
"
Tour de France" is a song by
Kraftwerk.
It was first issued in June 1983, peaking at number 22 in the UK
singles chart. It is notable for the use of sampled voices and
mechanical sounds associated with cycling that were used to supplement a
simple electro-percussion pattern – an approach Kraftwerk have used on
earlier tracks such as "Metal on Metal" (from
Trans-Europe Express) and "Numbers" (from
Computer World). The music is credited to
Ralf Hütter,
Florian Schneider and
Karl Bartos; the lyrics are credited to
Ralf Hütter and Maxime Schmitt, a French label associate of the band. The melody appears to quote a fragment of the opening section of
Paul Hindemith's “Sonata for Flute and Piano” (“Heiter Bewegt”).