Falco - Der Kommissar 12" EP

I mostly shot my load of F artists over at Nothin’ Sez Somethin’ in June & July 2008 doing the ‘What the F?' series, so you’ll have to settle for some more Euro-disco, or maybe it’s rap-pop. After all, Falco was one of the original progenitors of rap-pop.

Falco was born Johann (Hans) Hölzel in Vienna, Austria on February 19, 1957. He studied at the Vienna Music Conservatory in 1977 but left after one semester to pursue a career in music. He moved to West Berlin for a short time & sang in a jazz-rock band. When he returned to Vienna he had begun calling himself ‘Falco’. He began playing bass: in the theatrical rock bands Spinning Wheel & Hallucination Company; the hard rock-punk rock band Drahdiwaberl; & the space-disco band Ganymede. While with Drahdiwaberl, he wrote & performed the song "Ganz Wien" which he would also include on his debut solo album, Einzelhaft.

Falco's first hit was "Der Kommissar," from that 1982 debut. It is a song about drug abbuse that combines rap verses with a sung chorus.

Falco died of severe injuries he received when his Mitsubishi Pajero collided with a bus near the city of Puerto Plata, in the Dominican Republic on February 9,1998. It was initially reported that the autopsy showed high blood levels of alcohol & cocaine (Klaus from American Dad refers to having done cocaine with Falco in the episode entitled 'Con Heir': "Sounds like a disco I used to frequent in Berlin. I did lines with Falco in the men's room. Greedy, greedy Falco.").


He was buried in the Zentralfriedhof in Vienna, Austria. The above picture is from the cover of Austria's largest daily newspaper Kronen Zeitung (The Crown) on Feb 15, 1998, the day after the funeral which was attended by thousands of sympathetic fans. The picture shows some members of the group of rockers "Outsiders" carrying Falco's coffin from the mortuary chapel. They are the same rockers who were seen in the video of "Rock Me Amadeus".

This following poem was recited at the beginning of the funeral. It was written by Christian Ide Hintze, owner of the Schule der Dichtung (School of Poetry) where Falco was a frequent guest speaker. (sorry for the babel-like translation)

For Falco:
James Dean of Vienna
Inventor of the Manhatten Schönbrunner German
57 Chevy assembled in Vienna
Chairman of the Board of the cool speech reform
Principal witness-prince of the eighties
Are you now in your tuxedo with Amadeus
sitting on the lap Maria Theresa?
Air-clearing commissioner of the Viennese districts
At one with the twenty-three
close to the formula of the freeing speed
In your world it’s always:
"Valid for all passports to all Planets"
Every pair of sun glasses want to perch on on your nose, Falco
You are still the little Amadeus under Brillantine
Do we still hear from each other?
Thanks Hans!

Year of Release: 1983
Label: A&M Records SP-12053
Genre: Disco

Tracklist:
Side A -
Der Kommissar (The Commissioner)
Side B -
Auf Der Flucht (On The Run)
Helden Von Heute (alles wartet auf...) (Heroes of today [everything waits on...])

Download: Falco - Der Kommissar 12“ ep
Download Size: 27.3MB (ripped from vinyl at 320Kbps)