Talk:Der Kommissar (song)

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Infobox for After the Fire version requested at Wikipedia:WikiProject Missing encyclopedic articles/List of notable songs/4

Double A-side? (Y-vs-X Side)

The picture sleeves for the 7" single as released in the various countries clearly show that "Der Kommissar" is being promoted as the A-side. Many singles' b-sides are mentioned on the cover of those singles' picture sleeves, even when they are not being promoted (or ultimately played) as a double A-side. Yet these "Der Kommissar" picture sleeves don't even mention the disc's b-side title. The Aussie 12" could by a stretch be considered an exception, as it mentions the titles of three songs, but then wouldn't that be considered a triple A-side, or an EP...or simply a single A-side whose accompanying songs get second and third billing? What is the standard for a single to be considered a double A-side? Isn't it that both of the two titles are actively promoted by the record company, and both titles receive significant enough airplay to chart separately, yet it is the same pressing which is sold for either? I would consider Falco's later 12" release in the U.S. to be a double A-side, as it contained both "Rock Me Amadeus" and "Vienna Calling", each of which had club play (as well as music videos and pop chart success). But I am doubtful as to whether the story (which I can certainly believe, as artists often get overruled by their record companies) of Falco's desire to release "Helden Von Heute" actually resulted in the record company releasing and promoting a double A-side. That is at least clearly not the case in the countries whose releases are depicted in the photos. If, for example, the German-speaking territories' releases of this single was a bona-fide double A-side, the sleeve(s) that would corroborate this should be the primary photo(s) for the article, and the point should be made that the record company acquiesced to Falco's desire in the initial release (which would speak well to his influence), but when "DK" clearly emerged as the public's favorite, it was a single A-side release in the subsequent countries (which would speak well to his handlers' savvy of what would best introduce him to non-Germanic markets). Abrazame 21:14, 19 September 2007 (UTC)

No response in half a year to the query as to whether this was a double A-side single...could anybody upload a front cover that shows both titles in the same size font, or give a link to (or an upload of) a chart showing the B-side charting anywhere? Some time ago, when the article featured more than a half-dozen international covers, many did not list the B-side on the cover at all and those that did did not do so in font equal to the A-side. Abrazame (talk) 07:52, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

Discogs shows photos of the Austrian single with it on the "Y"-side, and Helden as the X-side, whilst the German single released at the same time has it clearly as a side 1, and Helden as a side 2. Austrian: https://www.discogs.com/de/release/291506-Falco-Der-Kommissar-Helden-Von-Heute, German: https://www.discogs.com/de/release/563752-Falco-Der-Kommissar-Helden-Von-Heute. So I've changed the entry to read Y- vs. X-side for the Austrian (which would actually sort of seem to prefer Helden), but A-side for Germany. Ulphix (talk) 22:59, 27 February 2023 (UTC)

Reinhold Bilgeri?

Who is this person? It is unclear what is meant about his being "determined" to sing the song: does this mean determined as in he was chosen by someone (record exec?) to sing it, or does this mean he had the passionate intention to sing the song? Had Falco and Robert Ponger originally written it for him? Was he a part of the song before Falco contributed his own lyrics? And "too unhard" is an oxymoron, it doesn't mean anything. I assume it means it was too hard for him? Does this mean he couldn't convincingly affect the rap attitude or rhythm? Was the range of the sung notes outside of his vocal range? The paragraph doesn't contribute any understandable detail to the article, but I would be interested to learn what is behind the mention, and try to edit this into coherent English. I think this is a brilliant record, and would love to see the article enhanced to better tell its story. Abrazame 21:28, 19 September 2007 (UTC)

I too was confused about this paragraph. I looked at the German version of this page to see if it could shed some light on the matter. It seems the "too unhard" part was simply a bad translation from German to English. The orignal was "zu weich" which really means "too soft". "Weich" refers to physical softness, rather than difficulty (which would be "schwer"), so I am assuming the song was simply musically too soft, and Bilgeri turned it down because of that. I also gathered that Ponger (the producer) had originally intended it to be sung by Bilgeri, who turned it down.

I am going to go ahead and fix up this paragraph, but I think it will still require some work. I understand that using another wikipedia article as a source is technically not legitimate, but I think in this case it will suffice as a quick fix for understandability. The German article doesn't cite a source for this information, so the content still goes unsourced. Someone with a little more Falco knowlege might be able to corroborate these claims. --BennyD 15:03, 15 October 2007 (UTC)

Reinhold Bilgeri is an Austrian singer, who was very succesful in the 80s, especially in South America. Bilgeri and Falco had the same producer and first the producer wanted Bilgeri to perform this song.--Dave it 14:22, 13 November 2007 (UTC)

Thanks for the responses! Abrazame (talk) 07:52, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

German-speaking countries

The current text states:

"First it reached number one in many German-speaking countries."

How many German-speaking countries are there, realistically? By my count, West Germany (the German Federal Republic), Austria, Liechtenstein, a substantial part of Switzerland, and a tiny sliver of Tyrolean Italy.

The record presumably did not play in then East Germany (the German Democratic Republic). Liechtenstein is too small to keep its own record charts, and the German-speaking minority in Italy is too small to have had an impact on the Italian charts.

So realistically, we're talking about West Germany, Austria, and maybe Switzerland. Does this really qualify as "many German-speaking countries?" —Preceding unsigned comment added by Jggraubart (talk • contribs) 03:26, 22 January 2008 (UTC)

Minor edit made (I wasn't the one who wrote the passage in question). Abrazame (talk) 07:52, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

Since it only reached no. 2 in Switzerland I agree that would leave only Germany and Austria, so I've corrected that bit. Ulphix (talk) 23:01, 27 February 2023 (UTC)

I believe that this article understates the significance and quality of the version released by Suzy Andrews, which had airplay simultaneous to the Falco/ATF versions. And, I have believed since then, Andrews is the better version of this song. 174.25.165.225 (talk) 09:01, 2 June 2010 (UTC)

I welcome a cite of the Andrews version charting someplace, I'd be happy to add it to the article if you're not sure how. Abrazame (talk) 10:38, 15 June 2011 (UTC)

Released in UK?

"In the United States and the United Kingdom, Falco's hit didn't fare as well". I never thought it was even released in the UK, it was certainly quite popular at the time, but no-one could buy it! I suspect the record company wanted to concentrate UK and US record purchases with the After the Fire version and attempt to give it a higher charting..... 91.85.184.35 (talk) 22:41, 14 June 2011 (UTC)

You're wrong about the U.S., where it was actually released twice, once in 1982 prior to, and once in late winter 1983 because of, the ATF and Laura Branigan versions. In the UK, Discogs has detailed photos of the 7" release (standard, not promo) it says was released on October 5, 1982, and shows the cover sleeve of a 12" it says was released there. Releasing a German-language rap song in 1982 and getting stores to carry it or radio to play it, however, was three different things. Your recollection could be based on its availability at the time of its charting elsewhere in Europe prior to its UK release? I do know the record company held off on issuing it in solely English-speaking countries until after it was a hit throughout Europe. Abrazame (talk) 10:37, 15 June 2011 (UTC)

What about the cover by Suzy Andrews?

I am very surprised that this article does not mention the cover by Suzy Andrews, see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efFA7hDspFg 2601:1C2:4E02:3020:D11C:991:BB57:DC35 (talk) 08:07, 12 July 2018 (UTC)

Please read WP:COVERSONG. Walter Görlitz (talk) 14:11, 12 July 2018 (UTC)

I did. SO? If you have a point, MAKE IT at the time you respond. Don't play games by merely asking someone to read something. 2601:1C2:4E02:3020:2972:EEE5:2FC3:E0E4 (talk) 04:15, 14 July 2018 (UTC)

Sweet. SO please explain has her version or rendition gained attention?

• the rendition is discussed by a reliable source on the subject of the song,
• the rendition itself meets the notability requirement at WP:NSONGS.
  • Her version has to have been the subject of multiple, non-trivial published works whose sources are independent of the artist and label.
  • Has been ranked on national or significant music or sales charts. (Note again that this indicates only that a song may be notable, not that it is notable.)
  • Has won one or more significant awards or honours, such as a Grammy, Juno, Mercury, Choice or Grammis award.

It was removed earlier because it did not any notability criteria.

Don't play games by pretending to have read something without understanding what was asked. Walter Görlitz (talk) 04:57, 14 July 2018 (UTC)

ATF version with Nobody Else But You as the B-Side?

Hey, I have the Epic release of the ATF version, and it has Nobody Else But You as the B-Side instead of Dancing In The Shadows. The weird thing is that Nobody Else But You was never included on any albums aside from The CBS Recordings and doesn't seem to be acknowledged/catalogued by anything official (Spotify, ATF's YouTube Channel, etc.) Does anyone know why this is the case? Was Nobody Else But You supposed to be an unreleased single that, for whatever reason, got included in pressings of Der Kommissar, or is there some kind of legal thing that prevents it from being released nowadays? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 174.119.31.209 (talk) 16:01, 4 May 2021 (UTC)

Wasn't the ATF version the subject of a copyright infringement lawsuit filed by Falco in the UK?

EOM — Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.162.108.50 (talk) 05:11, 23 July 2022 (UTC)

Apparently not: Professor Wicke reports from his sources that Falco didn't agree with most covers, but had no rights, being only author of the text and having a newcomer-contract. ("Falco war mit den meisten der Cover-Versionen zwar überhaupt nicht einverstanden, konnte sie aber als Autor lediglich des Textes und mit einem unvorteilhaften Newcomer-Vertrag mit dem Hermann Schneider Musikverlag in Wien in der Tasche, bei dem die Rechte an dem Song lagen, auch nicht verhindern.")

The main hook ("Drah di ned um") was borrowed from Super Freak

The reputable German site songlexikon goes into detail and analysis about the hook sounding like Rick James' "Super Freak". On https://songlexikon.de/songs/falcoderkommissar/ it says that Robert Ponger (composer of the instrumental of Falco’s song) borrowed the main hook (with the words "Drah di ned um") from James and Alonzo Miller (composers of Super Freak). Falco’s single came out on Dec 12th 1981 (songlexikon), Super Freak had already been written Dec 1980 to Jan 1981 (wikipedia). Falco was reserved about the song and had to be convinced to put Der Kommissar on the A-side, because it had clear echoes of Super Freak („deutliche Anklänge“) and didn’t seem original („originell“) enough (songlexikon). The songlexikon-text is written by ex-professor of musicology Prof. Dr. Peter Wicke and cites 3 references, of which I assume the first, the book by Falco's A&R manager Bork, is the one that contains the last information, since it was Bork that convinced Falco. Not sure if this is important enough to put on the webpage? The analysis and info would seem to be the best on the web, but probably more fitting on the German webpage? Ulphix (talk) 22:08, 27 February 2023 (UTC)