Johann (Hans) Hölzel (19 February 1957 – 6 February 1998), better known by … Read Full Bio ↴Johann (Hans) Hölzel (19 February 1957 – 6 February 1998), better known by his stage name Falco, was an Austrian rap, pop and rock musician and had four #1 Hits - "Der Kommissar", "Rock Me Amadeus", "Jeanny" and "Coming Home (Jeanny Part 2, Ein Jahr danach)".

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

Que pasa hombre
Falco Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Qué pasa hombre, hombre, ah, ah, aah
Che-che-check it out hey
- Ah listen listen listen

Good evening ladies and gentlemen,
This is your Flugzeugführer speakin'
We welcome you aboard of Cash & Flight Airways
On our flight through the night

Say shock shock
Ich gebe nur das Motto aus:
Around around the clock
Noch immer das Motto: never ever stop
Never ever stop never ever never ever
Never ever stop

Ecstasy turns to anarchy
We never ever ket you down, no no!
(It's fun, fun, it's for the psyche,
You can guide yourself,
Can't tell - fun fun gone gone)

Gentlemen, oh oh oh oh oh !
Qué pasa hombre, hombre, oh oh oh!
Qué pasa hombre, hombre, oh oh oh!
Everybody catch, everybody catch ti - hey
Everybody catch tickets free,
Leave your money alone with me.

Shock, Shock, say no time for zeros,
Now, this world needs heroes!
Come on and make your choice,
Don't be delirious, this life is serious!
On the back seat of a -
Of my Rolls Royce

Say Oh oh oh oh ooh oooh!!
Qué pasa hombre, hombre, oh oh oh!
Qué pasa hombre, hombre, aaaaah aaaaah...

Everybody catch, everybody catch ti - hey
Everybody catch tickets free,
Leave your money alone with me.
Everybody catch, everybody catch ti - hey

Everybody catch tickets free,
Leave your money alone with me.

Overall Meaning

The song Qué Pasa Hombre by Falco is a fast-paced, energetic track that blurs the lines between spoken word and singing. The opening of the song begins with a flight attendant welcoming passengers aboard an airplane journey with Cash & Flight Airways, setting the tone for the wild ride that is the song. Throughout the song, Falco speaks about the motto of "around around the clock" which keeps the party going non-stop. The song captures a sense of whether or not you're able to hold onto your money and your sanity in a world full of temptation and chaos.

The lyrics of the song speak to the idea of living life to the fullest and embracing ecstasy and chaos. Falco talks about how we should leave our worries behind and take the bull by the horns. He warms anyone listening to get on board with his philosophy of freedom and living without a care. The chorus "Qué pasa hombre, hombre, oh oh oh!" represents the journey towards fulfilment and finding what truly matters in life. It encourages us to embrace the ride that life takes us on, no matter how crazy it might seem.

In conclusion, the song is an ode to living life to the fullest and enjoying every moment of it. Falco is encouraging his listeners to take a step back from the chaos of the world and just enjoy the ride. The song is a great example of how music can take us on a journey to a place of heightened emotions and live in the moment.

Line by Line Meaning

Qué pasa hombre, hombre, ah, ah, aah
Ah listen listen listen

Good evening ladies and gentlemen,
This is your Flugzeugführer speakin'

We welcome you aboard of Cash & Flight Airways

On our flight through the night

Say shock shock

Ich gebe nur das Motto aus:
Around around the clock

Noch immer das Motto: never ever stop
Never ever stop never ever never ever

Never ever stop

Ecstasy turns to anarchy

We never ever ket you down, no no!

(It's fun, fun, it's for the psyche,