He is the only artist to score a #1 Hit in the U.S. with a German language song, and his albums and singles have sold about 60 million copies worldwide.
Early Years
Born in Vienna, studying at the Vienna Music Conservatory in 1977 which he left after one semester to pursue a career in music, he lived for a short time in West Berlin while singing in a jazz-rock band. When he returned to Vienna he was calling himself "Falco," reportedly in tribute to the East German ski jumper Falko Weißpflog, 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" which he would also include on his debut solo album Einzelhaft.
Individual success
Falco's first hit was "Der Kommissar" 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 U.S. 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 three in the United States (their only major hit there) in 1983, though it failed to crack the UK Top 40. The band - who had been together more than a decade - broke up almost immediately thereafter. 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, 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 U.S. 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. Unheard of at the time for a white performer, much less a European one, the Austrian rapper's single climbed to the upper reaches of the Billboard Top R&B Singles Chart (only a few years earlier called the "Black Singles" chart), peaking at number 6. 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 the Soviet Union and Japan. Follow-up single "Vienna Calling" was another international pop hit, peaking at #18 of the Billboard Charts and #17 on the U.S. Cash Box Charts in 1986. A double A-side 12" single featuring remixes of those two hits peaked at #4 on the U.S. 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 U.S., although 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). On the Album were "Coming Home (Jeanny Part 2, Ein Jahr danach)" and the song "Kamikaze Cappa" which was written as a tribute to the late photojournalist Robert Capa. "The Sound of Musik" was another international success, and a Top 20 U.S. Dance hit, though he failed to make the U.S. pop charts. He also went on "Emotional-Tour" which was a world tour where he ended up in Japan at 1987. In 1987, he sang a duet with Brigitte Nielsen "Body Next to Body" and the single was a Top 10 hit in the Germanic countries. The Album Wiener Blut was released in 1988 but it did not get much publicity outside Germany and Austria.
After "Jeanny," there were a number of European hits, but Falco was rarely heard in the U.S. and the UK. His 1992 U.S. comeback attempt, the album Nachtflug with the song "Titanic" won a number of awards, but failed to chart in America.
Death
Falco died of severe injuries received from a collision with a bus in his Mitsubishi Pajero near the city of Puerto Plata, in the Dominican Republic on 6 February 1998, just two weeks before his 41st birthday. While it was initially reported that the autopsy showed high blood levels of alcohol and cocaine, this was disputed. At the time of his death, he was working on a comeback into the music world.
He was buried in the Zentralfriedhof (Central Cemetery) in Vienna, Austria.
Years active: 1974 -1998
Ganz Wien
Falco Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Sagt net wohin
Das Hirn voll heavy Metal
Und seine Leber ist hin
Seine Venen sind offen
Und es riecht nach Formalin
Das alles macht eam kan Kummer
Weil er ist in Wien
Ganz Wien
Ist heut auf Heroin
Ganz Wien
Träumt mit Mozambin
Ganz Wien, Wien
Grieft auch zu Kokain
Überhaupt in der Ballsaison
Man sieht ganz Wien
Ist so herrlich hin, hin, hin
Kokain und Kodein
Heroin und Mozambin
Machen uns hin, hin, hin
Hin, hin, eins, zwei, drei
Kokain und Kodein
Heroin und Mozambin
Machen uns hin, hin, hin, hin, hin
Einmal wird der Tag kommen
Die Donau außer Rand und Band
Im U4 geigen die Goldfisch'
Der Bruno längst am sicheren Land
Der Hannes a, dann lernen wir
Schwimmen, treiben tan ma eh
Alle Teuferl weiße Gewandl
Weiß wie Schnee
Wien
Kokain und Kodein
Heroin und Mozambin
Machen uns hin, hin, hin, hin, hin (don't'cha know)
Kokain und Kodein
Heroin und Mozambin
Machen uns hin, hin, hin, hin, hin
Ganz Wien
Ganz Wien
Ganz Wien
Ganz Wien
Ganz Wien
Ganz Wien
The lyrics to Falco's song "Ganz Wien" tell a story of a man wandering the streets of Vienna, his mind filled with heavy metal and his liver deteriorated by excessive drinking. His veins are opened and the smell of formalin surrounds him, but despite all this, he doesn't seem to be bothered, because he is in Vienna. The chorus describes how the city is overwhelmed by drugs: heroin, cocaine, codeine and Mozambin, and how everyone in Vienna, especially during ball season, is lost in a haze of drugs.
The final verse seems to be more optimistic, as it talks about a day when the Danube will overflow and the city will be flooded. In this dream-like setting, the singer and his friends will learn how to swim and play in the water. They will wear white clothes and be surrounded by the snowy beauty of Vienna.
The lyrics paint a picture of a city that is both dark and beautiful, a place where people get lost in hedonism, but also find moments of joy and freedom. The use of heavy metal and drug references creates a sense of rebellion and danger, while the imagery of the flooded city offers a glimpse of hope and escape.
Line by Line Meaning
Er geht auf der Straßen
He walks the streets
Sagt net wohin
Doesn't say where he's going
Das Hirn voll heavy Metal
His mind is full of heavy metal music
Und seine Leber ist hin
And his liver is gone
Seine Venen sind offen
His veins are open
Und es riecht nach Formalin
And it smells like formalin
Das alles macht eam kan Kummer
All of this doesn't bother him
Weil er ist in Wien
Because he's in Vienna
Ganz Wien
All of Vienna
Ist heut auf Heroin
Is on heroin today
Träumt mit Mozambin
Dreaming with Mozambin
Ganz Wien, Wien
All of Vienna, Vienna
Grieft auch zu Kokain
Also takes cocaine
Überhaupt in der Ballsaison
Especially during ball season
Man sieht ganz Wien
You see all of Vienna
Ist so herrlich hin, hin, hin
Is so wonderfully gone
Kokain und Kodein
Cocaine and codeine
Heroin und Mozambin
Heroin and Mozambin
Machen uns hin, hin, hin
Make us wonderfully gone
Hin, hin, eins, zwei, drei
Wonderfully gone, gone, one, two, three
Einmal wird der Tag kommen
Once the day will come
Die Donau außer Rand und Band
The Danube out of control
Im U4 geigen die Goldfisch'
In U4 the goldfish play the violin
Der Bruno längst am sicheren Land
Bruno is already safe and sound
Der Hannes a, dann lernen wir
If Hannes is also there, we'll learn
Schwimmen, treiben tan ma eh
Swim, float and dance anyway
Alle Teuferl weiße Gewandl
All the little devils in white robes
Weiß wie Schnee
White as snow
Kokain und Kodein
Cocaine and codeine
Heroin und Mozambin
Heroin and Mozambin
Machen uns hin, hin, hin, hin, hin (don't'cha know)
Make us wonderfully gone, gone, gone, gone, gone (don't you know)
Ganz Wien
All of Vienna
Ganz Wien
All of Vienna
Ganz Wien
All of Vienna
Ganz Wien
All of Vienna
Ganz Wien
All of Vienna
Ganz Wien
All of Vienna
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Johann Hoelzel
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Libor Synthesizer
on Out of the Dark
super muzika ,nádhera