"" (; "The
Commissioner
A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something).
In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to in ...
") is a song recorded by Austrian artist
Falco in 1981. The song was written by
Robert Ponger Robert Ponger (born 1950, Vienna) is an Austrian songwriter and record producer, most famous for his work with Austrian singer Falco.
Ponger produced and shared writing credits on Falco's first two solo albums, 1982's ''Einzelhaft'' and 1984's '' ...
and Falco. It reached the top of the charts in many European countries. It was covered in 1982 with greater success in other countries by English group
After the Fire
After the Fire (or ATF) were a British rock band that evolved from playing progressive rock to new wave over ten years, while having only one hit in the United States (" Der Kommissar") and one hit in the United Kingdom (" One Rule for You") ...
.
Background
"Der Kommissar" was written by producer Robert Ponger and intended for Reinhold Bilgeri. Bilgeri rejected it, as he felt the song was too soft, so Falco reworked the song for himself instead.
Falco wanted to release "Helden von heute" as the
main side (A-side), but the record company wanted "Der Kommissar" to be released, because they felt it had more potential. The record company decided upon a double A-side release and was vindicated when "Der Kommissar" reached No. 1 in German-speaking countries in January 1982. After this success, Falco's management decided to release "Der Kommissar" (as an A-side) in other countries as well.
The song recorded for other side of the record, the pop-rock "'" ("heroes of today"), is a tribute to
David Bowie
David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
's "
Heroes
Heroes or Héroes may refer to:
* Hero, one who displays courage and self-sacrifice for the greater good
Film
* ''Heroes'' (1977 film), an American drama
* ''Heroes'' (2008 film), an Indian Hindi film
Gaming
* ''Heroes of Might and Magic'' ...
". It was recorded in Berlin; Falco claimed in an interview that he went to Berlin to follow the "tracks" left there by Bowie, with his albums ''
"Heroes"'' and ''
Low''.
Commercial performance
The song reached No. 74 on the US ''Cashbox'' chart in 1983,
while failing to chart on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 or on the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
. Falco would break through with major hits in those countries two albums later, with "
Rock Me Amadeus
"Rock Me Amadeus" is a song recorded by Austrian musician Falco (musician), Falco, for his third studio album, ''Falco 3'' (1985). The single was made available for physical sale in 1985 in German-speaking Europe, through A&M Records, A&M. "Roc ...
" and "
Vienna Calling
"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).
Background
The song was written by Falco and Dutch m ...
" in 1986. Updated remixes of "Der Kommissar" were released by Falco in 1991, 1998, and posthumously in 2008.
Music video
In the official music video for Falco's German-language version of "Der Kommissar", Falco is shown in front of a blue screen while stock footage of police cars driving the streets at night play behind him. Falco runs in place (to simulate running from the cops) while lip-synching the song. Another music video for the Falco single released in Europe also exists.
European Falco music video of "Der Kommissar"
at YouTube
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
After the Fire version
In mid-1982, British rock band After the Fire
After the Fire (or ATF) were a British rock band that evolved from playing progressive rock to new wave over ten years, while having only one hit in the United States (" Der Kommissar") and one hit in the United Kingdom (" One Rule for You") ...
recorded an English version, also titled "Der Kommissar", and released it as a single, but the record floundered. Coming off a tour opening for Van Halen
Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. Credited with "restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene", Van Halen was known for its energetic live shows and for the virtuosity of its lead gu ...
, After the Fire was working on material for a new album when in December 1982, the group announced onstage during a concert that they were disbanding. Both the After the Fire and Falco versions were rising on the Canadian charts at the time, but neither had cracked the US pop charts. Around that time, American singer Laura Branigan
Laura Ann Branigan (July 3, 1952 – August 26, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Her signature song, the platinum-certified 1982 single " Gloria", stayed on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for 36 weeks, then a record for ...
began working on her second studio album, ''Branigan 2
''Branigan 2'' is the second studio album by American singer Laura Branigan, released in March 1983 by Atlantic Records. The album reached number 29 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 and was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of Ame ...
'', and she recorded "Deep in the Dark", a new song written over the melody and arrangement of "Der Kommissar" which was prepared for release. Then the After the Fire version finally hit the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on 22 February 1983, and started rising. Though its version barely nicked their home country's Top 50, in 1983 the song's music video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...
received extensive airplay on MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
propelling its popularity on US radio. The song entered the US top 40 on 5 March 1983, peaking at No. 5, and spending a total of 14 weeks in the top 40. The single was released under the Epic label, with a catalog number of 03559. Amidst all this renewed attention to the composition, Falco's own version, which had done well in some US markets but not charted nationally, was re-released, but the German-language record remained essentially a novelty hit there, charting concurrently with the After the Fire version but not rising above No. 74 on the '' Cashbox'' chart.
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
In Popular Culture
* in "Les Apparences" - 2020 film by Marc Fitoussi
Marc Fitoussi (born 20 July 1976) is a French film director and screenwriter.
Life and career
After a university degree course in English and art history, Fitoussi joined the Conservatoire européen d'écriture audiovisuelle (CEEA) (European ...
, the character played by Karin Viard dances to Der Kommissar.
References
Bibliography
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kommissar
1981 songs
1981 singles
1982 singles
1983 singles
A&M Records singles
After the Fire songs
Epic Records singles
Falco (musician) songs
Laura Branigan songs
Number-one singles in Austria
Number-one singles in Germany
Number-one singles in Italy
Number-one singles in Spain
Songs about police officers
Songs written by Falco (musician)
Songs written by Robert Ponger