>>> a = [(1, u'abc'), (2, u'def')]
>>> [i[0] for i in a]
[1, 2]
tuple_list = [("a", "b"),("c", "d")]
first_tuple_elements = []
for a_tuple in tuple_list:
first_tuple_elements.append(a_tuple[0])
print(first_tuple_elements)
#OUTPUT: ['a', 'c']
firstItem = tupple[0]