Vienna Calling

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 in 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" during the fall of 1985, following the worldwide hit of his previous single "Rock Me Amadeus". In addition to reach the top ten in several European countries, it also made the top 20 in New Zealand, Canada, and the United States.

A music video was made for the song, directed by Frank Alchezcar and Rudi Dolezal, featuring Austrian actress Brigitta Cimarolli.

It 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.