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
Einzelhaft
Falco Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Zahn um zahn
Der einsamkeit
Freie bahn
Keiner für alle
Jeder für sich
Keine gefühle
Stören dich
do sollst deine puppe lieben
Sollst ihr nie den hals verdreh'n
Und liebeslieder leben wieder
Sie wird immer zu dir stehn
Moderne manschen
Leben allein
Das neue leben
Fängt sie ein
Liebe macht herztod
Sprechverbot
Lebt die einzelhaft, leb' sie !
Auf kalten kanälen
Illusion freier wahl
Abschliessend die zeit
Türen aus stahl
Rosa-rausch-filter
Chemie klärt dich auf
Ohne zu leben
Stirbst do auch
Lebt die einzelhaft, leb' sie!
The lyrics of Falco's song Einzelhaft reflect a feeling of isolation and loneliness in a modern society, where individuals are expected to look out for themselves and not trust others. The lines "Auge um Auge, Zahn um Zahn" (an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth) suggest a sense of aggression and hostility towards others, driven by the fear of being alone. The lyrics also touch on the idea of love being dangerous and fatal, as "Liebe macht Herztod" (love leads to heart death) and "Sprechverbot" (speech is prohibited).
Line by Line Meaning
Auge um Auge
Tit-for-tat
Zahn um Zahn
An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth
Der Einsamkeit
The loneliness
Freie Bahn
Free reign
Keiner für alle
No one for everyone
Jeder für sich
Every man for himself
Keine Gefühle
No feelings
Stören dich
They do not concern you
Deine Schuld wird nie verziehn
Your guilt will never be forgiven
Do sollst deine Puppe lieben
You should love your puppet
Sollst ihr nie den Hals verdreh'n
You should never break her neck
Und Liebeslieder leben wieder
Love songs will live again
Sie wird immer zu dir stehn
She will always stand by you
Moderne Manschen
Modern people
Leben allein
Live alone
Das neue Leben
The new life
Fängt sie ein
It captures them
Liebe macht herztod
Love makes the heart die
Sprechverbot
Speaking is prohibited
Lebt die Einzelhaft, leb' sie!
Live the solitary confinement, live it!
Auf kalten Kanälen
On cold channels
Illusion freier Wahl
The illusion of free choice
Abschliessend die Zeit
Closing time
Türen aus Stahl
Steel doors
Rosa-Rausch-Filter
Pink intoxication filter
Chemie klärt dich auf
Chemicals make you clear
Ohne zu leben
Without living
Stirbst do auch
You shall also die
Lebt die Einzelhaft, leb' sie!
Live the solitary confinement, live it!
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: - FALCO, ROBERT PONGER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Libor Synthesizer
on Out of the Dark
super muzika ,nádhera