Chartography - Falco

Only a third act from Europe on this blog (but thankfully not the last one). This time it's Falco - the original white rapper who took (most of the) the world by storm, and twice at that, in early-mid 1980s. Far from a one- or two-hit wonder, he's still fondly remembered. His autobiography, though, is a heartbreaking reading - story of an artist haunted by his inner demons, unable to get to grips with success, freewheeling soul unwilling to conform and do what's right. In some ways an archetypal "New Wave" guy - outsider who chanced upon worldwide success but wasn't ready and didn't know how to exploit and prolong it (and probably cared little). Still, for a guy from Austria to break so many barriers is unprecedented and he's deservedly a national hero of the country to this day.

A necessary note: there were so many posthumous releases under Falco's banner that charted only in Austria (compilations of various kinds) that I dispensed with those and only included the releases that at least charted in Germany and Switzerland too.

Falco

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Chartography - Men Without Hats

Now a band from the other side of the globe - Canada. Men Without Hats shone briefly but brightly, releasing one of the catchiest songs of the decade ("The safety dance") and one of the finest synthpop albums ever ("Rhythm of youth"). As with too many of the early MTV favourites they weren't able to capitalize on this sudden surge in popularity, yet unusually they didn't simply disappear, but gained considerable traction with their second biggest hit ("Pop goes the world") and album of the same name. And while worldwide they only had two hits, in their homeland they were more consistent throughout the 1980s. After a break two two decades they returned in 2012 with a new album "Love in the age of war", which easily rivaled their finest work. More of a live proposition nowadays, they are fondly remembered and consistently referenced in the media (like A Flock of Seagulls and some other distinctive 1980s bands). Not much of a world charts-busting machine, still it's interesting to check how they fared commercially.

Men Without Hats

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