Background and career
Johann "Hans" Hölzel (German: [ˈjoːhan hans ˈhœltsl̩]; 19 February 1957 – 6 February 1998), better known by his stage name Falco (from Falko Weißpflog), was an Austrian musician. He had several international hits, including "Der Kommissar" (1981), "Rock Me Amadeus", "Vienna Calling", "Jeanny", "The Sound of Musik", "Coming Home (Jeanny Part II, One Year Later)", and posthumously released "Out of the Dark". "Rock Me Amadeus" reached No. 1 on the Billboard charts in 1986, making Falco the only artist in history to score a number-one hit with a German-language song in the United States. According to his estate, he has sold 20 million albums and 40 million singles, making him the best-selling Austrian singer of all time. Falco died in a traffic collision at the age of 40 in 1998.
Johann Hölzel was born on 19 February 1957 to Maria (née Saurer), from Bad Tatzmannsdorf in Burgenland, a laundry branch manager, and Alois Hölzel, from Lower Austria, a machine factory foreman, on Ziegelofengasse in Margareten, a working class district of Vienna. Maria said that she had been pregnant with triplets. As it was a dizygotic pregnancy, she had a miscarriage of the identical twins during the third month and Falco, who was conceived via a separate ovum, survived. In 1963, Hölzel began his schooling at a Roman Catholic public school; four years later, at age ten, he switched to the Rainergymnasium in Margareten. He was still a child when his father left the family, and he was raised by his mother. He began to show signs of unusual musical talent very early. As a toddler, he was able to keep time with the drumbeat in songs he heard on the radio. He was given a child's grand piano for his fourth birthday; a year later, his birthday gift was a record player which he used to play music by Elvis Presley, Cliff Richard, and the Beatles.
Hölzel wanted to be a pop star from a very early age. At age 16, he attended the Vienna Conservatoire, but he became frustrated and soon left. His mother insisted he begin an apprenticeship with the Austrian employee pension insurance institute. This too only lasted a short time. At seventeen, he entered military service in the Austrian army for eight months.
In the late 1970s, Hölzel became part of the Viennese nightlife, which included not just music but also striptease, performance art and a general atmosphere of satirizing politics and celebrating chaos. He played bass guitar in several bands under various pseudonyms, including "John Hudson" and "John DiFalco". From 1977 to early 1979, Hans Hölzel was the bassist of Austrian rock group the Hallucination Company, during which he would adopt his stage name Falco, from Falko Weißpflog. Despite being closely tied with the Viennese underground club scene, Falco looked uncharacteristically clean-cut. In contrast to shabbier fashions, he had short hair (due to his military service) and wore Ray-Ban Wayfarer sunglasses and suits. Hallucination Company inspired musician Stefan Weber to reorganize his Viennese Anarcho-punk band, Drahdiwaberl, an Austrian group that employed shock tactics and stage antics, and in 1979 Falco was invited to join the group.
How Falco makes money
From 1977 to early 1979, Hans Hölzel was the bassist of Austrian rock group the Hallucination Company, during which he would adopt his stage name Falco, from Falko Weißpflog. Hallucination Company inspired musician Stefan Weber to reorganize his Viennese Anarcho-punk band, Drahdiwaberl, an Austrian group that employed shock tactics and stage antics, and in 1979 Falco was invited to join the group.
