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
Steuermann
Falco Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Für den wahren Kurs der scheinbar hielt, bis Profit ward erzielt
East last, west, best, bekannt ist auch der Rest
Einen Scheck für dich eine Hand für mich, hält so ein Mann sein Wort ?
Überdeck, Unterdeck, alles sucht nach jenem Leck
Welches wohlversteckt leckt und leckt, man fand es nie, es war am Heck
Kiel, Mast, Segel sind, weiß' es doch nicht jedes Kind
Sind die Flucht nach vorne, dieser Kurs ist viel zu hart am Wind
Wir kommen nie zurück
Und Steuermann, was das Schiff nicht kann,
Hält uns nicht mehr zurück
Das Schiff es krängt hin, krängt her
Uns kränkt es noch viel mehr
Sogar Schenkung wird zur Kränkung, jeder Schenker tut sich schwer
Tugenthaftigkeit, zur stolzen Tat bereit
Man es nie vergißt, was es wirklich ist, solang kein Laster weit und
Breit
Erst Lasterhaftigkeit schafft der Tugend Möglichkeit
Sich zu orientieren, organisieren und wenn allein zu zweit
Kompaß, auch ohne Paß, schweig' dich aus, kein wie und was
Wohin geht es hier ? - Mann über Bord - Kein Mord, er wollt' es naß
Steuermann, halt das Schiff nicht an,
Wir kommen nie zurück
Und Steuermann, was das Schiff nicht kann,
Hält uns nicht mehr zurück
Steuermann, such' nicht nebenan,
Die Ferne ist das Glück
Und Steuermann, was die Ferne kann,
Bringt uns nie mehr zurück
Halt das Schiff nicht an, ...
The lyrics to Falco's song Steuermann are about the metaphorical ship of life and the role of the Steuermann or the helmsman who is responsible for keeping the ship on course. The opening lines of the song ask who knows the new word for the true course that is apparently held until profit is made. The lyrics then discuss how everything on board, including the helmsman, is constantly searching for a leak, a weakness in the system, that is well-hidden and has not been found yet. The chorus of the song encourages the Steuermann to not stop the ship or hold it back, as the journey is always forward with no turning back. The final lines of the song talk about how the distance ahead is the key to happiness, and the idea that the Steuermann should not look back and only focus on the future.
Line by Line Meaning
Backboard, Steuerboard, wer kennt das neue Wort
Port side, starboard side, who knows the new word
Für den wahren Kurs der scheinbar hielt, bis Profit ward erzielt
For the true course that seemed to hold until profit was made
East last, west, best, bekannt ist auch der Rest
East or west, home is best, everyone knows the rest
Einen Scheck für dich eine Hand für mich, hält so ein Mann sein Wort ?
A check for you, a handshake for me, does such a man keep his word?
Überdeck, Unterdeck, alles sucht nach jenem Leck
Upper deck, lower deck, everything is searching for that leak
Welches wohlversteckt leckt und leckt, man fand es nie, es war am Heck
Which leaks and leaks well hidden, it was never found, it was at the stern
Kiel, Mast, Segel sind, weiß' es doch nicht jedes Kind
Keel, mast, sails are, not every child knows
Sind die Flucht nach vorne, dieser Kurs ist viel zu hart am Wind
They are the escape forward, this course is much too close to the wind
Steuermann, halt das Schiff nicht an,
Helmsman, don't stop the ship
Wir kommen nie zurück
We will never return
Und Steuermann, was das Schiff nicht kann,
And helmsman, what the ship cannot do
Hält uns nicht mehr zurück
Does not hold us back anymore
Das Schiff es krängt hin, krängt her
The ship lists from side to side
Uns kränkt es noch viel mehr
It hurts us even more
Sogar Schenkung wird zur Kränkung, jeder Schenker tut sich schwer
Even gifts become grievances, every giver finds it hard
Tugenthaftigkeit, zur stolzen Tat bereit
Virtuousness, ready for a proud deed
Man es nie vergißt, was es wirklich ist, solang kein Laster weit und Breit
One never forgets what it really is, as long as there is no vice around
Erst Lasterhaftigkeit schafft der Tugend Möglichkeit
First vice creates the possibility of virtue
Sich zu orientieren, organisieren und wenn allein zu zweit
To orient oneself, organize, and when alone with another
Kompaß, auch ohne Paß, schweig' dich aus, kein wie und was
Compass, even without a passport, keep silent, no how and what
Wohin geht es hier ? - Mann über Bord - Kein Mord, er wollt' es naß
Where are we going? - Man overboard - No murder, he wanted it wet
Steuermann, such' nicht nebenan,
Helmsman, don't look next door
Die Ferne ist das Glück
The distance is the happiness
Und Steuermann, was die Ferne kann,
And helmsman, what the distance can do
Bringt uns nie mehr zurück
Will never bring us back
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: FALCO, ROBERT PONGER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Zenk 24
Happy Birthday 64 Falco Lebt weiter
Sarah O.
i’m in love with this video! what an awesome person he was. kudos from brazil.
Obychnyi Chelovek
Yes, he was talented!
Claudio Roberto de Goes
Falco, forever. Brazil love Falco.
Strzelba Stian
vei que Falco venha pro Brasil jaaa ele nao morreu e mentirinha
Rodrigo Wasner
Falco! O melhor! Der Kommissar!
Gothic 666 - Punk
hy, greetings to brazil :-)
Yvonne I.
Muss ich noch was über diesen Mann sagen? 😍😊 Einfach mega 🔥👑
Marco Koina
Mega Kommentar!
Anabel Dedeler
Da stimm ich dir 1000% zu