Falco died 25 years ago: That’s how he became an international megastar

It has been 25 years since Falco (1957-1998) died in a car accident shortly before his 41st birthday (February 19). Conspiracy theories and rumors quickly made the rounds after February 6, 1998. In the Dominican Republic, the Austrian musician’s car collided with a bus. The singer was killed instantly. A recording of his posthumously published work “Out of the Dark (Into the Light)” is said to have been found in the car. In it he sings: “Do I have to die in order to live?” But the rumors were quickly cleared up: the song was written long before his death, and Falco hadn’t written it himself.

In the final years of his life, Falco made headlines with his chaotic lifestyle. The musician from Vienna had risen to become an international superstar in the mid-1980s. With the success soon came problems with alcohol and cocaine.

His talent was noticed early on

Falco seems to have had a great burden from the moment he was born. Johann “Hans” Hölzel was the only surviving child of a triplet pregnancy. He later explained that he sometimes “senses” his dead siblings. The singer grew up in humble circumstances in Vienna, his father left the family when he was still a child.

The adults around him are said to have noticed Falco’s extraordinary musical talent early on. At 17 he joined a band as a bass player. He broke off an apprenticeship as a salesman with an insurance company, as well as his studies at the Vienna Music Conservatory. In 1977 he went to West Berlin for a short time, ostensibly hoping to meet David Bowie (1947-2016), who was then living there. Back in Austria, Hölzel hired himself out as a street musician before he was finally discovered and established himself as a professional musician.

Hölzel was inspired for his stage name by Falko Weißpflog (69), a German ski jumper. As Falco, the musician began to write his own songs and bring them to the stage. A record deal followed. The single “Der Kommissar” from the album “einzelhaft” ended up at number one in Austria in 1982, and from there conquered all of Europe. The surprise hit brought Falco countless appearances and interviews – and the pressure to build on the success. With his second album “Junge Roemer” (1984) he could not live up to this hype, at least from a commercial point of view.

“Rock Me Amadeus” makes him an international superstar

Changes were needed: Falco swapped leather jackets for designer suits. With the Bolland brothers from the Netherlands as producers, he finally created the album “Falco 3” in 1985, which included the song “Rock Me Amadeus”. With him, Falco achieved the worldwide breakthrough. The single reached number one in the UK and became the first German-language song to top the charts in the US.

But the Austrian’s third album had more to offer than “Rock Me Amadeus”. “Vienna Calling”, the second single to be released, was also very successful. And then there was the song “Jeanny”, which caused a big scandal, especially in Germany. Allegations came up that the song downplayed rape. Some radio stations boycotted it.

Waiting for the big comeback

At the peak of his career, Falco was considered a womanizer, and alcohol and drug problems bothered him. With “Emotional”, “Wiener Blut” and “Data de Groove” the musician released further albums in 1986, 1988 and 1990. The latter became a commercial disappointment, with the others he could not cause a sensation internationally. Falco also continued to make headlines with his private life, especially the pregnancy of his future wife Isabella Vitkovic. In June 1988, the two married in Las Vegas. However, the marriage only lasted a year. In 1993, a paternity test revealed that Falco is not the biological father of Vitkovic’s daughter.

Falco has lived in the Dominican Republic since the early 1990s, and has continued to be viewed critically by the press in his home country. His next album “Nachtflug” was released in 1992. He then withdrew to herald his international musical comeback. In 1996 he caused a stir again with the song “Mother, the man with the coke is here” from the album “Out of the Dark (Into the Light)”, which was released shortly after his death. The hoped-for renewed worldwide success did not materialize with the new album, even after Falco’s death. While it became a commercial success in Austria and Germany, it went under the radar in the US and UK.

Falco was buried on February 14, 1998 in the Vienna Central Cemetery. 4,000 people paid their last respects to the famous Austrian.