Johann (Hans) Hölzel (1957 – 1998), better known by his stage name Falco, was an Austrian classical music prodigy turned into hip hop, pop and rock star. His albums and singles sold about 60 million copies worldwide.

Born in Vienna, as the only survivor of a triplets birth, he studied at the Vienna Music Conservatory. In 1977 he lived for a short time in Berlin (Germany). When he returned to Vienna he was playing in the Austrian bands Spinning Wheel and Hallucination Company. Before becoming an international rock star, he was bass player in the Austrian hard rock band Drahdiwaberl (from 1978 until 1983). With Drahdiwaberl he performed the song Ganz Wien, which was later a track on his first own solo album Einzelhaft.

As a solo artist (from 1980 on), Falco recorded "Rock Me Amadeus" (inspired in part by the Oscar-winning film Amadeus) from his album Falco 3, which became a worldwide hit in 1986 and reached #1 on the US charts.

Falco's first hit was "Der Kommissar" (a song about drug consumption) from the 1982 album Einzelhaft. An English cover version of "Der Kommissar" by After the Fire became a Top 5 hit in the United States in 1983. Incidentally, the video for the song would later be dubbed by MTV as "The Worst Video of All Time". That same year, Laura Branigan recorded a version of the song with new English lyrics, under the title "Deep In The Dark," on her album Branigan 2. 16 years later, a new version "Der Kommissar 2000" and two new remixes of the original put the song back on the charts.

Other well-known international hits were "Vienna Calling" and "Jeanny" from the album Falco 3. "Jeanny" was somewhat controversial when it was released in Germany and the Netherlands, because it was told from the point of view of a rapist and possible murderer. Several DJs and radio stations refused to play the song, although it became a huge hit in many European countries, and inspired two sequels on later albums.

In 1986, the album Emotional was released, produced by Rob and Ferdi Bolland (Bolland & Bolland). On the Album were "Coming Home (Jeanny Part 2)", "The Sound of Music" and a song about Kathleen Turner and Robert Capa.