60th birthday - Austria / II. Republic of Austria 2017 - 80 Euro Cent

Falco was born as Johann Hölzel on 19 February 1957 in Vienna. He showed great musical talent at an early age, learned to play the piano at the age of four and played pieces by ear. At the age of 17, he became bassist in the band "Umspannwerk" and briefly studied at the Jazz Conservatory in Vienna. One of his idols was David Bowie - because of that Hans moved to Berlin for a year where he performed in different bands. In Vienna, he was finally discovered by Wickerl Adam, the founder of the "Hallucination Company", and hired as a bassist. During this time he put his pen name Falco - in the style of the then successful ski jumper Falko Weißpflog In 1981 he finally made his breakthrough as a solo artist with the "Kommissar", who was also extremely successful outside of Austria in the charts and the clubs. The mixture of High German, Viennese and English and his idiosyncratic singing style made him the "godfather of white rap". The first LP "solitary confinement" was a huge success, but it also increased the pressure to succeed. After "Young Romans" Falco changed the producer and finally became an international superstar in 1985 with "Rock me Amadeus". As the first German-speaking pop musician, he even reached the top of the US charts. Other hits like "Jeanny" or "Emotional" followed. On February 6, 1998 Falco was killed in a car accident in his adopted home Dominican Republic. Self-doubt, his penchant for perfectionism, and his sadness had repeatedly led to alcohol and drug problems, yet for many he is still one of the greatest "heroes of today."