El Camino De La Vida
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7 inch.
The French 7 inch single. This had a picture of "Johnny
playing guitar, down in the tunnel, trying to make it pay'. The
B-side of this was Two Young
Lovers (Live) from the album Alchemy.
The UK issue of Walk Of Life was almost identical, right down to the bar-code on the reverse of the sleeve, the B-side was also the same as the French B-side. The UK also issued a limited edition double 7 inch pack. The additional single featured the songs Sultans Of Swing and Eastbound Train (Live). Inside the fold out sleeve was a picture of the guitar used on the following single from New Zealand.
The 7 inch Single from New
Zealand. The back of the sleeve was identical to the
front. This single used One
World as its B-side.
The Canadian 7 inch single was issued in a similar sleeve to that used by So Far Away in the UK and the B-side was One World. Other countries used the image of the album, with One World as the B-side, including Germany, Holland, Japan, South Africa, Spain and The USA.
Chart Information Country Date of Entry Highest Position Weeks UK (Top 75) 11th January 1986 2 11 USA (Top 40) 16th November 1985 7 15 Holland(Top 40) 20 8
(Holland chart information courtesy of Metten Knüppe)
Two 7 inch promos exist in The USA , one of them matches the standard issue, the other came in the labels own custom sleeve, but the catalogue numbers differ. Both are double sided featuring the track on both sides.
Canada issued a 7 inch DJ "Advanced Promotional" copy with the same 4:07 minute version on both sides.
The
Japanese characters indicating a promo. I'm reliably informed that all Japanese DJ promos
released at this time, can be identified with these characters.
The Japanese promo of Walk Of
Life, is identical to the
standard issue, with these characters printed on the label on
each side of the disc. Earlier promos from Japan were 'white
labelled'.
Italy issued a promo of the 7 inch with the Communards Don't Leave Me This Way on the flip-side.
Phillips issued a double sided promo in Mexico, featuring a Stereo AND a mono version of Walk Of Life, both last for 3:30 minutes, and packaged in the Record companies own custom plastic sleeve.
The USA also re-issued the single on their Back To Back series with So Far Away.
A 7 inch purple flexi-disc of Walk Of Life was available free with a Russian Magazine.
Ironically, I have no 7 inch promos, white label test pressings or acetates of this single from the UK, but some must exist!!!!!!!!!!!
12 inch
12 inch copies of Walk Of Life appear to use the same sleeve as their 7 inch equivalent, the UK included Two Young Lovers (Live) and Sultans Of Swing (Live), two tracks from the album Alchemy. Germany issued the 12 inch with a pink frame around the usual picture (see the image for So Far Away from Canada) , and included Why Worry (instrumental Segment) and One World. All versions of Walk Of Life last for 4:07.
The 12 inch "Exclusive Limited Edition" in Canada was the same as it's 7 inch counterpart, the same flip side, the same sleeve. No playing times are given on either the sleeve or label and the disc played at 33.3 RPM.
Two different 12 inch versions have been available in Australia, probably released at different times, the standard release containing Two Young Lovers (Live) and Sultans Of Swing (Live), and a rare issue containing Why Worry (instrumental Segment) and One World.
Promotional 12 inch copies exist around the world. The UK issued a white label promo, identical track listing to the regular release. Canada issued an 'Advanced Radio Sampler', featuring Walk Of Life on both sides, stating on the label 'from the forthcoming Album, Digital Cassette and Compact Disc Brothers In Arms'. Both the UK and Canadian promos just mentioned came in plain sleeves.
The 12 inch promo from The
USA. A double sided promo
featuring the same track on each side. The back of the sleeve was
plain. The disc played at 33 RPM.
12 inch Maxi-Single from
Argentina. A Maxi-Single
(or Maxi-Simple as they've called it) featuring 6 different
Artists. The tracks are as follows:-Walk
Of Life by Dire Straits, Lonely
Ol' Night by John Cougar Mellencamp, Cold Dresses
by Al Corley, Head Over Heels by Tears For Fears,
Don't Stop The Dance by Bryan Ferry and Hurts To Be In
Love by Gino Vannelli. The sleeve is wrapped in clear
cellophane, hence the poor image.
The sleeve notes on the back of the Argentine 12 inch Maxi Single.
Interpretations Welcome.
95.5 Club 25 FM Spanish promo CD. Released in 2003, features tracks from various
artists, including Dire Straits, (Walk
Of Life), U2, (Sweetest Thing),
Police, (Roxanne), Cure, (Friday I'm In Love) and Lighthouse
Family, (Lifted). A compilation featuring some great tracks from
a collection of Greatest hits CD's.
Special Formats
Although the 10 inch single was unique to the UK, probably a marketing ploy to coincide with numerous other releases of that period, a 10 inch Acetate exists, issued in the USA, although never officially released in the USA, this song never even made it to 10 inch status in the UK.
The sleeve for
the 6 inch square flexi-disc of Walk Of Life from Russia. Yellow vinyl, extremely rare 6 inch flexi from
Russia. I'm not sure where they got the pictures for this set of flexi's,
but it is definitely different.