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

Skandal
Falco Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Es sagt dein Hirn dir, tue es nicht
But it's only Rock n' Roll und dein Gesicht
Skandal
Die Experten weisen dir das Licht
Geht es an die Wäsche, kennen sie dich nicht
Skandal
Man hört sie

Everybody everywhere, it's a scandal (empörend)
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah (ungehörend)
Oh oh, everybody everywhere, (widerlich) it's a scandal
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Die Stützen der Gesellschaft außer sich
Das Skandal
(Na na na na na)
S.C.A.N.D.A.L.
(Na na na na na na na na na na)

Man lebt in Langeweile
Weiß nicht recht
Ob das Rechte link ist
Oder gar die Falschen echt
Skandal
Darum lieben sie Gezeter, Mordio
Salz muss in die Suppe
Ob so oder so
Skandal
Na was sie wären ohne den Exzess
Sie wären längst verstorben
Dass ich nicht vergeß'
Hängt ihn höher
Sei es auch banal
Das letzte Wort bleibt
Skandal

Everybody everywhere, it's a scandal (empörend)
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah (ungehörend)
Oh oh, everybody everywhere, (widerlich) it's a scandal
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Die Stützen der Gesellschaft außer sich
Das Skandal
(Na na na na na)
S.C.A.N.D.A.L.
(Na na na na na na)
S.C.A.N.D.A.L.
(Na na na na na na)
S.C.A.N.D.A.L.
(Na na na na na na na na na na)

Everybody everywhere, it's a scandal (empörend)
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah (ungehörend)
Oh oh, everybody everywhere, (widerlich) it's a scandal
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Die Stützen der Gesellschaft außer sich
Das Skandal
(Na na na na na)
S.C.A.N.D.A.L.
(Na na na na na na)
S.C.A.N.D.A.L.
(Na na na na na na)
S.C.A.N.D.A.L.
(Na na na na na na na)
Skandal
Empörend
Ungehörend
Widerlich
Die Stützen der Gesellschaft außer sich
Das Skandal

Empörend
Ungehörend

Overall Meaning

The song Skandal by Falco criticizes the hypocrisy and conformism of society. The lyrics depict a world where people are afraid to take risks and instead become slaves to conformity. The lines "Man lebt in Langeweile, weiß nicht recht, ob das Rechte link ist oder gar die Falschen echt" (One lives in boredom, doesn't know if the right is left or if the false is real) illustrates this lack of individuality and reliance on the opinions of others. Falco encourages his audience to break free from this mentality and embrace their own desires and paths, even if it means being scandalous and facing backlash from society. The repeated use of the word "scandal" reinforces the notion that anything outside the norm is seen as scandalous, and the chorus "Everybody everywhere, it's a scandal" reflects the universality of this societal pressure to conform.

Line by Line Meaning

Es sagt dein Hirn dir, tue es nicht
Your brain tells you not to do it

But it's only Rock n' Roll und dein Gesicht
But it's just rock n' roll and your face

Skandal
Scandal

Die Experten weisen dir das Licht
The experts show you the light

Geht es an die Wäsche, kennen sie dich nicht
When it comes to the laundry, they don't know you

Skandal
Scandal

Man hört sie
You can hear them

Man lebt in Langeweile
One lives in boredom

Weiß nicht recht
Not sure

Ob das Rechte link ist
Whether the right is left

Oder gar die Falschen echt
Or even if the fakes are real