Today in Madonna History: February 11, 1984

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On February 11 1984, Madonna’s self-titled debut album, Madonna, debuted at #85 on the UK albums chart, just as Holiday hit #7. It fell off the chart the following week, but re-entered at #55 on February 25. The album was re-released in Europe in July 1985 with new artwork, re-titled The First Album. A 2001 international remastered edition of the album restored its original artwork and title in all markets.

Today in Madonna History: February 10, 1990

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Between February 10 and 11, 1990, the music video for Madonna’s Vogue was filmed. Vogue was directed by David Fincher and shot at The Burbank Studios in Burbank, California.

Today in Madonna History: February 6, 1991

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On February 6, 1991, Madonna’s The Immaculate Collection video collection was certified multi-platinum for sales of 150,000 units in the USA.

Today in Madonna History: February 5, 2014

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On February 5 2014, Madonna introduced Pussy Riot at the Amnesty International’s human rights concert.

It was the first Amnesty International concert for the cause in 16 years, and took place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

During her introduction, Madonna thanked Pussy Riot “for making pussy a ‘sayable’ word in my household. Now, my 8-year-olds say it all the time.”

More seriously, Madonna spoke of the death threats she received during the Russian portion of her MDNA World Tour, which took place at the same time as Pussy Riot’s trial.

“Eighty-seven of my fans were arrested for gay behavior — whatever that is,” she said.

The Pussy Riot members, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina, spoke in Russian with aggression and passion. A translator related the women’s speech.

“Freedom is not a given,” she translated. “It is something we have to fight for every day. It is our duty to speak for those who are still behind bars.”

Today in Madonna History: February 4, 1984

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On February 4 1984, Madonna was featured on the cover of No. 1 magazine.

Today in Madonna History: February 1, 1997

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On February 1 1997, Evita – The Complete Motion Picture Soundtrack peaked at #2 on the Billboard 200 album chart in the U.S. Meanwhile across the pond, the soundtrack simultaneously shot to the #1 position on the UK album chart. It had initially peaked at #6 in the U.S. and at #7 in the U.K. upon release in November, 1996.

The surge in sales was largely attributed to the film’s wide release in January and the heavy promotional push that accompanied it, along with the interest generated by the soundtrack’s second single, Don’t Cry For Me Argentina.

Today In Madonna History: January 31, 2012

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On January 31 2012, the deluxe edition cover for MDNA was unveiled through Madonna’s official Facebook page.  The album’s artwork was shot by Mert and Marcus and directed by Giovanni Bianco.