Einzelhaft (Solitary Confinement or Incarcerated!) (1982) is the debut album by Austrian singer Falco. It was released in Austria, Germany, the United States, Japan, Spain, Italy, Canada, Sweden and Finland.
The album achieved some success with its flagship single, "Der Kommissar", an innovative and influential German-language rap song. An English version of the song by After the Fire was a hit in 1983.
Other songs on Einzelhaft are heavily indebted to the "Berlin Trilogy" of David Bowie: "Nie mehr Schule" borrows its music from Bowie's instrumental track from Low called "Speed of Life", whereas "Helden von heute" is a transparent rewrite of Bowie's song, "Heroes".
Background
In 1980 Falco, who played in the band Drahdiwaberl, signed a contract for three solo albums produced by Robert Ponger and managed by Markus Spiegel. The first single was "That Scene (Ganz Wien)", which reached No. 11 on the Austrian radio chart Ö3-Hitparade. The German version, which is more popular, is called "Ganz Wien". The song was not noticed in other countries.
Production
In early 1981 Falco and Ponger started to produce the album, and already had a melody for Der Kommissar. Originally Reinhold Bilgeri was to have sung that song but he declined. Impressed by the melody, Falco chose to include it in his debut album. Within three days Falco wrote the lyrics to the accompanying rhythm.
In November 1981 the second single "Der Kommissar" b/w "Helden von heute" was released. It reached the top of the charts in more than 20 countries. In the American Disco charts the song also reached No. 1.
In 2007 the album was digitally remastered and released by Falco's former producers and managers. In Austria and Germany it was released on June 8, 2007, in other European countries it was released in the end of 2007.
Track listing
All songs written by Falco/Ponger, except where noted.
^"Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 2 June 2022. Select "Album" in the "Tipo" field, type "Falco" in the "Artista" field and press "cerca".
