Falco (1957-1998)

Falco

SINGER (AUSTRIA)

BORN 19 Feb 1957, Wien - DIED 6 Feb 1998, Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic
BIRTH NAME Hölzel, Johann Hans
CAUSE OF DEATH car accident
GRAVE LOCATION Wien: Zentralfriedhof, Simmeringer Hauptstraße 234, Simmering (Gruppe 40, Nummer 064)

Falco was born as Johann Hans Hölzel in Vienna. He studied at the Conservatory in Vienna and in 1977 he lived in Berlin for a while. Back in Austria he played bass in the Austrian hard rock band Drahdiwaberl.

In 1980 he started a career as a solo artist and in 1982 his song "Der Kommisar" (about drugs) became his first hit. It was recorded in English by After the Fire and, with new lyrics, by Laura Branigan (as "Deep In The Dark").

He teamed up with Dutch producers Rob and Ferdi Bolland and "Rock me Amadeus" was a hit all over the world in 1986 and "Jeanny" was another huge success. He collaborated with the Bolland brothers on several more albums.

In 1987 he recorded the duet "Body Next To Body" with Brigitte Nielsen and he confessed that he wanted her in bed more than he wanted the single in the charts. In 1988 he released the album "Wiener Blut", but it was only successful in Germany and Austria.

By this time his alcohol addiction had grown and his marriage had failed. In 1992 he tried a come back in the US with "Titanic", but the attempt failed. In 1993 he went on tour for the first time in six years. In 1997 he worked on an album called "Egoisten", but he didn't get it right and wanted to start afresh.

He left Vienna and went to the Dominican Republic to find some rest. There he seems to have started drinking again. After stopping at La Parada he entered the highway and his jeep collided with a bus. He was killed instantly and it was reported there was a look of horror on his face.

His body was taken to the morgue of Hospital Ricardo Limardo and then to the Centro Regional de Patología de Santiago, where an autopsy was performed. His friend Niki Lauda arranged for a special flight to transport his body back to Austria. There he was buried at the Zentralfriedhof in Vienna.

Images

The grave of Falco at the Zentralfiedhof, Vienna.
Picture by Androom (26 Aug 2002)