Falco was the most internationally successful pop artist ever to come out of Austria, best known for his 1986 chart-topping hit "Rock Me Amadeus." Born Johann Holzel 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 Wein."

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 U.S., 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 Roemer 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 on February 6, 1998 at the age of 40. — Jason Ankeny

*From allmusic.com

I used to listen to Falco to no end in 1986! I was a big fan of "Rock Me Amadeus" and "Jennie". Falco had a unique sound and a charismatic presence. I was very saddened to hear about his death, in a car accident. I also prefer his version of "Der Kommissar". :)

Great review, but what allmusic.com fail to point out is that at the time of his death, Falco had just finished putting together his latest album 'Out Of The Dark/Into The Light' which subsequently went on to be his most successful album since 'Falco 3' and hit number 1 spot all over Europe.

I have 'Out Of The Dark' and for any Falco fan it's a must have!!

It's definately his best work since the 80's, and it is a real shame that most people think its success was just because of the public reaction to his death.

I think that 'Out Of The Dark' would have re-established Falco on the map, but we will never know the answer to that for sure....

Truly, Falco was a great personality.

And it´s true that Falcos career was on an all time low after his mega-success "Emotional" - all follow up-albums and a duet with Brigitte Nielsen were commercial failures.

In 1996, a technopop single "Mutter, der Mann mit dem Koks ist da" released under the alias "T>>MA" charted again in the German Top 20 and reached #11. Later versions of this single featured the addendum "a.k.a. Falco" on the cover. Ironically, the following single "Naked", released under his own name again, was no big success.

When "Out Of The Dark" was released in 1998, Falco was already dead. It can only be left to speculations whether it was pure incidence or a calculated plot of one of the most eccentric characters in music history, nonetheless, this album and the best-of "The Final Curtain" proved that we have lost a great musician.