Falco
b. Johann Hoelzl, 19 February 1957, Austria. Using a droll mixture of German and English lyrics, Falco had several international hits in the '80s. After completing his studies at the Vienna Conservatoire, he played bass guitar in the punk band Drahdiwaberl, composing Ganz Wien which appeared on their PSYCHO TERROR in 1979, and was banned because it contained the line ‘all Vienna is on heroin today’. His solo career began in 1982 with the rap-style European hit Kommisar and the controversial tale of prostitution Jeanny, which topped the German charts despite a complete radio ban. Falco's first impact on the English-speaking world came with Rock Me Amadeus (1985). Co-written with Dutch producers Rob and Ferdi Bolland, the song's zany mixture of speech and singing made it number 1 in the UK in 1986 at the same time as FALCO 3 went into the Top 10 in America. After releasing the rock ballad Vienna Calling, Falco returned to the Amadeus mode on The Sound Of Musik, which was an attack on Austrian president Kurt Waldheim. Despite his collaboration with model and film star Brigitte Neilson on Body Next To Body, Falco's later records, such as Titanic in 1992 were not successful outside German-speaking territories.