Falco – Rock Me Amadeus

“Rock Me Amadeus” – Single by Falco from the album Falco 3. Released 1985.

The single was made available for physical sale in 1985 in German-speaking Europe, through A&M. “Rock Me Amadeus” was written by Falco along with Dutch music producers Bolland & Bolland. To date, the single is the only German language song to peak at number one of the Billboard Hot 100, which it did on 29 March 1986.

The song’s music video mixes elements of Mozart’s time with 1980s contemporary society. Falco is shown in a 20th-century-style dinner jacket, walking past people in eighteenth-century formal wear. Later, he is shown dressed as Mozart, with wild colored hair, being held on the shoulders of men dressed in modern motorcycle-riding attire. At the end, the two crowds mix.

The video for the 1991 remix is a much more sexualized version, starting with the refrain ‘sugar sweet’, with extra footage spliced throughout, including a similar black carriage riding at night with the driver covered in lights, escorted by police motorcycles, scantily clad girls; in black leather riding outside it, and bright neon fashions inside, resembling earlier-century formal wear. A different crowd in a more Mozart-era formal attire was excessively fraternizing at a party. This version also contains red line art of Falco, guitar riff clips, and a long car scene driving away at the end, to a saxophone solo over the added refrain.

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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.

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