Falco
Junge Roemer

Two years after his debut, a Falco with an extremely sophisticated look returned to the scene with an album that diverged sharply from its predecessor, "Einzelhaft".

Accompanied by a highly polished and elegant production—Robert Ponger was still at the controls—and by a projected voice that, in some tracks, even flirted with falsetto, the former "Commissario" (already grappling with the debilitating stress caused by the sky-high expectations of both media and public) chose to get as close as possible to the Dandy image of his lifelong idol: David Bowie.

A few years later, he declared: "Avevo ecceduto nella ricerca di un'immagine, ero riuscito troppo "stilè". Sulla copertina di Junge Roemer ero molto elegante, ma anche troppo rigido." (Tuttifrutti, 1986)

Costing a fortune for the record label—which, in partnership with the state TV ORF, also produced an ambitious full-length film entirely focused on the new tracks—the album nevertheless turned out to be an undeniable flop.

In his home country, despite reaching the number one spot, it still fell far short of sales expectations; in Germany, the debacle was, if possible, even more resounding: it didn’t get anywhere near the Top 10.

Moreover, "Junge Roemer" was completely ignored by international markets, which were totally indifferent to the album’s stylistic signature, still written almost entirely in German.

A difficult moment that soon extended to his private life. For Falco, 1984 was also the year of his first major depression: growing problems with alcohol and drugs were its direct consequence.

The era of fame and mass success seemed already over.

But from the Netherlands, before long, a lifeline would be thrown his way...