Tour de France (song)
Tour de France was a single by Kraftwerk, first issued in July 1983.
It has the most complicated set of variants of any Kraftwerk song, having been variously edited and remixed to the point that there is no completely definitive version. The track was originally recorded with the intention of being included on the subsequently abandoned Techno Pop album. The single was released on seven and twelve inch vinyl, and as a cassette-single.
The cover design depicted the band on racing style bicycles in an aerodynamic chain formation typical in cycle racing. The design was largely based on an image that appeared on a 1953 Hungarian postage stamp, one of a sport-themed set commemorating the opening the Nepstadion (Peoples' Stadium) in Budapest.
In Germany it was released in both German and French language versions, one on each side of the vinyl disc, but in other countries the versions of the song that were issued were sung only in French. Typically, the seven inch sides were edited down versions of the longer tracks released on twelve inch singles. In the UK however the seven inch B side was an instrumental edit of the A side track; an additional instrumental track of percussion and samples, "Tour de France 2e Étape", was included on the UK twelve inch and cassette releases.
In 1984 the song was re-released in two new versions: a substantially different and largely instrumental arrangement, remixed by François Kevorkian in New York; and a Kraftwerk-remixed alternative version of the original arrangement, featuring longer percussive sections than the 1983 version in the latter half of the track. Sleeves for later UK pressings included the message "As featured in the film Breakdance" on the front.
In 1999 the recordings were digitally remastered and released yet again, this time as a CD and a twelve inch single, with a slightly modified version of the original cover design: the faces of former members Karl Bartos and Wolfgang Flür, who had left the band by 1999, were replaced by faces presumably representing current members Fritz Hilpert and Henning Schmitz.
The 1999 vinyl twelve inch had the 1984 Kraftwerk remix as the A side (now sub-titled "Kling Klang Analog Mix") and the Kevorkian version as the B side (re-titled "Remix François K"). The CD also included the 1983 seven inch single edited mix of the song (retitled "Radio Version") and a QuickTime file of the video, featuring an edited version of the 1984 Kling Klang Analog Mix with German lyrics ("Multi-Media-Track").
A completely new digital recording was made for the 2003 album Tour de France Soundtracks based on the original 1983 arrangement.
Track listings
UK 12" vinyl 1983
UK 7" vinyl 1983
UK cassette 1983These tracks appeared on both sides of the cassette
UK 12" vinyl 1984
UK 7" vinyl 1984
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German 12" vinyl 1983
German 7" vinyl 1983
German 12" vinyl 1984 (1)
Possibly a promo or mis-pressing; replaced by (2) below German 12" vinyl 1984 (2)
German 7" vinyl 1984
German 12" vinyl 1999
German CD 1999
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Note 1: "Tour de France (Long Version)" is the same track as "Tour de France (Version Francaise)".
Note 2: "Tour de France (Version)" is also sub-titled "New York Club Mix" on some French and American releases.