Vienna Calling Der Kommissar Rock Me Amadeus Salieri Mix Falco

Vienna Calling Album: Falco 3 (1985)
Der Kommissar
Rock Me Amadeus Salieri Mix
by Falco

"Vienna Calling" is a song by Austrian musician Falco, released in September 1985 (and in 1986 in Anglophone markets) as the second single from his third studio album, Falco 3 (1985).

The song was written by Falco and Dutch music producers Bolland & Bolland.

The rapped German-language lyrics tells about Falco's hometown of Vienna, its development and lifestyle. On the one hand, reference is made to the increasingly international environment of the city and the telephone as a rapid means of communication; the question "where are your wives?" ("wohin sind deine Frau'n?") is also asked, suggesting that they are elsewhere; this culminates at the end of the song with the alarm being "red" and "Vienna in need" ("Wien in Not"). For example, the first verse tells of a woman named Stella who "sits" in Rio and "lies" in Tokyo, to indicate that she is not at home when she is called.

The fast pop-rap song is accompanied by a flute motif and a bluesy, clean guitar. Some samples ("hello") are also used, which support the telephone theme. At the end the flute plays a solo.

Falco enjoyed a limited international success with "Vienna Calling" in late 1985, following the worldwide hit of his previous single "Rock Me Amadeus". In addition to reaching the top 10 in several European countries, it also made the top 20 in New Zealand, Canada, and the United States.

The accompanying music video, directed by Frank Alchezcar and Rudi Dolezal, features Austrian actress Brigitta Cimarolli. The video shows Falco performing the song with lip sync in a traditional Austrian bar, while other people dance a choreography. Continuity is occasionally cut with scenes of phone calls, including Falco calling insistently in a telephone booth in the bar.

"Der Kommissar" (Austrian: "The Commissioner") is a song recorded in 1981. The song was written by Robert Ponger and Falco. It reached the top of the charts in many European countries. The cover version as an English translation by the group After the Fire in 1982 had greater success in other countries.

The music of "Der Kommissar" was written by producer Robert Ponger and intended for Reinhold Bilgeri. After Bilgeri rejected it, as he felt the song was too soft, Falco reworked it by adding his text to the partly mixed down instrumental track.

Falco would have preferred to release "Helden von heute" as the main side (A-side), because the melody hook of "Der Kommissar" seemed too similar to the bass hook of Rick James' "Super Freak" from which Ponger had borrowed it after its release earlier in 1981, but the record company wanted "Der Kommissar" to be on the A-side, because they felt it had more potential. The record company decided on a Y- vs. X-side release for Austria and an A-side for Germany, which was vindicated when "Der Kommissar" reached No. 1 in both countries in January 1982. After this success, Falco's management decided to release "Der Kommissar" (as an A-side) in other countries as well.

The song recorded for other side of the record, the pop-rock "Helden von heute" ("heroes of today"), is a tribute to David Bowie's "Heroes". It was recorded in Berlin; Falco stated in an interview that he went to Berlin to follow the "tracks" left there by Bowie, with his albums "Heroes" and Low.

Der Kommissar reached No. 74 on the US Cashbox chart in 1983, while failing to chart on the US Billboard Hot 100 or on the UK Singles Chart. Falco would break through with major hits in those countries two albums later, with "Rock Me Amadeus" and "Vienna Calling" in 1986. Updated remixes of "Der Kommissar" were released by Falco in 1991, 1998, and posthumously in 2008.

In the U.S. official music video of Der Kommissar, Falco is shown in front of a blue screen with stock footage of Austrian police cars driving the streets at night with blue lights on playing behind him. Falco is lip-syncing the song, partly dancing and at the beginning running in place, to simulate running from the cops. In the European official music video he is sitting in a kind of interrogation room wearing a white suit and smoking.

Rock Me Amadeus Salieri Version (8:21) (on the international versions of Falco 3. This mix is denoted wrongly as "Solieri Version".

Falco's real name was Johann Holzel. Born in Vienna, Austria in 1957, he was an established artist in German-speaking territories long before "Rock Me Amadeus" was released, but it was his first huge international hit. In most countries it was also his only hit, but he continued to have success in mainland Europe. Falco ended up a tax exile and died in a car crash in February 1998 at age 40.

Like Falco, Mozart was also from Austria. He teamed up with brothers Rob and Ferdi Bolland to write a song about Mozart because they felt he was Austria's son. The Bollands also wrote and recorded "In The Army Now," later a #2 hit in the UK for Status Quo, and "Love House," a Top 40 hit in the UK and Germany for Samantha Fox.

The video for Rock Me Amadeus features Falco dressed as Mozart and wearing a rainbow colored powdered wig. He passes through an 18th Century audience in a opera house and feels more at home among 20th century leather clad bikers.

Another German-language song, "99 Luftballons" by Nena, went to #2 US in 1984, but "Rock Me Amadeus" was the last #1 with lyrics mostly in that language. The Los Lobos version of "La Bamba," sung in Spanish, hit #1 in America in 1987, but it wasn't until 2020 that a song sung in a language other than Spanish or English topped the chart: "Life Goes On" by BTS.

A spoof of this song was featured in an episode of The Simpsons entitled "A Fish Called Selma." The family go to see a musical production of The Planet Of The Apes called "Stop The Planet Of The Apes I Want To Get Off!" The song that spoofs "Rock Me Amadeus" is called "Dr. Zaius."

Ooh, rock me Amadeus!
Ooh, rock me Amadeus!
Ooh, rock me Amadeus!
Ooh!

Punk-punk-punk-punk-punker- Rock me!
Punker- punker- Rock me-rock me!
Punk-punk-punk-punk-punker- Rock me!
Punker- punker- Rock-rock-rock me!
Su-su-su-su-superstar
Superstar- Rock-rock-rock-rock-rock-rock-rock-rock me!
Su-su-su-su-superstar
Superstar
Po-po-po-po-po-po-po-po-po-po-po-po-po-po-po-po-po-po-po-populär
I-i-i-id- I-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-idol- I-idol

Amadeus, Amadeus!
Amadeus, Amadeus, Amadeus!
Amadeus, Amadeus, Amadeus!
Oh, oh, oh, Amadeus!
Amadeus, Amadeus!
Amadeus, Amadeus, Amadeus!
Amadeus, Amadeus, Amadeus!
Oh, oh, oh, Amadeus!

1756, Salzburg, January 27th: Wolfgang Amadeus is born
1761: at the age of 5, Amadeus begins composing
1773: he writes his first piano concerto
1782: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart marries Constance Weber
1784: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart becomes a Freemason
1791: Mozart composes The Magic Flute
On December 5th of that same year, Mozart dies
1985: Austrian rock singer Falco records…
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