Introducing "Uncharted": Depeche Mode and the Debauched Devotional Tour

Introducing "Uncharted": Depeche Mode and the Debauched Devotional Tour

Author: Curiouscast December 24, 2025 Duration: 41:01
I once had a conversation with someone about the craziest tours in the history of music…the usual names came up.   The who trashing hotel rooms…led zeppelin’s tours with their private jet, groupies, and tons of drugs…that time in Atlanta when Ozzy drank himself into oblivion, passed out in the wrong hotel room for 24 hours, and missed a show as a result.   In 1976, ZZ Top tried to take the entire Texas experience on the road, which involved transporting real live animals to every gig…a buffalo escaped and managed to wreck nine rented limos that were parked at the gig.   Around the same time, there was the disastrous Sex Pistols tour of America…there were also stories about The Rolling Stones, Metallica, Van Halen, and all the usual suspects. But the conversation turned to the subject of the most depraved and dangerous tour of all time…who was responsible for that?... Motley Crue?...Marilyn Manson?...Oasis?   The debate when on for some time—until someone mentioned a road trip in 1993 that nearly killed every member of the group.   We’re not talking about any sort of violence…it was a tour featuring so much alcohol, so many drugs, and so much stupid behaviour that members suffered heart attacks, seizures, serious mental illness, and overdoses so serious that one member was clinically dead for two minutes.  That was a summary of something called “The Devotional Tour”…at the centre of it was Depeche Mode…it has gone down in rock history as “the most debauched rock tour ever”.   This is episode 37 of “Uncharted: Crime and Mayhem in the Music Industry,” an inside look at the tour that nearly took down Depeche Mode forever…and it was all their fault. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For over two decades, the Ongoing History of New Music has served as an essential audio documentary series, digging deep into the stories that shaped alternative rock, hip hop, and everything in between. Hosted by the legendary music historian Alan Cross, this podcast functions as a curated archive of musical culture, moving far beyond simple artist profiles. Each episode is a thematic exploration, connecting sonic dots across decades to reveal the hidden contexts, forgotten pioneers, and cultural shifts that define what we listen to. You’ll hear about the scenes that birthed genres, the technologies that changed production, and the personalities whose influence ripples through today’s charts. It’s less a linear history lesson and more an ongoing conversation about why music matters, delivered with Cross’s authoritative yet accessible narrative style. Tune in and discover the rich, often surprising backstories behind the songs and artists you thought you knew, gaining insights you’re unlikely to find anywhere else. This is Canadian broadcasting at its most inquisitive and enduring, making the Ongoing History of New Music a foundational listen for anyone curious about the forces that continually reinvent our sonic landscape.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Ongoing History of New Music
Podcast Episodes
What's The Big Deal About Iggy Pop [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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For this week’s episode, we’re going to go back into the ongoing history of new music vault and our “what’s the big deal” series. This is where we try to figure out why we keep hearing and reading about these old names f…
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Duration: 20:34
This is the second part of our examination of the legendary Alt-Rock scene known as "Goth", and this time we go from mid 80's... right up to today. Goth has always had a bad rap, so in our deep dive, we'll try to clear e…
Good Goth - Part 1 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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Goth has always had a bad rap and that's not fair to the music, the fans and the fashion so we're going to try to clear everything up with our deep dive. But don't worry...no one's going to get hurt. We are going to exam…
The Second Voice [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 22:09
When you’re the lead singer in a band, you’re pretty much guaranteed to get all the attention…after all, you are the visual and audio focal point for pretty much everything… Yeah, there might be a hot guitarist or someon…
The Original Ramones [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:47
Friday, August 16, 1974, was a hot summer day in New York City…it was 31 degrees, but the humidity made it feel a lot hotter…and if you were down in the Bowery amidst all the concrete, it was hotter still...and it smelle…
Rock's Most Iconic Instruments [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 30:21
Most of us probably go through a phase where we decide to make music for ourselves…maybe we’ll do it alone, or perhaps we want to be part of a band. The first thing you need to do is decide what instrument you will play……
Explaining Krautrock [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 30:52
After World War II, Germany was destroyed…the country was divided…the east was under the control of the USSR…the west was in democratic Europe…and then there was berlin, sitting in the east but cut into different zones d…
Stupid History 2 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 33:49
What do you remember from history class back in school?... Maybe a few dates and events…maybe the names some important people…and probably how dull a lot of history classes were. I remember being inundated with a bunch o…