The tour, which was officially announced in June 2005 in Düsseldorf, Germany, kicked off in October with a warm-up show in New York City called "Starting the Angel".

The stage set, which was designed by Anton Corbijn,[1] was elaborate compared to previous Depeche Mode tours.

The tour began in late October 2005 with a special rehearsal show in New York City, dubbed "Starting the Angel".

The first leg ultimately concluded mid-December at the annual Almost Acoustic Christmas show, organised by radio station KROQ, in Universal City, California.

The tour eventually finished in early April with two dates in London; the band were the first act to perform in the newly refurbished Wembley Arena.

[3] In April 2006, the group returned to North America for a second round of shows, taking place in a mixture of indoor and outdoor venues.

[4] In May 2006, the tour was slightly disrupted when lead singer Dave Gahan developed laryngitis during the group's performance at the Starlight Theatre in Kansas City, Missouri.

[7] It was stated that the group's technical support team refused to travel to the region, citing "security fears".

All dates on the second legs of North America and Europe, excluding the shows in Kansas City, Kristiansand and Benicàssim, were released.