contemporary musical acts...
parodied the song in his song "Polka Party". In The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
episode "A Fish Called Selma
A Fish Called Selma
"A Fish Called Selma" is the nineteenth episode of The Simpsons seventh season and originally aired on March 24, 1996. The episode sees Troy McClure attempt to resurrect his acting career by marrying Selma Bouvier. Show runners Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein were fans of Phil Hartman and wished to...
" (1996), an offbeat variation is featured in a musical presentation of Planet of the Apes
Planet of the Apes (1968 film)
Planet of the Apes is a 1968 American science fiction film directed by Franklin J. Schaffner, based on the 1963 French novel La Planète des singes by Pierre Boulle. The film stars Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Maurice Evans, James Whitmore, James Daly and Linda Harrison...
with the repeated tag of "Amadeus, Amadeus" transferred to "Dr. Zaius
Dr. Zaius
Dr. Zaius is a fictional character in the Pierre Boulle novel Planet of the Apes, and the film series and television series based upon it. He is an orangutan and although given a minor role devoid of dialogue in the novel, he becomes the main antagonist of the story in the subsequent film adaptation...
, Dr. Zaius". A similar usage appears in another satirical US cartoon series, Family Guy
Family Guy
Family Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
(season 4 episode 6
Petarded
"Petarded" is the sixth episode of Fox's fourth season of Family Guy, which originally broadcast in the United States on June 19, 2005. It was written by Alec Sulkin and Wellesley Wild and directed by Seth Kearsley. The episode sees Peter taking the MacArthur Fellows Program to see if he is a...
, 2005). The Daily Show with Jon Stewart featured a parody, "Iraq Me Dave Petraeus", as a musical intro to a briefly recurring segment involving the US General's doctrine regarding the war in 2007/2008.
In 1985 a parody version of "Rock Me Amadeus
Rock Me Amadeus
"Rock Me Amadeus" is a 1985 song by Austrian pop musician Falco from his album Falco 3. It topped the singles charts on both sides of the Atlantic. It was Falco's only number one hit in either the United States or the United Kingdom, despite his popularity in Germany, his native Austria, and much...
" entitled, "Rock Me Jerry Lewis" was credited to Bud Latour
LaTour
William LaTour, better known by his stage name LaTour and also known as "Bud" Latour, is an American singer, songwriter, and voice over artist...
and fellow Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
disc jockey, Mike Elliott. To the dedicated parody community, LaTour is mostly only known as 'Bud' LaTour. "Rock Me Jerry Lewis" climbed to Number 1 on The Dr. Dememto's Funny Five chart and grew to a notoriety that prompted mentions and airplay on Casey Kasem's
Casey Kasem
Kemal Amin "Casey" Kasem is an American radio personality and voice actor who is best known for being the host of the nationally syndicated Top 40 countdown show American Top 40, and for voicing Shaggy in the popular Saturday morning cartoon franchise Scooby-Doo.Kasem, along with Don Bustany and...
Top 40 Radio Show as well as a call from Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis is an American comedian, actor, singer, film producer, screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his slapstick humor in film, television, stage and radio. He was originally paired up with Dean Martin in 1946, forming the famed comedy team of Martin and Lewis...
himself. Furthermore, Jerry Lewis would begin to use the song at his personal appearances and stage shows. While in Phoenix, Arizona for a muscular dystrophy benefit at a bowling alley, Jerry Lewis invited 'Bud' LaTour and Mike Elliott to bowl with him. He was kind enough to sign 500 copies of the "Rock Me Jerry Lewis" 7" record.
A later episode of The Simpsons, "Behind the Laughter
Behind the Laughter
"Behind the Laughter" is the twenty-second episode of The Simpsons eleventh season. It first aired in the United States on the Fox network on May 21, 2000. In the episode, which is a parody of the VH1 series Behind the Music, the Simpson family are portrayed as actors on a sitcom, and their...
", features Willie Nelson
Willie Nelson
Willie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized...
saying, "Thank you, Taco, for that loving tribute to Falco," within another fictional tribute. Falco has been referenced in the US satirical cartoon series American Dad and The Tick
The Tick (live action TV series)
The Tick is an American sitcom based on the character Tick from the comic book of the same name . It aired on FOX in late 2001 and was produced by Columbia TriStar Television. With a pilot airing on November 8, the series only lasted nine episodes on broadcast television...
. In an episode of Family Guy
Family Guy
Family Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
entitled "German Guy", Falco's song "Der Kommisar" was used when Franz Gutentag made a Chris look-alike puppet and it sang and danced to the song. Chris later states "that was the German-est thing I've ever seen", however Falco was Austrian.
Studio albums
| Year | Title | Peak positions | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUT Austria Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the... |
GER Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
CH Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75... |
UK UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
U.S. Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
CAN Canadian Albums Chart The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Wednesday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen Soundscan, and published every Thursday by Jam! Canoe and Billboard, along with its sister charts the Canadian Singles Chart and the Canadian BDS... |
NOR VG-lista VG-listen is a Norwegian record chart. It is weekly presented in the newspaper VG and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation program Topp 20. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continent around the world. The data is collected by... |
NL MegaCharts MegaCharts is responsible for the composition and exploitation of a broad collection of official charts in the Netherlands, of which the Mega Top 50 and the Mega Album Top 100 are the most known ones. Mega Charts also provides information to the Stichting Nederlandse Top 40, of which the Dutch Top... |
SWE Sweden Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund.... |
ITA Italy Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and... |
EUR European Top 100 Albums The European Top 100 Albums chart is the European adaptation of the Billboard 200 albums chart. It was created in March 1984.The European Top 100 Albums, commonly referred to as Eurochart Top 100 Albums shows the sales of an act in 19 European countries based on IFPI data.The European Top 100... |
||
| 1982 | Einzelhaft Einzelhaft Einzelhaft, , is the name of the first album by Falco. It was released in Austria, Germany, the United States, Japan, Spain, Italy, Canada, Sweden and Finland.... |
1 | 19 | - | - | 64 | 31 | - | - | 45 | 21 | |
| 1984 | Junge Roemer Junge Roemer Junge Roemer is the second album by Austrian pop rap artist Falco, released in 1984.- Production and success :The album was a #1 hit in his native Austria. The title track was a hit single there as well as in Switzerland, and most notably in Spain, where it peaked at #2... |
1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 1985 | Falco 3 Falco 3 Falco 3 is the third album by Falco, released in 1985.In the U.S. it peaked at number 3 in the Billboard 200 albums charts and at #18 in their Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts.... |
1 | 2 | 1 | 32 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 15 | - | - | |
| 1986 | Emotional | 1 | 1 | 5 | - | - | - | 7 | - | - | - | |
| 1988 | Wiener Blut Wiener Blut (album) Wiener Blut is the 1988 fifth album by Falco. It was dedicated to Falco's "daughter", Bianca, recorded in 1987 and should be the last album produced by Bolland & Bolland... |
2 | 9 | 12 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 1990 | Data de Groove Data de Groove Data de Groove is the sixth album by Falco, released in 1990 - a collaboration again with producer Robert Ponger. It was dedicated to the computer era and peaked #11 in Austria... |
11 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 1992 | Nachtflug Nachtflug Nachtflug is the seventh album by Falco.In Germany, Falco returned to the album and single charts after 4 years of absence there, during which he only charted singles in his home country of Austria... |
1 | 73 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 1998 | Out of the Dark (Into the Light) | 1 | 3 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 1999 | Verdammt wir leben noch Verdammt wir leben noch Verdammt wir leben noch is Falco's posthumously-published album. The cd consists of unreleased Falco tracks, including Krise, the final song he ever recorded.-Track listing:#Verdammt Wir Leben Noch - 5:14... |
3 | 35 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2007 | Einzelhaft (25th Anniversary Edition) | 22 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2009 | The Spirit Never Dies | 1 | 3 | 33 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2010 | Falco 3 (25th Anniversary Edition) | 22 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Compilations/live albums
| Year | Title | Peak positions | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUT Austria Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the... |
GER Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
CH Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75... |
UK UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
U.S. Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
CAN Canadian Albums Chart The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Wednesday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen Soundscan, and published every Thursday by Jam! Canoe and Billboard, along with its sister charts the Canadian Singles Chart and the Canadian BDS... |
NOR VG-lista VG-listen is a Norwegian record chart. It is weekly presented in the newspaper VG and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation program Topp 20. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continent around the world. The data is collected by... |
NL MegaCharts MegaCharts is responsible for the composition and exploitation of a broad collection of official charts in the Netherlands, of which the Mega Top 50 and the Mega Album Top 100 are the most known ones. Mega Charts also provides information to the Stichting Nederlandse Top 40, of which the Dutch Top... |
SWE Sweden Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund.... |
ITA Italy Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and... |
EUR European Top 100 Albums The European Top 100 Albums chart is the European adaptation of the Billboard 200 albums chart. It was created in March 1984.The European Top 100 Albums, commonly referred to as Eurochart Top 100 Albums shows the sales of an act in 19 European countries based on IFPI data.The European Top 100... |
||
| 1991 | The Remix Hit Collection | - | 51 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 1996 | Greatest Hits | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 1997 | Greatest Hits Vol. II | 8 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 1998 | Best Of | 7 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 1998 | The Hit-Singles | - | 7 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 1999 | The Final Curtain – The Ultimate Best Of | 1 | 2 | 6 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 1999 | Live Forever (live album) | 34 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 2007 | Hoch wie nie (Best Of) Hoch wie nie Hoch wie nie is the name of the 2007 posthumously-published 'Best of' double album by Austrian musician Falco, who died in 1998. The Longplayer was published on Falco's 50th birthday. It was released in two versions... |
1 | 2 | 5 | - | - | - | 18 | - | - | - | 6 |
| 2008 | Falco Symphonic (Wiener Neustadt 1994) Symphonic (album) Symphonic is the title of the Falco album and live DVD containing a live performance of Falco with the Wiener Neustadt orchestra that was originally performed in 1994, it was released on February 2, 2008.... |
1 | 15 | 34 | 34 | |||||||
Singles
{| class="wikitable"!rowspan="2"|Year
!rowspan="2"|Title
!colspan="20"|Peak position
Johann (Hans) Hölzel (19 February 1957 – 6 February 1998), better known by his stage name Falco, was an Austrian
Austrians
Austrians are a nation and ethnic group, consisting of the population of the Republic of Austria and its historical predecessor states who share a common Austrian culture and Austrian descent....
pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
and rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
musician and rapper. He had several international hits: "Der Kommissar
Der Kommissar (song)
"'" is a song first recorded by Falco in Austria in 1981, covered a year later by After the Fire and reworked in 1983 by Laura Branigan. Originally written by Robert Ponger and Falco, the Falco version reached the top of the charts in many countries....
", "Rock Me Amadeus
Rock Me Amadeus
"Rock Me Amadeus" is a 1985 song by Austrian pop musician Falco from his album Falco 3. It topped the singles charts on both sides of the Atlantic. It was Falco's only number one hit in either the United States or the United Kingdom, despite his popularity in Germany, his native Austria, and much...
", "Vienna Calling", "Jeanny
Jeanny
Jeanny is a song by the Austrian musician Falco, recorded in 1985 for Falco's album Falco 3. It was the third song released as a single out of the album in 1986...
", "The Sound of Musik", "Coming Home (Jeanny Part 2)" and posthumously, "Out Of The Dark". He is the first and only artist to date whose principal language was German to score a number-one hit in the United States with "Rock Me Amadeus". His estate claims he has sold 40 million albums and 20 million singles to date, which makes him the best selling Austrian singer of all time.
Early years
Falco began to show signs of unusual musical talent very early. As a toddlerToddler
A toddler is a young child, usually defined as being between the ages of one and three. Registered nurse, midwife and author, Robin Barker, states 'Any time from eight months onwards your baby will begin to realise he is a separate person from you...
, he was able to keep time with the drumbeat in songs he heard on the radio. He was given a baby grand piano for his fourth birthday; a year later, his birthday gift was a record player which he used to play music by Elvis Presley, Cliff Richard, and the Beatles. At age five, he auditioned for the Vienna Music Academy, where it was confirmed that he had perfect pitch
Absolute pitch
Absolute pitch , widely referred to as perfect pitch, is the ability of a person to identify or re-create a given musical note without the benefit of an external reference.-Definition:...
.
In 1963, Hölzel began his schooling at a Roman Catholic private school; four years later, at age ten, he switched to the Rainer Gymnasium in Vienna. Shortly thereafter his father Alois Hölzel left the family. From then on, Hölzel was raised by his mother and grandmother and remained very close to them all his life.
He left school at sixteen in 1973 due to absenteeism. His mother then insisted he begin an apprenticeship with the Austrian employee pension insurance institute, but this only lasted a short time. At seventeen, he volunteered for eight months of military service with the Austrian army.
He entered the Vienna Music Conservatory in 1977, but left after one semester to "become a real musician". For a short time, he lived in West Berlin
West Berlin
West Berlin was a political exclave that existed between 1949 and 1990. It comprised the western regions of Berlin, which were bordered by East Berlin and parts of East Germany. West Berlin consisted of the American, British, and French occupation sectors, which had been established in 1945...
while singing in a jazz-rock band and exploring the club scene. When he returned to Vienna he was calling himself "Falco", reportedly in tribute to the East German ski jumper Falko Weißpflog (he changed one letter to make the name more international), and playing in the Austrian bands Spinning Wheel and Hallucination Company.The preceding four paragraphs include translated material from the German version of this article.
En route to becoming an international rock star in his own right, he was bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
player in the Austrian hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
-punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band Drahdiwaberl (from 1978 until 1983). With Drahdiwaberl he wrote and performed the song "Ganz Wien" ("All Vienna"), which he would also include on his debut solo album, Einzelhaft (Solitary Confinement ). He also played bass with the space disco
Space disco
Space disco is a term used to describe the fusion of disco music with futuristic themes, sounds and visuals, which was popular in the late 1970s...
band Ganymed
Ganymed (band)
Ganymed was an Austrian/German space disco band founded in 1977.In 1978, they released their biggest hit, “It Takes Me Higher”, which hit #5 on the Austrian charts for four weeks and also hit #23 on the German charts...
in 1981.
Individual success
Falco's first hit was "Der KommissarDer Kommissar (song)
"'" is a song first recorded by Falco in Austria in 1981, covered a year later by After the Fire and reworked in 1983 by Laura Branigan. Originally written by Robert Ponger and Falco, the Falco version reached the top of the charts in many countries....
" ("The Commissioner") from the 1982 album Einzelhaft
Einzelhaft
Einzelhaft, , is the name of the first album by Falco. It was released in Austria, Germany, the United States, Japan, Spain, Italy, Canada, Sweden and Finland....
. A German language song about drug consumption that combines rap verses with a sung chorus, Falco's record was a number-one success in many countries but failed to break big in the US. The song, however, would prove to have a life of its own in two English-language versions. British rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band After the Fire
After the Fire
After the Fire are a British rock band that progressed from playing progressive rock to new wave over their initial twelve-year career, while having only one hit in the United States, and one hit in the United Kingdom .-Early career:Keyboard player Peter Banks originally formed the band in the...
recorded an English cover version, loosely based on Falco's lyrics and also called "Der Kommissar" (with "uh-oh" and "alles klar Herr Kommissar" the only other lyrics held over from the original). This time, the song shot to number five in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
(their only major hit there) in 1983, though it failed to crack the UK Top 40. That same year, American singer Laura Branigan
Laura Branigan
Laura Ann Branigan was an American singer-songwriter and actress of Italian and Irish ancestry. She is best known in the United States for her 1982 Platinum-certified hit "Gloria" and in Europe for the number-one single "Self Control"...
recorded a version of the song with new English lyrics under the title "Deep In The Dark" on her album Branigan 2
Branigan 2
- Personnel :* Laura Branigan - vocals* Dennis Belfield - bass guitar* Michael Boddicker - synthesizer* Robbie Buchanan - synthesizer, keyboards* Lenny Castro - percussion* Joe Esposito - background vocals* Jim Haas - background vocals...
.
After a second album, Junge Roemer
Junge Roemer
Junge Roemer is the second album by Austrian pop rap artist Falco, released in 1984.- Production and success :The album was a #1 hit in his native Austria. The title track was a hit single there as well as in Switzerland, and most notably in Spain, where it peaked at #2...
(Young Romans) failed to provide a repeat to his debut single's success (outside of Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, where the album topped the charts), Falco began to experiment with English lyrics in an effort to broaden his appeal, and chose a new production team. The result would be the most popular album and single of his career.
Falco recorded "Rock Me Amadeus
Rock Me Amadeus
"Rock Me Amadeus" is a 1985 song by Austrian pop musician Falco from his album Falco 3. It topped the singles charts on both sides of the Atlantic. It was Falco's only number one hit in either the United States or the United Kingdom, despite his popularity in Germany, his native Austria, and much...
" inspired in part by the Oscar
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
-winning film Amadeus
Amadeus (film)
Amadeus is a 1984 period drama film directed by Miloš Forman and written by Peter Shaffer. Adapted from Shaffer's stage play Amadeus, the story is based loosely on the lives of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri, two composers who lived in Vienna, Austria, during the latter half of the...
, and the song became a worldwide hit in 1986. This time, his record reached #1 in the US and UK, bringing him the success that had eluded him in that major market a few years earlier. The song remained in the top spot of the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks and his album, Falco 3
Falco 3
Falco 3 is the third album by Falco, released in 1985.In the U.S. it peaked at number 3 in the Billboard 200 albums charts and at #18 in their Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts....
, fittingly peaked at the number three position on the Billboard album charts. The Austrian singers climbed to the upper reaches of the Billboard Top R&B Singles Chart (once called the "Black Singles" chart), peaking at number 6, becoming the first major hit by a white artist since Blondie's chart-topping "Rapture" six years earlier. Falco 3 peaked at number 18 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The name of the chart was changed from Top R&B Albums in 1999...
charts. Ultimately, "Rock Me Amadeus" went to the #1 spot in over a dozen countries including Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. Follow-up single "Vienna Calling" was another international pop hit, peaking at #18 of the Billboard Charts and #17 on the US Cash Box Charts in 1986. A double A-side 12" single featuring remixes of those two hits peaked at #4 on the US Dance/Disco charts.
"Jeanny
Jeanny
Jeanny is a song by the Austrian musician Falco, recorded in 1985 for Falco's album Falco 3. It was the third song released as a single out of the album in 1986...
", the third release from the album Falco 3, brought the performer back to the top of the charts across Europe. Highly controversial when it was released in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, the story of "Jeanny" was told from the point of view of a rapist and possible murderer. Several DJs and radio stations refused to play the ballad, which was ignored in the US, though it became a huge hit in many European countries, and inspired two sequels on later albums.
In 1986, the album Emotional was released, produced by Rob and Ferdi Bolland (Bolland & Bolland
Bolland & Bolland
Bolland & Bolland are two Dutch music producers – the brothers Rob and Ferdi Bolland ....
). Songs on the album included "Coming Home (Jeanny Part 2)," "The Kiss of Kathleen Turner
Kathleen Turner
Mary Kathleen Turner is an American actress. She came to fame during the 1980s, after roles in the Hollywood films Body Heat, Peggy Sue Got Married, Romancing the Stone, The War of the Roses, Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Prizzi's Honor...
", and "Kamikaze Capa" which was written as a tribute to the late photojournalist Robert Capa
Robert Capa
Robert Capa was a Hungarian combat photographer and photojournalist who covered five different wars: the Spanish Civil War, the Second Sino-Japanese War, World War II across Europe, the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, and the First Indochina War...
. "The Sound of Musik" was another international success, and a Top 20 US dance hit, though it failed to make the US pop charts.
In 1987 he went on "Emotional" world tour ending in Japan. In the same year he sang a duet with Brigitte Nielsen
Brigitte Nielsen
Brigitte Nielsen is a Danish model, actress, musician and reality television personality who began her career modelling for Greg Gorman and Helmut Newton and several years later made appearances in the 1985 films Red Sonja and Rocky IV and is also known for her marriage to Sylvester Stallone...
, "Body Next to Body"; the single was a Top 10 hit in the Germanic
Germanic languages
The Germanic languages constitute a sub-branch of the Indo-European language family. The common ancestor of all of the languages in this branch is called Proto-Germanic , which was spoken in approximately the mid-1st millennium BC in Iron Age northern Europe...
countries. The album Wiener Blut
Wiener Blut (album)
Wiener Blut is the 1988 fifth album by Falco. It was dedicated to Falco's "daughter", Bianca, recorded in 1987 and should be the last album produced by Bolland & Bolland...
(Viennese Blood) was released in 1988 but it did not get much publicity outside Germany and Austria.
In 1990, he wrote a song about Cindy Crawford
Cindy Crawford
Cynthia Ann "Cindy" Crawford is an American model. Known for her trademark mole just above her lip, Crawford has adorned hundreds of magazine covers throughout her career. She was named #3 on VH1's 40 Hottest Hotties of the 90s...
and Tatjana Patitz
Tatjana Patitz
Tatjana Patitz is a German model and actress who rose to international prominence in the 1980s and 1990s, representing top fashion designers, campaigns, and collections, and who continues to model today.-Modelling career:...
, "Tanja P. not Cindy C.", which appeared on the album Data de Groove.
After 1986 there were a number of European hits, but Falco was rarely heard in the US and the UK. His 1992 comeback attempt, the album Nachtflug
Nachtflug
Nachtflug is the seventh album by Falco.In Germany, Falco returned to the album and single charts after 4 years of absence there, during which he only charted singles in his home country of Austria...
(Night Flight) including the song "Titanic", was successful in the German speaking territories, but failed to chart internationally.
Death
Mitsubishi Pajero
The Mitsubishi Pajero is a sport utility vehicle manufactured by Mitsubishi Motors. It was named after Leopardus pajeros, the Pampas Cat which is native to the Patagonia plateau region of southern Argentina. However, since pajero is an offensive term for "wanker" in Spanish, alternative names have...
on the road linking the towns of Villa Montellano
Villa Montellano
Villa Montellano is a town in the Puerto Plata province of the Dominican Republic.- Sources :* – World-Gazetteer.com...
and Puerto Plata
Puerto Plata
Puerto Plata is one of the northern provinces of the Dominican Republic. The area has become an increasingly popular tourist attraction since the late 1990s mainly due to its fine beaches...
, in the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
on 6 February 1998, just two weeks before his 41st birthday. It was initially reported that the autopsy showed high blood levels of alcohol and cocaine, however this was later dismissed. At the time of his death, he was planning a comeback. He was buried in the Zentralfriedhof
Zentralfriedhof
The Zentralfriedhof is one of the largest cemeteries in the world, largest by number of interred in Europe and most famous cemetery among Vienna's nearly 50 cemeteries.-Name and location:...
(Central Cemetery) in Vienna, Austria.
Tributes and popular culture
In the album Hooray for BoobiesHooray for Boobies
Hooray for Boobies is the third studio album by American alternative rock band Bloodhound Gang, released on October 4, 1999 in Europe and February 29, 2000 in the US. Produced by Jimmy Pop and Richard Gavalis, it was the band's second release on Geffen Records following the gold-selling One Fierce...
of the group The Bloodhound Gang
The Bloodhound Gang
The Bloodhound Gang may be a reference to:*The Bloodhound Gang , a segment on the program 3-2-1 Contact*The Bloodhound Gang, a band that took its name from the TV show segment...
, the song "Mope
Mope
"Mope" is the fourth single released from The Bloodhound Gang's 1999 album Hooray for Boobies. The song and music video feature a man in a Pac-Man suit, portrayed as being on crack.-Track listing:# "Mope"...
" is a tribute to Falco, and he is referred to as a "money making player that ain't with us no more" and a "gang banging thug that never seen it coming."
In 1998, Rob and Ferdi Bolland
Bolland & Bolland
Bolland & Bolland are two Dutch music producers – the brothers Rob and Ferdi Bolland ....
(Dutch producers and co-writers of about half of Falco's albums) released the EP Tribute to Falco under the name The Bolland Project feat. Alida. The title track featured samples of Falco's music; the other tracks were "We Say Goodbye" and "So Lonely".
The film Falco – Verdammt, wir leben noch! was released in Austria on 7 February 2008, ten years and one day after Falco's death. This title is also the name of a posthumously-released album by Falco
Verdammt wir leben noch
Verdammt wir leben noch is Falco's posthumously-published album. The cd consists of unreleased Falco tracks, including Krise, the final song he ever recorded.-Track listing:#Verdammt Wir Leben Noch - 5:14...
which translates to "Damn, we're still alive!" Written and directed by Thomas Roth, the movie features musician Manuel Rubey as adult Johann 'Falco' Hölzel.Falco – Verdammt, wir leben noch! IMDb Page The end credits include the line "With love, Ferdi & Rob", his frequent collaborators the Bollands.
Falco's good friend Niki Lauda
Niki Lauda
Andreas Nikolaus "Niki" Lauda is an Austrian former Formula One racing driver and three-time F1 World Champion. More recently an aviation entrepreneur, he has founded and run two airlines and was manager of the Jaguar Formula One racing team for two years.- Early years in racing :Born in Vienna,...
named one of the Boeing airplanes in his Lauda Air
Lauda Air
Lauda Air is an airline based in Schwechat, Austria. It operates scheduled leisure flights and charters to holiday destinations in Europe and North Africa. Its main base is Vienna International Airport. Lauda Air is a member of the Austrian Airlines Group and a affiliate Star Alliance...
fleet "Falco" after the singer.
Although "Der Kommissar
Der Kommissar (song)
"'" is a song first recorded by Falco in Austria in 1981, covered a year later by After the Fire and reworked in 1983 by Laura Branigan. Originally written by Robert Ponger and Falco, the Falco version reached the top of the charts in many countries....
" saw nearly contemporaneous and fairly straightforward mainstream covers including the loose translation by After The Fire
After the Fire
After the Fire are a British rock band that progressed from playing progressive rock to new wave over their initial twelve-year career, while having only one hit in the United States, and one hit in the United Kingdom .-Early career:Keyboard player Peter Banks originally formed the band in the...
and the reinterpretation by Laura Branigan
Laura Branigan
Laura Ann Branigan was an American singer-songwriter and actress of Italian and Irish ancestry. She is best known in the United States for her 1982 Platinum-certified hit "Gloria" and in Europe for the number-one single "Self Control"...
, both in 1982/1983, Falco's song "Rock Me Amadeus
Rock Me Amadeus
"Rock Me Amadeus" is a 1985 song by Austrian pop musician Falco from his album Falco 3. It topped the singles charts on both sides of the Atlantic. It was Falco's only number one hit in either the United States or the United Kingdom, despite his popularity in Germany, his native Austria, and much...
" has received a more enduring, if humorous, usage several decades after its release, in a number of films, television shows and commercials. The 2009 film Adventureland
Adventureland (film)
Adventureland is a 2009 Retro comedy-drama film written and directed by Greg Mottola. The film stars Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Margarita Levieva, Ryan Reynolds, Martin Starr, Bill Hader, and Kristen Wiig.-Plot:...
features "Rock Me Amadeus" multiple times as part of an amusement park's background music, to the eventual disdain of its denizens. The original track is featured in humorous situations in commercials for the Subaru
Subaru
; is the automobile manufacturing division of Japanese transportation conglomerate Fuji Heavy Industries .Subaru is internationally known for their use of the boxer engine layout popularized in cars by the Volkswagen Beetle and Porsche 911, in most of their vehicles above 1500 cc as well as...
Impreza sedan and E-Trade financial services (2008). The track has been sampled by groups including the Bloodhound Gang
Bloodhound Gang
Bloodhound Gang is a Collegeville, Pennsylvania-based American comedy band, although it began as a rap group and gradually changed its genre throughout the years...
, who also refer to Falco, in their 1999 song "Mope
Mope
"Mope" is the fourth single released from The Bloodhound Gang's 1999 album Hooray for Boobies. The song and music video feature a man in a Pac-Man suit, portrayed as being on crack.-Track listing:# "Mope"...
", and by German rapper Fler
Fler
Patrick Losensky better known as Fler, is a German rapper. He also uses the pseudonym Frank White after the character in King of New York....
in "NDW 2005" from Neue Deutsche Welle
Neue Deutsche Welle (album)
Neue Deutsche Welle is the 1st solo album by German rapper Fler.The album is accused of having nationalist views, because of his lyrics in songs like "Neue Deutsche Welle", such as the line: Das ist schwarz, rot, gold - hart und stolz ...
. In 2004, Mexican rock band Molotov
Molotov (band)
Molotov is a four-time Latin Grammy Award-winning Mexican rock band formed in Mexico City on September 23, 1995. Their lyrics feature a mixture of Spanish and English, rapped and sung by all members of the group. Musically, Molotov blends heavy basslines with heavy guitar riffs...
released a tribute in their comedy style, called "Amateur (Rock Me Amadeus)".
More frequently "Rock Me Amadeus" has been interpolated for comedic effect. In 1986, "Weird Al" Yankovic
"Weird Al" Yankovic
Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic is an American singer-songwriter, music producer, accordionist, actor, comedian, writer, satirist, and parodist. Yankovic is known for his humorous songs that make light of popular culture and that often parody specific songs by contemporary musical acts...
parodied the song in his song "Polka Party". In The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
episode "A Fish Called Selma
A Fish Called Selma
"A Fish Called Selma" is the nineteenth episode of The Simpsons seventh season and originally aired on March 24, 1996. The episode sees Troy McClure attempt to resurrect his acting career by marrying Selma Bouvier. Show runners Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein were fans of Phil Hartman and wished to...
" (1996), an offbeat variation is featured in a musical presentation of Planet of the Apes
Planet of the Apes (1968 film)
Planet of the Apes is a 1968 American science fiction film directed by Franklin J. Schaffner, based on the 1963 French novel La Planète des singes by Pierre Boulle. The film stars Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Maurice Evans, James Whitmore, James Daly and Linda Harrison...
with the repeated tag of "Amadeus, Amadeus" transferred to "Dr. Zaius
Dr. Zaius
Dr. Zaius is a fictional character in the Pierre Boulle novel Planet of the Apes, and the film series and television series based upon it. He is an orangutan and although given a minor role devoid of dialogue in the novel, he becomes the main antagonist of the story in the subsequent film adaptation...
, Dr. Zaius". A similar usage appears in another satirical US cartoon series, Family Guy
Family Guy
Family Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
(season 4 episode 6
Petarded
"Petarded" is the sixth episode of Fox's fourth season of Family Guy, which originally broadcast in the United States on June 19, 2005. It was written by Alec Sulkin and Wellesley Wild and directed by Seth Kearsley. The episode sees Peter taking the MacArthur Fellows Program to see if he is a...
, 2005). The Daily Show with Jon Stewart featured a parody, "Iraq Me Dave Petraeus", as a musical intro to a briefly recurring segment involving the US General's doctrine regarding the war in 2007/2008.The Daily Show: Iraq Me Dave Petraeus
In 1985 a parody version of "Rock Me Amadeus
Rock Me Amadeus
"Rock Me Amadeus" is a 1985 song by Austrian pop musician Falco from his album Falco 3. It topped the singles charts on both sides of the Atlantic. It was Falco's only number one hit in either the United States or the United Kingdom, despite his popularity in Germany, his native Austria, and much...
" entitled, "Rock Me Jerry Lewis" was credited to Bud Latour
LaTour
William LaTour, better known by his stage name LaTour and also known as "Bud" Latour, is an American singer, songwriter, and voice over artist...
and fellow Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
disc jockey, Mike Elliott. To the dedicated parody community, LaTour is mostly only known as 'Bud' LaTour. "Rock Me Jerry Lewis" climbed to Number 1 on The Dr. Dememto's Funny Five chart and grew to a notoriety that prompted mentions and airplay on Casey Kasem's
Casey Kasem
Kemal Amin "Casey" Kasem is an American radio personality and voice actor who is best known for being the host of the nationally syndicated Top 40 countdown show American Top 40, and for voicing Shaggy in the popular Saturday morning cartoon franchise Scooby-Doo.Kasem, along with Don Bustany and...
Top 40 Radio Show as well as a call from Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis is an American comedian, actor, singer, film producer, screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his slapstick humor in film, television, stage and radio. He was originally paired up with Dean Martin in 1946, forming the famed comedy team of Martin and Lewis...
himself. Furthermore, Jerry Lewis would begin to use the song at his personal appearances and stage shows. While in Phoenix, Arizona for a muscular dystrophy benefit at a bowling alley, Jerry Lewis invited 'Bud' LaTour and Mike Elliott to bowl with him. He was kind enough to sign 500 copies of the "Rock Me Jerry Lewis" 7" record.
A later episode of The Simpsons, "Behind the Laughter
Behind the Laughter
"Behind the Laughter" is the twenty-second episode of The Simpsons eleventh season. It first aired in the United States on the Fox network on May 21, 2000. In the episode, which is a parody of the VH1 series Behind the Music, the Simpson family are portrayed as actors on a sitcom, and their...
", features Willie Nelson
Willie Nelson
Willie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized...
saying, "Thank you, Taco, for that loving tribute to Falco," within another fictional tribute. Falco has been referenced in the US satirical cartoon series American Dad and The Tick
The Tick (live action TV series)
The Tick is an American sitcom based on the character Tick from the comic book of the same name . It aired on FOX in late 2001 and was produced by Columbia TriStar Television. With a pilot airing on November 8, the series only lasted nine episodes on broadcast television...
. In an episode of Family Guy
Family Guy
Family Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
entitled "German Guy", Falco's song "Der Kommisar" was used when Franz Gutentag made a Chris look-alike puppet and it sang and danced to the song. Chris later states "that was the German-est thing I've ever seen", however Falco was Austrian.
Studio albums
{| class="wikitable"!rowspan="2"|Year
!rowspan="2"|Title
!colspan="11"|Peak positions
|-
!width="30"|AUT
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
!width="30"|GER
Media Control Charts
The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie...
!width="30"|CH
Swiss Music Charts
The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75...
!width="30"|UK
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
!width="30"|U.S.
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
!width="30"|CAN
Canadian Albums Chart
The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Wednesday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen Soundscan, and published every Thursday by Jam! Canoe and Billboard, along with its sister charts the Canadian Singles Chart and the Canadian BDS...
!width="30"|NOR
VG-lista
VG-listen is a Norwegian record chart. It is weekly presented in the newspaper VG and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation program Topp 20. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continent around the world. The data is collected by...
!width="30"|NL
MegaCharts
MegaCharts is responsible for the composition and exploitation of a broad collection of official charts in the Netherlands, of which the Mega Top 50 and the Mega Album Top 100 are the most known ones. Mega Charts also provides information to the Stichting Nederlandse Top 40, of which the Dutch Top...
!width="30"|SWE
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
!width="30"|ITA
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
!width="30"|EUR
European Top 100 Albums
The European Top 100 Albums chart is the European adaptation of the Billboard 200 albums chart. It was created in March 1984.The European Top 100 Albums, commonly referred to as Eurochart Top 100 Albums shows the sales of an act in 19 European countries based on IFPI data.The European Top 100...
|-
|1982
|Einzelhaft
Einzelhaft
Einzelhaft, , is the name of the first album by Falco. It was released in Austria, Germany, the United States, Japan, Spain, Italy, Canada, Sweden and Finland....
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|1984
|Junge Roemer
Junge Roemer
Junge Roemer is the second album by Austrian pop rap artist Falco, released in 1984.- Production and success :The album was a #1 hit in his native Austria. The title track was a hit single there as well as in Switzerland, and most notably in Spain, where it peaked at #2...
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|1985
|Falco 3
Falco 3
Falco 3 is the third album by Falco, released in 1985.In the U.S. it peaked at number 3 in the Billboard 200 albums charts and at #18 in their Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts....
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|1986
|Emotional
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|1988
|Wiener Blut
Wiener Blut (album)
Wiener Blut is the 1988 fifth album by Falco. It was dedicated to Falco's "daughter", Bianca, recorded in 1987 and should be the last album produced by Bolland & Bolland...
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|1990
|Data de Groove
Data de Groove
Data de Groove is the sixth album by Falco, released in 1990 - a collaboration again with producer Robert Ponger. It was dedicated to the computer era and peaked #11 in Austria...
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|1992
|Nachtflug
Nachtflug
Nachtflug is the seventh album by Falco.In Germany, Falco returned to the album and single charts after 4 years of absence there, during which he only charted singles in his home country of Austria...
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|1998
|Out of the Dark (Into the Light)
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|1999
|Verdammt wir leben noch
Verdammt wir leben noch
Verdammt wir leben noch is Falco's posthumously-published album. The cd consists of unreleased Falco tracks, including Krise, the final song he ever recorded.-Track listing:#Verdammt Wir Leben Noch - 5:14...
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|2007
|Einzelhaft (25th Anniversary Edition)
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|2009
|The Spirit Never Dies
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|2010
|Falco 3 (25th Anniversary Edition)
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Compilations/live albums
{| class="wikitable"!rowspan="2"|Year
!rowspan="2"|Title
!colspan="11"|Peak positions
|-
!width="30"|AUT
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
!width="30"|GER
Media Control Charts
The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie...
!width="30"|CH
Swiss Music Charts
The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75...
!width="30"|UK
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
!width="30"|U.S.
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
!width="30"|CAN
Canadian Albums Chart
The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Wednesday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen Soundscan, and published every Thursday by Jam! Canoe and Billboard, along with its sister charts the Canadian Singles Chart and the Canadian BDS...
!width="30"|NOR
VG-lista
VG-listen is a Norwegian record chart. It is weekly presented in the newspaper VG and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation program Topp 20. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continent around the world. The data is collected by...
!width="30"|NL
MegaCharts
MegaCharts is responsible for the composition and exploitation of a broad collection of official charts in the Netherlands, of which the Mega Top 50 and the Mega Album Top 100 are the most known ones. Mega Charts also provides information to the Stichting Nederlandse Top 40, of which the Dutch Top...
!width="30"|SWE
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
!width="30"|ITA
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
!width="30"|EUR
European Top 100 Albums
The European Top 100 Albums chart is the European adaptation of the Billboard 200 albums chart. It was created in March 1984.The European Top 100 Albums, commonly referred to as Eurochart Top 100 Albums shows the sales of an act in 19 European countries based on IFPI data.The European Top 100...
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|1991
|The Remix Hit Collection
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|1996
|Greatest Hits
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|1997
|Greatest Hits Vol. II
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|1998
|Best Of
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|1998
|The Hit-Singles
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|1999
|The Final Curtain – The Ultimate Best Of
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|1999
|Live Forever (live album)
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|2007
|Hoch wie nie (Best Of)
Hoch wie nie
Hoch wie nie is the name of the 2007 posthumously-published 'Best of' double album by Austrian musician Falco, who died in 1998. The Longplayer was published on Falco's 50th birthday. It was released in two versions...
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|2008
|Falco Symphonic (Wiener Neustadt 1994)
Symphonic (album)
Symphonic is the title of the Falco album and live DVD containing a live performance of Falco with the Wiener Neustadt orchestra that was originally performed in 1994, it was released on February 2, 2008....
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Singles
{| class="wikitable"!rowspan="2"|Year
!rowspan="2"|Title
!colspan="20"|Peak position
Falco in the Austrian charts(S)Falco-Singles in the Swiss charts (S)Falco in the UK Single-Charts
Falco in the Netherland "Nationale Hitparade Top 50" (S)
Falco-Singles in the French charts I (S)Falco in the French charts II (S)Falco in the italian Single-Charts(S)
"Der Kommissar" #1 in Italy(S)Falco in the Spanish Single-Charts(S)
"Rock me Amadeus" 1986 number one in Spain(S)Falco in the Norwegian charts (S)
Johann (Hans) Hölzel (19 February 1957 – 6 February 1998), better known by his stage name Falco, was an Austrian
Austrians
Austrians are a nation and ethnic group, consisting of the population of the Republic of Austria and its historical predecessor states who share a common Austrian culture and Austrian descent....
pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
and rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
musician and rapper. He had several international hits: "Der Kommissar
Der Kommissar (song)
"'" is a song first recorded by Falco in Austria in 1981, covered a year later by After the Fire and reworked in 1983 by Laura Branigan. Originally written by Robert Ponger and Falco, the Falco version reached the top of the charts in many countries....
", "Rock Me Amadeus
Rock Me Amadeus
"Rock Me Amadeus" is a 1985 song by Austrian pop musician Falco from his album Falco 3. It topped the singles charts on both sides of the Atlantic. It was Falco's only number one hit in either the United States or the United Kingdom, despite his popularity in Germany, his native Austria, and much...
", "Vienna Calling", "Jeanny
Jeanny
Jeanny is a song by the Austrian musician Falco, recorded in 1985 for Falco's album Falco 3. It was the third song released as a single out of the album in 1986...
", "The Sound of Musik", "Coming Home (Jeanny Part 2)" and posthumously, "Out Of The Dark". He is the first and only artist to date whose principal language was German to score a number-one hit in the United States with "Rock Me Amadeus". His estate claims he has sold 40 million albums and 20 million singles to date, which makes him the best selling Austrian singer of all time.
Early years
Falco began to show signs of unusual musical talent very early. As a toddlerToddler
A toddler is a young child, usually defined as being between the ages of one and three. Registered nurse, midwife and author, Robin Barker, states 'Any time from eight months onwards your baby will begin to realise he is a separate person from you...
, he was able to keep time with the drumbeat in songs he heard on the radio. He was given a baby grand piano for his fourth birthday; a year later, his birthday gift was a record player which he used to play music by Elvis Presley, Cliff Richard, and the Beatles. At age five, he auditioned for the Vienna Music Academy, where it was confirmed that he had perfect pitch
Absolute pitch
Absolute pitch , widely referred to as perfect pitch, is the ability of a person to identify or re-create a given musical note without the benefit of an external reference.-Definition:...
.
In 1963, Hölzel began his schooling at a Roman Catholic private school; four years later, at age ten, he switched to the Rainer Gymnasium in Vienna. Shortly thereafter his father Alois Hölzel left the family. From then on, Hölzel was raised by his mother and grandmother and remained very close to them all his life.
He left school at sixteen in 1973 due to absenteeism. His mother then insisted he begin an apprenticeship with the Austrian employee pension insurance institute, but this only lasted a short time. At seventeen, he volunteered for eight months of military service with the Austrian army.
He entered the Vienna Music Conservatory in 1977, but left after one semester to "become a real musician". For a short time, he lived in West Berlin
West Berlin
West Berlin was a political exclave that existed between 1949 and 1990. It comprised the western regions of Berlin, which were bordered by East Berlin and parts of East Germany. West Berlin consisted of the American, British, and French occupation sectors, which had been established in 1945...
while singing in a jazz-rock band and exploring the club scene. When he returned to Vienna he was calling himself "Falco", reportedly in tribute to the East German ski jumper Falko Weißpflog (he changed one letter to make the name more international), and playing in the Austrian bands Spinning Wheel and Hallucination Company.The preceding four paragraphs include translated material from the German version of this article.
En route to becoming an international rock star in his own right, he was bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
player in the Austrian hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
-punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band Drahdiwaberl (from 1978 until 1983). With Drahdiwaberl he wrote and performed the song "Ganz Wien" ("All Vienna"), which he would also include on his debut solo album, Einzelhaft (Solitary Confinement ). He also played bass with the space disco
Space disco
Space disco is a term used to describe the fusion of disco music with futuristic themes, sounds and visuals, which was popular in the late 1970s...
band Ganymed
Ganymed (band)
Ganymed was an Austrian/German space disco band founded in 1977.In 1978, they released their biggest hit, “It Takes Me Higher”, which hit #5 on the Austrian charts for four weeks and also hit #23 on the German charts...
in 1981.
Individual success
Falco's first hit was "Der KommissarDer Kommissar (song)
"'" is a song first recorded by Falco in Austria in 1981, covered a year later by After the Fire and reworked in 1983 by Laura Branigan. Originally written by Robert Ponger and Falco, the Falco version reached the top of the charts in many countries....
" ("The Commissioner") from the 1982 album Einzelhaft
Einzelhaft
Einzelhaft, , is the name of the first album by Falco. It was released in Austria, Germany, the United States, Japan, Spain, Italy, Canada, Sweden and Finland....
. A German language song about drug consumption that combines rap verses with a sung chorus, Falco's record was a number-one success in many countries but failed to break big in the US. The song, however, would prove to have a life of its own in two English-language versions. British rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band After the Fire
After the Fire
After the Fire are a British rock band that progressed from playing progressive rock to new wave over their initial twelve-year career, while having only one hit in the United States, and one hit in the United Kingdom .-Early career:Keyboard player Peter Banks originally formed the band in the...
recorded an English cover version, loosely based on Falco's lyrics and also called "Der Kommissar" (with "uh-oh" and "alles klar Herr Kommissar" the only other lyrics held over from the original). This time, the song shot to number five in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
(their only major hit there) in 1983, though it failed to crack the UK Top 40. That same year, American singer Laura Branigan
Laura Branigan
Laura Ann Branigan was an American singer-songwriter and actress of Italian and Irish ancestry. She is best known in the United States for her 1982 Platinum-certified hit "Gloria" and in Europe for the number-one single "Self Control"...
recorded a version of the song with new English lyrics under the title "Deep In The Dark" on her album Branigan 2
Branigan 2
- Personnel :* Laura Branigan - vocals* Dennis Belfield - bass guitar* Michael Boddicker - synthesizer* Robbie Buchanan - synthesizer, keyboards* Lenny Castro - percussion* Joe Esposito - background vocals* Jim Haas - background vocals...
.
After a second album, Junge Roemer
Junge Roemer
Junge Roemer is the second album by Austrian pop rap artist Falco, released in 1984.- Production and success :The album was a #1 hit in his native Austria. The title track was a hit single there as well as in Switzerland, and most notably in Spain, where it peaked at #2...
(Young Romans) failed to provide a repeat to his debut single's success (outside of Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, where the album topped the charts), Falco began to experiment with English lyrics in an effort to broaden his appeal, and chose a new production team. The result would be the most popular album and single of his career.
Falco recorded "Rock Me Amadeus
Rock Me Amadeus
"Rock Me Amadeus" is a 1985 song by Austrian pop musician Falco from his album Falco 3. It topped the singles charts on both sides of the Atlantic. It was Falco's only number one hit in either the United States or the United Kingdom, despite his popularity in Germany, his native Austria, and much...
" inspired in part by the Oscar
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
-winning film Amadeus
Amadeus (film)
Amadeus is a 1984 period drama film directed by Miloš Forman and written by Peter Shaffer. Adapted from Shaffer's stage play Amadeus, the story is based loosely on the lives of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri, two composers who lived in Vienna, Austria, during the latter half of the...
, and the song became a worldwide hit in 1986. This time, his record reached #1 in the US and UK, bringing him the success that had eluded him in that major market a few years earlier. The song remained in the top spot of the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks and his album, Falco 3
Falco 3
Falco 3 is the third album by Falco, released in 1985.In the U.S. it peaked at number 3 in the Billboard 200 albums charts and at #18 in their Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts....
, fittingly peaked at the number three position on the Billboard album charts. The Austrian singers climbed to the upper reaches of the Billboard Top R&B Singles Chart (once called the "Black Singles" chart), peaking at number 6, becoming the first major hit by a white artist since Blondie's chart-topping "Rapture" six years earlier. Falco 3 peaked at number 18 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The name of the chart was changed from Top R&B Albums in 1999...
charts. Ultimately, "Rock Me Amadeus" went to the #1 spot in over a dozen countries including Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. Follow-up single "Vienna Calling" was another international pop hit, peaking at #18 of the Billboard Charts and #17 on the US Cash Box Charts in 1986. A double A-side 12" single featuring remixes of those two hits peaked at #4 on the US Dance/Disco charts.
"Jeanny
Jeanny
Jeanny is a song by the Austrian musician Falco, recorded in 1985 for Falco's album Falco 3. It was the third song released as a single out of the album in 1986...
", the third release from the album Falco 3, brought the performer back to the top of the charts across Europe. Highly controversial when it was released in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, the story of "Jeanny" was told from the point of view of a rapist and possible murderer. Several DJs and radio stations refused to play the ballad, which was ignored in the US, though it became a huge hit in many European countries, and inspired two sequels on later albums.
In 1986, the album Emotional was released, produced by Rob and Ferdi Bolland (Bolland & Bolland
Bolland & Bolland
Bolland & Bolland are two Dutch music producers – the brothers Rob and Ferdi Bolland ....
). Songs on the album included "Coming Home (Jeanny Part 2)," "The Kiss of Kathleen Turner
Kathleen Turner
Mary Kathleen Turner is an American actress. She came to fame during the 1980s, after roles in the Hollywood films Body Heat, Peggy Sue Got Married, Romancing the Stone, The War of the Roses, Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Prizzi's Honor...
", and "Kamikaze Capa" which was written as a tribute to the late photojournalist Robert Capa
Robert Capa
Robert Capa was a Hungarian combat photographer and photojournalist who covered five different wars: the Spanish Civil War, the Second Sino-Japanese War, World War II across Europe, the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, and the First Indochina War...
. "The Sound of Musik" was another international success, and a Top 20 US dance hit, though it failed to make the US pop charts.
In 1987 he went on "Emotional" world tour ending in Japan. In the same year he sang a duet with Brigitte Nielsen
Brigitte Nielsen
Brigitte Nielsen is a Danish model, actress, musician and reality television personality who began her career modelling for Greg Gorman and Helmut Newton and several years later made appearances in the 1985 films Red Sonja and Rocky IV and is also known for her marriage to Sylvester Stallone...
, "Body Next to Body"; the single was a Top 10 hit in the Germanic
Germanic languages
The Germanic languages constitute a sub-branch of the Indo-European language family. The common ancestor of all of the languages in this branch is called Proto-Germanic , which was spoken in approximately the mid-1st millennium BC in Iron Age northern Europe...
countries. The album Wiener Blut
Wiener Blut (album)
Wiener Blut is the 1988 fifth album by Falco. It was dedicated to Falco's "daughter", Bianca, recorded in 1987 and should be the last album produced by Bolland & Bolland...
(Viennese Blood) was released in 1988 but it did not get much publicity outside Germany and Austria.
In 1990, he wrote a song about Cindy Crawford
Cindy Crawford
Cynthia Ann "Cindy" Crawford is an American model. Known for her trademark mole just above her lip, Crawford has adorned hundreds of magazine covers throughout her career. She was named #3 on VH1's 40 Hottest Hotties of the 90s...
and Tatjana Patitz
Tatjana Patitz
Tatjana Patitz is a German model and actress who rose to international prominence in the 1980s and 1990s, representing top fashion designers, campaigns, and collections, and who continues to model today.-Modelling career:...
, "Tanja P. not Cindy C.", which appeared on the album Data de Groove.
After 1986 there were a number of European hits, but Falco was rarely heard in the US and the UK. His 1992 comeback attempt, the album Nachtflug
Nachtflug
Nachtflug is the seventh album by Falco.In Germany, Falco returned to the album and single charts after 4 years of absence there, during which he only charted singles in his home country of Austria...
(Night Flight) including the song "Titanic", was successful in the German speaking territories, but failed to chart internationally.
Death
Mitsubishi Pajero
The Mitsubishi Pajero is a sport utility vehicle manufactured by Mitsubishi Motors. It was named after Leopardus pajeros, the Pampas Cat which is native to the Patagonia plateau region of southern Argentina. However, since pajero is an offensive term for "wanker" in Spanish, alternative names have...
on the road linking the towns of Villa Montellano
Villa Montellano
Villa Montellano is a town in the Puerto Plata province of the Dominican Republic.- Sources :* – World-Gazetteer.com...
and Puerto Plata
Puerto Plata
Puerto Plata is one of the northern provinces of the Dominican Republic. The area has become an increasingly popular tourist attraction since the late 1990s mainly due to its fine beaches...
, in the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
on 6 February 1998, just two weeks before his 41st birthday. It was initially reported that the autopsy showed high blood levels of alcohol and cocaine, however this was later dismissed. At the time of his death, he was planning a comeback. He was buried in the Zentralfriedhof
Zentralfriedhof
The Zentralfriedhof is one of the largest cemeteries in the world, largest by number of interred in Europe and most famous cemetery among Vienna's nearly 50 cemeteries.-Name and location:...
(Central Cemetery) in Vienna, Austria.
Tributes and popular culture
In the album Hooray for BoobiesHooray for Boobies
Hooray for Boobies is the third studio album by American alternative rock band Bloodhound Gang, released on October 4, 1999 in Europe and February 29, 2000 in the US. Produced by Jimmy Pop and Richard Gavalis, it was the band's second release on Geffen Records following the gold-selling One Fierce...
of the group The Bloodhound Gang
The Bloodhound Gang
The Bloodhound Gang may be a reference to:*The Bloodhound Gang , a segment on the program 3-2-1 Contact*The Bloodhound Gang, a band that took its name from the TV show segment...
, the song "Mope
Mope
"Mope" is the fourth single released from The Bloodhound Gang's 1999 album Hooray for Boobies. The song and music video feature a man in a Pac-Man suit, portrayed as being on crack.-Track listing:# "Mope"...
" is a tribute to Falco, and he is referred to as a "money making player that ain't with us no more" and a "gang banging thug that never seen it coming."
In 1998, Rob and Ferdi Bolland
Bolland & Bolland
Bolland & Bolland are two Dutch music producers – the brothers Rob and Ferdi Bolland ....
(Dutch producers and co-writers of about half of Falco's albums) released the EP Tribute to Falco under the name The Bolland Project feat. Alida. The title track featured samples of Falco's music; the other tracks were "We Say Goodbye" and "So Lonely".
The film Falco – Verdammt, wir leben noch! was released in Austria on 7 February 2008, ten years and one day after Falco's death. This title is also the name of a posthumously-released album by Falco
Verdammt wir leben noch
Verdammt wir leben noch is Falco's posthumously-published album. The cd consists of unreleased Falco tracks, including Krise, the final song he ever recorded.-Track listing:#Verdammt Wir Leben Noch - 5:14...
which translates to "Damn, we're still alive!" Written and directed by Thomas Roth, the movie features musician Manuel Rubey as adult Johann 'Falco' Hölzel.Falco – Verdammt, wir leben noch! IMDb Page The end credits include the line "With love, Ferdi & Rob", his frequent collaborators the Bollands.
Falco's good friend Niki Lauda
Niki Lauda
Andreas Nikolaus "Niki" Lauda is an Austrian former Formula One racing driver and three-time F1 World Champion. More recently an aviation entrepreneur, he has founded and run two airlines and was manager of the Jaguar Formula One racing team for two years.- Early years in racing :Born in Vienna,...
named one of the Boeing airplanes in his Lauda Air
Lauda Air
Lauda Air is an airline based in Schwechat, Austria. It operates scheduled leisure flights and charters to holiday destinations in Europe and North Africa. Its main base is Vienna International Airport. Lauda Air is a member of the Austrian Airlines Group and a affiliate Star Alliance...
fleet "Falco" after the singer.
Although "Der Kommissar
Der Kommissar (song)
"'" is a song first recorded by Falco in Austria in 1981, covered a year later by After the Fire and reworked in 1983 by Laura Branigan. Originally written by Robert Ponger and Falco, the Falco version reached the top of the charts in many countries....
" saw nearly contemporaneous and fairly straightforward mainstream covers including the loose translation by After The Fire
After the Fire
After the Fire are a British rock band that progressed from playing progressive rock to new wave over their initial twelve-year career, while having only one hit in the United States, and one hit in the United Kingdom .-Early career:Keyboard player Peter Banks originally formed the band in the...
and the reinterpretation by Laura Branigan
Laura Branigan
Laura Ann Branigan was an American singer-songwriter and actress of Italian and Irish ancestry. She is best known in the United States for her 1982 Platinum-certified hit "Gloria" and in Europe for the number-one single "Self Control"...
, both in 1982/1983, Falco's song "Rock Me Amadeus
Rock Me Amadeus
"Rock Me Amadeus" is a 1985 song by Austrian pop musician Falco from his album Falco 3. It topped the singles charts on both sides of the Atlantic. It was Falco's only number one hit in either the United States or the United Kingdom, despite his popularity in Germany, his native Austria, and much...
" has received a more enduring, if humorous, usage several decades after its release, in a number of films, television shows and commercials. The 2009 film Adventureland
Adventureland (film)
Adventureland is a 2009 Retro comedy-drama film written and directed by Greg Mottola. The film stars Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Margarita Levieva, Ryan Reynolds, Martin Starr, Bill Hader, and Kristen Wiig.-Plot:...
features "Rock Me Amadeus" multiple times as part of an amusement park's background music, to the eventual disdain of its denizens. The original track is featured in humorous situations in commercials for the Subaru
Subaru
; is the automobile manufacturing division of Japanese transportation conglomerate Fuji Heavy Industries .Subaru is internationally known for their use of the boxer engine layout popularized in cars by the Volkswagen Beetle and Porsche 911, in most of their vehicles above 1500 cc as well as...
Impreza sedan and E-Trade financial services (2008). The track has been sampled by groups including the Bloodhound Gang
Bloodhound Gang
Bloodhound Gang is a Collegeville, Pennsylvania-based American comedy band, although it began as a rap group and gradually changed its genre throughout the years...
, who also refer to Falco, in their 1999 song "Mope
Mope
"Mope" is the fourth single released from The Bloodhound Gang's 1999 album Hooray for Boobies. The song and music video feature a man in a Pac-Man suit, portrayed as being on crack.-Track listing:# "Mope"...
", and by German rapper Fler
Fler
Patrick Losensky better known as Fler, is a German rapper. He also uses the pseudonym Frank White after the character in King of New York....
in "NDW 2005" from Neue Deutsche Welle
Neue Deutsche Welle (album)
Neue Deutsche Welle is the 1st solo album by German rapper Fler.The album is accused of having nationalist views, because of his lyrics in songs like "Neue Deutsche Welle", such as the line: Das ist schwarz, rot, gold - hart und stolz ...
. In 2004, Mexican rock band Molotov
Molotov (band)
Molotov is a four-time Latin Grammy Award-winning Mexican rock band formed in Mexico City on September 23, 1995. Their lyrics feature a mixture of Spanish and English, rapped and sung by all members of the group. Musically, Molotov blends heavy basslines with heavy guitar riffs...
released a tribute in their comedy style, called "Amateur (Rock Me Amadeus)".
More frequently "Rock Me Amadeus" has been interpolated for comedic effect. In 1986, "Weird Al" Yankovic
"Weird Al" Yankovic
Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic is an American singer-songwriter, music producer, accordionist, actor, comedian, writer, satirist, and parodist. Yankovic is known for his humorous songs that make light of popular culture and that often parody specific songs by contemporary musical acts...
parodied the song in his song "Polka Party". In The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
episode "A Fish Called Selma
A Fish Called Selma
"A Fish Called Selma" is the nineteenth episode of The Simpsons seventh season and originally aired on March 24, 1996. The episode sees Troy McClure attempt to resurrect his acting career by marrying Selma Bouvier. Show runners Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein were fans of Phil Hartman and wished to...
" (1996), an offbeat variation is featured in a musical presentation of Planet of the Apes
Planet of the Apes (1968 film)
Planet of the Apes is a 1968 American science fiction film directed by Franklin J. Schaffner, based on the 1963 French novel La Planète des singes by Pierre Boulle. The film stars Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Maurice Evans, James Whitmore, James Daly and Linda Harrison...
with the repeated tag of "Amadeus, Amadeus" transferred to "Dr. Zaius
Dr. Zaius
Dr. Zaius is a fictional character in the Pierre Boulle novel Planet of the Apes, and the film series and television series based upon it. He is an orangutan and although given a minor role devoid of dialogue in the novel, he becomes the main antagonist of the story in the subsequent film adaptation...
, Dr. Zaius". A similar usage appears in another satirical US cartoon series, Family Guy
Family Guy
Family Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
(season 4 episode 6
Petarded
"Petarded" is the sixth episode of Fox's fourth season of Family Guy, which originally broadcast in the United States on June 19, 2005. It was written by Alec Sulkin and Wellesley Wild and directed by Seth Kearsley. The episode sees Peter taking the MacArthur Fellows Program to see if he is a...
, 2005). The Daily Show with Jon Stewart featured a parody, "Iraq Me Dave Petraeus", as a musical intro to a briefly recurring segment involving the US General's doctrine regarding the war in 2007/2008.The Daily Show: Iraq Me Dave Petraeus
In 1985 a parody version of "Rock Me Amadeus
Rock Me Amadeus
"Rock Me Amadeus" is a 1985 song by Austrian pop musician Falco from his album Falco 3. It topped the singles charts on both sides of the Atlantic. It was Falco's only number one hit in either the United States or the United Kingdom, despite his popularity in Germany, his native Austria, and much...
" entitled, "Rock Me Jerry Lewis" was credited to Bud Latour
LaTour
William LaTour, better known by his stage name LaTour and also known as "Bud" Latour, is an American singer, songwriter, and voice over artist...
and fellow Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
disc jockey, Mike Elliott. To the dedicated parody community, LaTour is mostly only known as 'Bud' LaTour. "Rock Me Jerry Lewis" climbed to Number 1 on The Dr. Dememto's Funny Five chart and grew to a notoriety that prompted mentions and airplay on Casey Kasem's
Casey Kasem
Kemal Amin "Casey" Kasem is an American radio personality and voice actor who is best known for being the host of the nationally syndicated Top 40 countdown show American Top 40, and for voicing Shaggy in the popular Saturday morning cartoon franchise Scooby-Doo.Kasem, along with Don Bustany and...
Top 40 Radio Show as well as a call from Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis is an American comedian, actor, singer, film producer, screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his slapstick humor in film, television, stage and radio. He was originally paired up with Dean Martin in 1946, forming the famed comedy team of Martin and Lewis...
himself. Furthermore, Jerry Lewis would begin to use the song at his personal appearances and stage shows. While in Phoenix, Arizona for a muscular dystrophy benefit at a bowling alley, Jerry Lewis invited 'Bud' LaTour and Mike Elliott to bowl with him. He was kind enough to sign 500 copies of the "Rock Me Jerry Lewis" 7" record.
A later episode of The Simpsons, "Behind the Laughter
Behind the Laughter
"Behind the Laughter" is the twenty-second episode of The Simpsons eleventh season. It first aired in the United States on the Fox network on May 21, 2000. In the episode, which is a parody of the VH1 series Behind the Music, the Simpson family are portrayed as actors on a sitcom, and their...
", features Willie Nelson
Willie Nelson
Willie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized...
saying, "Thank you, Taco, for that loving tribute to Falco," within another fictional tribute. Falco has been referenced in the US satirical cartoon series American Dad and The Tick
The Tick (live action TV series)
The Tick is an American sitcom based on the character Tick from the comic book of the same name . It aired on FOX in late 2001 and was produced by Columbia TriStar Television. With a pilot airing on November 8, the series only lasted nine episodes on broadcast television...
. In an episode of Family Guy
Family Guy
Family Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
entitled "German Guy", Falco's song "Der Kommisar" was used when Franz Gutentag made a Chris look-alike puppet and it sang and danced to the song. Chris later states "that was the German-est thing I've ever seen", however Falco was Austrian.
Studio albums
{| class="wikitable"!rowspan="2"|Year
!rowspan="2"|Title
!colspan="11"|Peak positions
|-
!width="30"|AUT
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
!width="30"|GER
Media Control Charts
The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie...
!width="30"|CH
Swiss Music Charts
The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75...
!width="30"|UK
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
!width="30"|U.S.
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
!width="30"|CAN
Canadian Albums Chart
The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Wednesday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen Soundscan, and published every Thursday by Jam! Canoe and Billboard, along with its sister charts the Canadian Singles Chart and the Canadian BDS...
!width="30"|NOR
VG-lista
VG-listen is a Norwegian record chart. It is weekly presented in the newspaper VG and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation program Topp 20. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continent around the world. The data is collected by...
!width="30"|NL
MegaCharts
MegaCharts is responsible for the composition and exploitation of a broad collection of official charts in the Netherlands, of which the Mega Top 50 and the Mega Album Top 100 are the most known ones. Mega Charts also provides information to the Stichting Nederlandse Top 40, of which the Dutch Top...
!width="30"|SWE
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
!width="30"|ITA
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
!width="30"|EUR
European Top 100 Albums
The European Top 100 Albums chart is the European adaptation of the Billboard 200 albums chart. It was created in March 1984.The European Top 100 Albums, commonly referred to as Eurochart Top 100 Albums shows the sales of an act in 19 European countries based on IFPI data.The European Top 100...
|-
|1982
|Einzelhaft
Einzelhaft
Einzelhaft, , is the name of the first album by Falco. It was released in Austria, Germany, the United States, Japan, Spain, Italy, Canada, Sweden and Finland....
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|1984
|Junge Roemer
Junge Roemer
Junge Roemer is the second album by Austrian pop rap artist Falco, released in 1984.- Production and success :The album was a #1 hit in his native Austria. The title track was a hit single there as well as in Switzerland, and most notably in Spain, where it peaked at #2...
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|1985
|Falco 3
Falco 3
Falco 3 is the third album by Falco, released in 1985.In the U.S. it peaked at number 3 in the Billboard 200 albums charts and at #18 in their Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts....
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|1986
|Emotional
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|1988
|Wiener Blut
Wiener Blut (album)
Wiener Blut is the 1988 fifth album by Falco. It was dedicated to Falco's "daughter", Bianca, recorded in 1987 and should be the last album produced by Bolland & Bolland...
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|1990
|Data de Groove
Data de Groove
Data de Groove is the sixth album by Falco, released in 1990 - a collaboration again with producer Robert Ponger. It was dedicated to the computer era and peaked #11 in Austria...
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|1992
|Nachtflug
Nachtflug
Nachtflug is the seventh album by Falco.In Germany, Falco returned to the album and single charts after 4 years of absence there, during which he only charted singles in his home country of Austria...
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|1998
|Out of the Dark (Into the Light)
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|1999
|Verdammt wir leben noch
Verdammt wir leben noch
Verdammt wir leben noch is Falco's posthumously-published album. The cd consists of unreleased Falco tracks, including Krise, the final song he ever recorded.-Track listing:#Verdammt Wir Leben Noch - 5:14...
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|2007
|Einzelhaft (25th Anniversary Edition)
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|2009
|The Spirit Never Dies
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|2010
|Falco 3 (25th Anniversary Edition)
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Compilations/live albums
{| class="wikitable"!rowspan="2"|Year
!rowspan="2"|Title
!colspan="11"|Peak positions
|-
!width="30"|AUT
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
!width="30"|GER
Media Control Charts
The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie...
!width="30"|CH
Swiss Music Charts
The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75...
!width="30"|UK
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
!width="30"|U.S.
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
!width="30"|CAN
Canadian Albums Chart
The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Wednesday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen Soundscan, and published every Thursday by Jam! Canoe and Billboard, along with its sister charts the Canadian Singles Chart and the Canadian BDS...
!width="30"|NOR
VG-lista
VG-listen is a Norwegian record chart. It is weekly presented in the newspaper VG and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation program Topp 20. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continent around the world. The data is collected by...
!width="30"|NL
MegaCharts
MegaCharts is responsible for the composition and exploitation of a broad collection of official charts in the Netherlands, of which the Mega Top 50 and the Mega Album Top 100 are the most known ones. Mega Charts also provides information to the Stichting Nederlandse Top 40, of which the Dutch Top...
!width="30"|SWE
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
!width="30"|ITA
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
!width="30"|EUR
European Top 100 Albums
The European Top 100 Albums chart is the European adaptation of the Billboard 200 albums chart. It was created in March 1984.The European Top 100 Albums, commonly referred to as Eurochart Top 100 Albums shows the sales of an act in 19 European countries based on IFPI data.The European Top 100...
|-
|1991
|The Remix Hit Collection
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|1996
|Greatest Hits
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|1997
|Greatest Hits Vol. II
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|1998
|Best Of
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|1998
|The Hit-Singles
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|1999
|The Final Curtain – The Ultimate Best Of
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|1999
|Live Forever (live album)
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|2007
|Hoch wie nie (Best Of)
Hoch wie nie
Hoch wie nie is the name of the 2007 posthumously-published 'Best of' double album by Austrian musician Falco, who died in 1998. The Longplayer was published on Falco's 50th birthday. It was released in two versions...
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|2008
|Falco Symphonic (Wiener Neustadt 1994)
Symphonic (album)
Symphonic is the title of the Falco album and live DVD containing a live performance of Falco with the Wiener Neustadt orchestra that was originally performed in 1994, it was released on February 2, 2008....
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Singles
{| class="wikitable"!rowspan="2"|Year
!rowspan="2"|Title
!colspan="20"|Peak position
Falco in the Austrian charts(S)Falco-Singles in the Swiss charts (S)Falco in the UK Single-Charts
Falco in the Netherland "Nationale Hitparade Top 50" (S)
Falco-Singles in the French charts I (S)Falco in the French charts II (S)Falco in the italian Single-Charts(S)
"Der Kommissar" #1 in Italy(S)Falco in the Spanish Single-Charts(S)
"Rock me Amadeus" 1986 number one in Spain(S)Falco in the Norwegian charts (S)Falco-Singles in the Sweden Charts(S)