search user
Advert
Advert

Falco - Rock Me Amadeus

Music Video | 1986
ArtistFalco
SongRock Me Amadeus
AlbumEinzelhaft
AlbumFalco 3
DirectorHannes Rossacher
DirectorRudi Dolezal
IntroNo
OutroNo
LabelA & M Records
Sound MixStereo
Technical Specificationscolour - format unknown

Wiki

Synopsis

Falco arrives at an elegant Rococo palace, where eighteenth-century aristocrats watch him perform in a modern tuxedo. The video then shifts to a neon-lit club packed with leather-clad bikers, where Falco appears in Mozart-inspired clothing, complete with a bright pink punk wig. Moving between the two worlds, he transforms Mozart into an outrageous 1980s rock idol. The climax merges both groups, bringing aristocratic costume and motorcycle culture together in one exuberant celebration of Amadeus.

Factoids & Trivia

  • The video was built around two deliberately opposing settings: Palais Schwarzenberg represents the Rococo world, while the Blue Box club provides the contemporary neon-and-leather counterpart. The final sequence unites the two groups.
  • Falco reportedly arrived six hours late for the shoot. Around 60 extras had been waiting since early morning in Rococo costumes, wigs, corsets and other period clothing.
  • The motorcycle gang featured in the club scenes consisted of Vienna Hell's Angels. Because the production had very little money for a traditional fee, the participants were reportedly paid with free beer.
  • The video was shot on 16mm reversal film, leaving only one color-film master. Some visible tape joins remained in the finished edit, an unusually rough detail for a video that became an international hit.
  • Falco initially resisted the idea of appearing in Mozart costume and a wig, but eventually accepted the concept. The visual treatment helped frame Mozart as a rebellious proto-pop star rather than a safe classical icon.
  • The song's international album version was substantially different from the original, with more English narration and fewer German lyrics. The music video nevertheless used the original version, meaning many viewers heard a different track on the record than the one accompanying the clip.
  • The costumes from the video were later displayed at the Mozarthaus Vienna exhibition "Rock Me Amadeus. The Story," reinforcing the clip's place in both Falco's legacy and modern Mozart pop culture.

Lyrics

He was the first punk ever to set foot on this earth.
He was a genius from the day of his birth.
He could play the piano like a ring and a bell
And ev'rybody screamed:
Come on, rock me Amadeus.

He was a superstar, he was dynamite and whatever he did (it)
Seemed to be alright.
And he drank (and) he cursed and he fooled around
But when the women would shout:
Rock me Amadeus,
Amadeus, Amadeus, Amadeus,
Amadeus, Amadeus, Amadeus,
...
© Falco - Rock Me Amadeus. This is an excerpt, provided as citation under fair-use.
Update

More Music Videos

New

Classics

Tell us what you like, or dislike:

(Optional) Leave your email to let us contact you to follow up on your feedback. Your email address will be kept private.

Leave feedback!  X