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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. |
