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Vienna Calling
1985 single by Falco

"Vienna Calling" is a song by Austrian musician Falco, released in September 1985 (and in 1986 in Anglophone markets) as the second single from his third studio album, Falco 3 (1985).

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Background

The song was written by Falco and Dutch music producers Bolland & Bolland.1

The rapped German-language lyrics tells about Falco's hometown of Vienna, its development and lifestyle. On the one hand, reference is made to the increasingly international environment of the city and the telephone as a rapid means of communication; the question "where are your wives?" ("wohin sind deine Frau'n?") is also asked, suggesting that they are elsewhere; this culminates at the end of the song with the alarm being "red" and "Vienna in need" ("Wien in Not"). For example, the first verse tells of a woman named Stella who "sits" in Rio and "lies" in Tokyo, to indicate that she is not at home when she is called.2

The fast pop-rap song is accompanied by a flute motif and a bluesy, clean guitar. Some samples ("hello") are also used, which support the telephone theme. At the end the flute plays a solo.

Falco enjoyed a limited international success with "Vienna Calling" in late 1985, following the worldwide hit of his previous single "Rock Me Amadeus". In addition to reaching the top 10 in several European countries, it also made the top 20 in New Zealand, Canada, and the United States.

Music video

The accompanying music video, directed by Frank Alchezcar and Rudi Dolezal, features Austrian actress Brigitta Cimarolli. The video shows Falco performing the song with lip sync in a traditional Austrian bar, while other people dance a choreography. Continuity is occasionally cut with scenes of phone calls, including Falco calling insistently in a telephone booth in the bar.

Charts

Weekly charts

Weekly chart performance for "Vienna Calling"
Chart (1985–1986)Peakposition
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)33
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)413
Canada Top Singles (RPM)513
Europe (European Hot 100 Singles)644
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)721
Ireland (IRMA)86
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)910
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)1011
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)117
UK Singles (OCC)1210
US Billboard Hot 1001318
US Dance Singles Sales (Billboard)1428
US Cash Box Top 100 Singles1517
West Germany (GfK)164

Year-end charts

1985 year-end chart performance for "Vienna Calling"
Chart (1985)Position
West Germany (Official German Charts)1770
1986 year-end chart performance for "Vienna Calling"
Chart (1986)Position
Canada Top Singles (RPM)1894

References

  1. "Falco – Vienna Calling (The New 86 Edit/Mix) / America – A&M – UK – AM 318". 45cat. Retrieved 17 August 2021. http://www.45cat.com/record/am318 ↩

  2. "Falco - Vienna Calling Songtext". https://www.songtexte.com/songtext/falco/vienna-calling-7bdc8e18.html ↩

  3. "Falco – Vienna Calling" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 6 May 2018. https://austriancharts.at/showitem.asp?interpret=Falco&titel=Vienna+Calling&cat=s ↩

  4. "Falco – Vienna Calling" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 6 May 2018. https://www.ultratop.be/nl/showitem.asp?interpret=Falco&titel=Vienna+Calling&cat=s ↩

  5. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 0661." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 6 May 2018. https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/image.aspx?Image=nlc008388.0661&URLjpg=http%3a%2f%2fwww.collectionscanada.gc.ca%2fobj%2f028020%2ff4%2fnlc008388.0661.gif&Ecopy=nlc008388.0661 ↩

  6. "European Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 3, no. 25. 28 June 1986. p. 12. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History. https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-UK/Music/Archive-Music-Media-IDX/IDX/80s/86/M&M-1986-06-28-OCR-Page-0004.pdf ↩

  7. Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5. 978-951-1-21053-5 ↩

  8. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Vienna Calling". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 23 June 2022. http://irishcharts.ie/search/placement?page=1&search_type=title&placement=Vienna+Calling ↩

  9. "Falco – Vienna Calling". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 6 May 2018. https://charts.nz/showitem.asp?interpret=Falco&titel=Vienna+Calling&cat=s ↩

  10. "Falco – Vienna Calling". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 6 May 2018. https://swedishcharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Falco&titel=Vienna+Calling&cat=s ↩

  11. "Falco – Vienna Calling". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 6 May 2018. http://swisscharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Falco&titel=Vienna+Calling&cat=s ↩

  12. "Falco: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 June 2022. https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/23164/Falco ↩

  13. "Falco Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 6 May 2018. https://www.billboard.com/artist/Falco/chart-history/HSI ↩

  14. "Falco Chart History (Dance Singles Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved 23 June 2022. https://www.billboard.com/artist/Falco/chart-history/DSA ↩

  15. "Cash Box Top 100 Singles – Week ending June 28, 1986". Cash Box. Retrieved 23 June 2022. https://cashboxmagazine.com/archives/80s_files/19860628.html ↩

  16. "Offiziellecharts.de – Falco – Vienna Calling" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 27 March 2019. https://www.offiziellecharts.de/titel-details-1331 ↩

  17. "Top 100 Single-Jahrescharts – 1985" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 23 June 2022. https://www.offiziellecharts.de/charts/single-jahr/for-date-1985 ↩

  18. "Top 100 Singles of '86". RPM. Vol. 45, no. 14. 27 December 1986. p. 5. ISSN 0033-7064 – via Library and Archives Canada. https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/image.aspx?Image=nlc008388.0760&URLjpg=http%3a%2f%2fwww.collectionscanada.gc.ca%2fobj%2f028020%2ff4%2fnlc008388.0760.gif&Ecopy=nlc008388.0760 ↩