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Born Johann Hölzel
in Vienna on February 19, 1957, he was a
classically trained child prodigy, but after
graduating from the Vienna Conservatoire, he
relocated to West Berlin and began fronting
a jazz-rock band. Rechristening himself
Falco in honor of the German skier Falko
Weissflog, he returned to Vienna in time to
play bass on the punk outfit Drahdiwaberl's
1979 album Psycho Today, penning their
best-known song, "Ganz Wien." Falco began
his solo career in 1982 with the LP
Einzelhaft; his "Der Kommissar," which fused
techno-pop with rapped German lyrics, became
a major European hit and a club favorite in
the US, with a cover version by the group
After the Fire reaching the Top Five in
1983. The follow-up, "Jeanny," was banned
outright by radio as a result of its theme
of prostitution, but nevertheless went on to
top the German charts. While 1984's Junge Römer
attracted little attention, in 1986 Falco
issued Falco 3, highlighted by the single
"Rock Me Amadeus," a campy blend of
classical music and synth pop which topped
both the American and British charts. While
the rock ballad "Vienna Calling" was a minor
hit, Falco's subsequent efforts, including
1986's Emotional and 1988's Wiener Blut,
fared poorly; he had been long out of the
spotlight when he died in a car accident in
Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic on February
6, 1998 at the age of 40. |
