TOUR DE FRANCE (1984, Australia/ New Zealand)
EMI, TC-ED-90


So, after twenty cassettes on this blog, I've tried to show the variation of product underneath the umbrella "Kraftwerk cassettes"; I've presented official and unofficial cassettes, I've had first editions and reissues, I've had German releases and many other countries, all the core albums and various compilations - but I haven't had a cassette single yet?? How can I hope to achieve anything in the direction of an ultimate cassette blog without the singles?

 

So. Cassette singles were first released in the UK in 1980, and spread out worldwide quickly thereafter.  and already the following year, Kraftwerk's UK label issued 'Pocket Calculator' on cassette. The follow-up, 'Computer Love' b/w 'The Model', did not get the cassette treatment, even if it was released twice (the b-side received attention from DJs, so they switched sides, thus scoring Kraftwerk's only number one hit in the UK!)


The next cassette single from Kraftwerk was 'Tour De France', which was issued in the UK in 1983. This single was then re-released the following year, when it had appeared in the film "Breakdance", and this time, it sees another cassette single release - on the other side of the world: Australia and New Zealand.


The albums of Kraftwerk had been issued as separate releases in New Zealand and Australia for years, so why this was a "joint" release, I couldn't say. Perhaps they thought it less marketable than an album and it made sense to produce one edition and ship a case or two to NZ? It is a fairly lavish release, though: two-panel J-card on good thick card stock, full colour front and the cassette has on-body print that goes beyond the standard "label area". 


The cassette has three versions of the track, titled "Remix", "French Version" and "German Version". It took a while to get it checked, as my cassette deck was in for repairs, but it turns out they are all 12" versions - leaving a good six minutes of silence at the end of Side A. That's a surprise! Cool though, a strange and beautiful release.







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