Einzelhaft, (Solitary Confinement or Incarcerated!), (1982) is the name of the first album by Falco. It was released in Austria, Germany, the United States, Japan, Spain, Italy, Canada, Sweden and Finland.

The album achieved some success with its flagship single, "Der Kommissar", an innovative and influential German-language rap song. An English version of the song by After the Fire was a hit in 1983.

A Promo Single, "Auf der Flucht" (On the Run), was released in the USA and France. In 1983 the Maschine Brennt/On The Run CD hit #9 of US Club Play Singles.

Other songs on Einzelhaft are heavily indebted to the "Berlin Trilogy" of David Bowie: "Nie mehr Schule" borrows its music from Bowie's instrumental track from Low called "Speed of Life", whereas "Helden von heute" is a transparent rewrite of Bowie's song, "Heroes".

In 1980 Falco, who played in the band Drahdiwaberl, signed a contract for three solo-albums produced by Robert Ponger and managed by Markus Spiegel. The first single was That Scene, which reached #11 in the Austrian charts. The German version, which is more popular, is called Ganz Wien. This song was very successful in Austria but was not noticed in other countries.

In spring 1981 Falco and Ponger started to produce the album, and already had a melody for Der Kommissar. Originally Reinhold Bilgeri was to have sung that song but he declined. Impressed by the melody, Falco chose to include it in his debut album. Within 3 days Falco wrote the lyrics to the accompanying rhythm.

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