What happens on tour, stays on tour
Encyclopedia
What happens on tour stays on tour is a notorious phrase or saying
agreed to by men who get together and travel either interstate or overseas for sporting tours. In essence, the phrase means that all exploits during the tour must be kept strictly confidential, never to be discussed with anyone outside the group. In more recent years, the phrase has also been applied to men attending music gigs, going on business trips and fishing holidays. The term is commonly used in the United Kingdom
, Ireland
, Australia
, New Zealand
, South Africa
, Canada
and the United States
and is also known as "what goes on tour stays on tour," "what happens on the road stays on the road," and, among members of the United States military, "what happens TDY stays TDY."
, as an "unspoken male pact that for centuries can never be broken". In essence, if you were there you may discuss the events, but if you were not there, you get nothing. In contrast, Rugby for Dummies describes the phrase as, particularly funny, embarrassing or debauched moments are for consumption only by the tourists themselves and not casual listeners back home.
It is believed that the phrase originated in 1970 during an overseas rugby union
trip, and quickly cascaded into many other sporting codes such as cricket
and football
. The phrase has subsequently evolved into a "code of honour
" amongst those males participating in the trip or tour. Many groups or teams travelling interstate or overseas have adopted the phrase, that mainly relates to sexual conquests
and binge drinking
. However, the phrase can also relate to other forms of unacceptable behaviour and etiquette
.
It has been stated that there are two rules embedded in the code. Firstly, it must be a group of males in team environment, travelling away from home, where they are unconstrained from the usual forms of acceptable behaviour. The second rule is that all exploits must be kept strictly confidential, never to be discussed with anyone outside the group, particularly wives and girlfriends (also known as WAGS). Research showed that the men in sporting teams spent most of their time either thinking about, or engaging in recreational activities.
The phrase however, is not restricted to males. Australian Hockeyroo
player Sarah Taylor
when asked what her most memorable thing to ever happen whilst away on tour responded, "What goes on tour stays on tour". Anna Coogan, a writer for the Evening Herald
in Ireland stated that the code of honour also applied to women as much as men.
, the term has close connotations among touring musicians and their road crews and is expressed as "what happens on the road stays on the road." American singer Mike Doughty
listed the concept as number four of his "Rules of the Road," and the reason he wasn't going to tell stories of debauchery, drug abuse and sexual exploits . Other musicians who have expressed the term include Jimmy Gnecco
, Andrew Schwab
, and Jes Steinegar of Coalesce. Author Trev Wilkins wrote in his gigging
and touring guide that the concept "is a kind of unwritten rule," and that the professional gigger should never "destroy the trust" of coworkers by telling tales of their "crazy and out-of-character" activities. Wilkins emphasized that it was easy to ruin not only another's career but one's own, when the trust of gigging companions disappears.
wrote in 2005 that the phrase "what happens on the road stays on the road" was "an old saying that's been said many ways," and he expressed his view that its origin lay in rock concert touring by writing "Las Vegas
stole that shit from us..." Lee was referring to the catch phrase "What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas" which was in common circulation before Billy Crystal
used it to close the 76th Academy Awards
show in 2004 and was spoken variously by people such as Laura Bush
and Ben Affleck
on television broadcasts.
group sex scandal has been described as a case of "what happens on tour stays on tour" and "boys will be boys". While on a pre season tour of New Zealand
in February 2002, Johns and other unnamed members of the Cronulla Sharks
were involved in a group sex session with a young woman in a Christchurch
hotel room. Following an allegation of sexual assault from the woman five days later, police investigated the incident both in New Zealand and Australia but did not lay any charges. Despite a plea by the team captain for players who were involved to out themselves so Johns wasn't the only scapegoat
, most players have said nothing and distanced themselves from the scandal.
Phrase
In everyday speech, a phrase may refer to any group of words. In linguistics, a phrase is a group of words which form a constituent and so function as a single unit in the syntax of a sentence. A phrase is lower on the grammatical hierarchy than a clause....
agreed to by men who get together and travel either interstate or overseas for sporting tours. In essence, the phrase means that all exploits during the tour must be kept strictly confidential, never to be discussed with anyone outside the group. In more recent years, the phrase has also been applied to men attending music gigs, going on business trips and fishing holidays. The term is commonly used in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and is also known as "what goes on tour stays on tour," "what happens on the road stays on the road," and, among members of the United States military, "what happens TDY stays TDY."
Background
The phrase has been described by Samantha Brett, a writer for the AgeThe Age
The Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
, as an "unspoken male pact that for centuries can never be broken". In essence, if you were there you may discuss the events, but if you were not there, you get nothing. In contrast, Rugby for Dummies describes the phrase as, particularly funny, embarrassing or debauched moments are for consumption only by the tourists themselves and not casual listeners back home.
It is believed that the phrase originated in 1970 during an overseas rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
trip, and quickly cascaded into many other sporting codes such as cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
and football
Football
Football may refer to one of a number of team sports which all involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball with the foot to score a goal. The most popular of these sports worldwide is association football, more commonly known as just "football" or "soccer"...
. The phrase has subsequently evolved into a "code of honour
Honor code
An honour code or honour system is a set of rules or principles governing a community based on a set of rules or ideals that define what constitutes honorable behavior within that community. The use of an honor code depends on the idea that people can be trusted to act honorably...
" amongst those males participating in the trip or tour. Many groups or teams travelling interstate or overseas have adopted the phrase, that mainly relates to sexual conquests
Hedonism
Hedonism is a school of thought which argues that pleasure is the only intrinsic good. In very simple terms, a hedonist strives to maximize net pleasure .-Etymology:The name derives from the Greek word for "delight" ....
and binge drinking
Binge drinking
Binge drinking or heavy episodic drinking is the modern epithet for drinking alcoholic beverages with the primary intention of becoming intoxicated by heavy consumption of alcohol over a short period of time. It is a kind of purposeful drinking style that is popular in several countries worldwide,...
. However, the phrase can also relate to other forms of unacceptable behaviour and etiquette
Etiquette
Etiquette is a code of behavior that delineates expectations for social behavior according to contemporary conventional norms within a society, social class, or group...
.
It has been stated that there are two rules embedded in the code. Firstly, it must be a group of males in team environment, travelling away from home, where they are unconstrained from the usual forms of acceptable behaviour. The second rule is that all exploits must be kept strictly confidential, never to be discussed with anyone outside the group, particularly wives and girlfriends (also known as WAGS). Research showed that the men in sporting teams spent most of their time either thinking about, or engaging in recreational activities.
The phrase however, is not restricted to males. Australian Hockeyroo
Hockeyroos
The Australia women's national field hockey team are Australia's national women's hockey team.Having played their first game in 1914,they are one of Australia’s most successful sporting teams, boasting three Olympic Gold...
player Sarah Taylor
Sarah Taylor (field hockey)
Sarah Young is a female field hockey midfielder from Australia. She made her debut for the Australian women's national team during the 2001 season...
when asked what her most memorable thing to ever happen whilst away on tour responded, "What goes on tour stays on tour". Anna Coogan, a writer for the Evening Herald
Evening Herald
The Evening Herald is a mid-market tabloid evening newspaper published in Dublin, Ireland by Independent News & Media. It is published Monday-Saturday, and has three editions — City Edition, City Final Edition and National Edition...
in Ireland stated that the code of honour also applied to women as much as men.
"What happens on the road..."
In the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the term has close connotations among touring musicians and their road crews and is expressed as "what happens on the road stays on the road." American singer Mike Doughty
Mike Doughty
Mike Doughty is an American indie and alternative rock singer-songwriter. He led the band Soul Coughing in the 1990s, and in the 2000s, became a solo artist...
listed the concept as number four of his "Rules of the Road," and the reason he wasn't going to tell stories of debauchery, drug abuse and sexual exploits . Other musicians who have expressed the term include Jimmy Gnecco
Jimmy Gnecco
James Francis "Jimmy" Gnecco III is an American musician. He is the vocalist for the rock band Ours as well as a solo artist with his release of The Heart.-Early life:...
, Andrew Schwab
Andrew Schwab
Andrew "Macabre" Schwab is an American singer, songwriter, author, and journalist. He is the lead singer and lyricist for the rock group Project 86. With Project 86, he has released seven albums and 2 EPs to date. Through Relevant publishing he has released one autobiography "It's All Downhill...
, and Jes Steinegar of Coalesce. Author Trev Wilkins wrote in his gigging
Gig (musical performance)
Gig is slang for a musical engagement in which musicians are hired. Originally coined in the 1920s by jazz musicians, the term, short for the word "engagement", now refers to any aspect of performing such as assisting with performance and attending musical performance...
and touring guide that the concept "is a kind of unwritten rule," and that the professional gigger should never "destroy the trust" of coworkers by telling tales of their "crazy and out-of-character" activities. Wilkins emphasized that it was easy to ruin not only another's career but one's own, when the trust of gigging companions disappears.
"What happens in Vegas..."
American heavy-metal musician Tommy LeeTommy Lee
Thomas Lee Bass , best known as Tommy Lee, is an American musician and founding member of glam metal band Mötley Crüe. As well as being the band's long-term drummer, Lee founded rap-metal band Methods of Mayhem, and has pursued solo musical projects...
wrote in 2005 that the phrase "what happens on the road stays on the road" was "an old saying that's been said many ways," and he expressed his view that its origin lay in rock concert touring by writing "Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
stole that shit from us..." Lee was referring to the catch phrase "What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas" which was in common circulation before Billy Crystal
Billy Crystal
William Edward "Billy" Crystal is an American actor, writer, producer, comedian and film director. He gained prominence in the 1970s for playing Jodie Dallas on the ABC sitcom Soap and became a Hollywood film star during the late 1980s and 1990s, appearing in the critical and box office successes...
used it to close the 76th Academy Awards
76th Academy Awards
The 76th Academy Awards ceremony honored the best films of 2003 and was broadcast from the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California on ABC beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST/8:30 p.m. EST, February 29, 2004 . The show was produced by Joe Roth and was hosted for the eighth time by comedian Billy Crystal.The...
show in 2004 and was spoken variously by people such as Laura Bush
Laura Bush
Laura Lane Welch Bush is the wife of the 43rd President of the United States, George W. Bush. She was the First Lady of the United States from January 20, 2001, to January 20, 2009. She has held a love of books and reading since childhood and her life and education have reflected that interest...
and Ben Affleck
Ben Affleck
Benjamin Géza Affleck-Boldt , better known as Ben Affleck, is an American actor, film director, writer, and producer. He became known with his performances in Kevin Smith's films such as Mallrats and Chasing Amy...
on television broadcasts.
Matthew Johns
The Matthew JohnsMatthew Johns
Matthew Johns is an Australian rugby league football commentator and former professional player...
group sex scandal has been described as a case of "what happens on tour stays on tour" and "boys will be boys". While on a pre season tour of New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
in February 2002, Johns and other unnamed members of the Cronulla Sharks
Cronulla Sharks
The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks are Australian professional Rugby league team based in Cronulla, in the Sutherland Shire, Southern Sydney, New South Wales...
were involved in a group sex session with a young woman in a Christchurch
Christchurch
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
hotel room. Following an allegation of sexual assault from the woman five days later, police investigated the incident both in New Zealand and Australia but did not lay any charges. Despite a plea by the team captain for players who were involved to out themselves so Johns wasn't the only scapegoat
Scapegoat
Scapegoating is the practice of singling out any party for unmerited negative treatment or blame. Scapegoating may be conducted by individuals against individuals , individuals against groups , groups against individuals , and groups against groups Scapegoating is the practice of singling out any...
, most players have said nothing and distanced themselves from the scandal.
See also
- Human male sexualityHuman male sexualityHuman male sexuality covers physiological, psychological, social, cultural, and political aspects of the human male sexual response and related phenomenon...
- Alcohol intoxication
- One-night standOne-night standOriginally, a one-night stand was a single theatre performance, usually by a guest performer on tour, as opposed to an ongoing engagement. Today, however, the term is more commonly defined as a single sexual encounter, in which neither participant has any intention or expectation of a relationship...
- "What Goes on TourWhat Goes on Tour"What Goes on Tour" is the ninth episode of the HBO comedy series Flight of the Conchords. This episode first aired in the United States on Sunday, August 12, 2007.-Plot synopsis:...
"