On April 17 2002, David Williamson spoke to news.com.au about working with Madonna on her West End debut in Up For Grabs, and how she prefers to be called M, not Madge.
Williamson told the new site that Madonna hates the nickname British newspapers have given her:
“They call her Madge to try to domesticate her and she hates it. One of the actors didn’t realise and called her that in rehearsals and got a fairly sharp response.”
What is your favourite Madonna nickname? What do you call her?
On April 16 2016, Madonna’s 1985 Japanese mini-album, Like A Virgin & Other Big Hits, was re-issued on pink vinyl for Record Store Day.
The four track collection included the following:
Were you in the line-ups like I was? How festive was it to see so many vinyl fans? Did you score a copy of Like A Virgin & Other Big Hits on Record Store Day, or did you have to order through eBay? – Jay
On April 15 1992, Madonna appeared on the cover of Smash Hits magazine.
Here’s a snippet of the featured interview:
Smash Hits: So what have you been up to lately?
Madonna: I’ve just finished working on the movie A League Of Their Own, which I’m very excited about. I’ve also been working on material for my next record but that probably won’t be released for a couple of months.
Smash Hits: Are you planning any amazing tours and perhaps finally popping down to Australia along the way?
Madonna: Yes, absolutely. But right now I want to concentrate more on film. I’ve always wanted to become an actress – so I want to concentrate on film, the theatre and also dance.
Sorry for the crappy scan — if you have a better scan of this magazine cover, please let us know, thanks! – Jay
On April 14 2015, Madonna appeared on the cover of Cosmopolitan magazine’s 50th anniversary cover, to celebrate 50 years of power, provocation and living the Comso-girl life. The May issue featured four different covers of Madonna, with photos by Ellen von Unwerth.
Here’s a snippet of the interview between Cosmopolitan and Madonna:
On longevity in her career: “Popularity comes and goes. You need to know who you are, what you stand for, and why you’re here.”
On sexuality and ageism: “Don’t be fooled, not much has changed — certainly not for women. We still live in a very sexist society that wants to limit people. Since I started, I’ve had people giving me a hard time because they didn’t think you could be sexual or have sexuality or sensuality in your work and be intelligent at the same time. For me, the fight has never ended.”
On Internet haters: “You can hide behind your computer or your phone and say whatever you want — you’re not known. Could you say it to my face? Would you say it to my face? I doubt it.”
On April 6 1998, an exclusive studio performance of Frozen was broadcast during the Hey! Music Awards II on Fuji-TV in Japan. Madonna was also honoured with an award during the ceremony, and offered the taped performance and acceptance speech in lieu of attendance.
On April 5 2003, an Australian interview aired that demonstrated Madonna’s quick change of heart regarding the American Life music video.
During the interview with Richard Wilkins, the following dialog takes place:
Wilkins: “You’re going to get all sorts of criticism I think.”
Madonna: “Why. Tell me why!”
W: “People are going to say it’s inappropriate to show bombs going off and planes bombing people.”
M: “Why? That’s on the news every five minutes! I’m just using news footage that’s already been seen by everyone.”
W: “I’m suggesting that some people are going to think maybe it’s ill-timed.”
M: “But in a way it’s perfect timing, because it’s what we are experiencing right now – so, it’s American life. It’s very current and appropriate I think.”
Wilkins may have convinced Madonna to go cold on the idea.
“Maybe I did, perhaps I caused her to think again,” he said. “She is very proud of the video, as she should be because it’s incredible.”
By the time the interview aired (a week later), Madonna had already pulled the American Life video and made a statement regarding her choice.
You can read the statement and watch the full music video here.
On April 4 1989, Pepsi-Cola announced it had banned all future broadcasts of the Madonna/Pepsi-Cola commercial, cancelled her 1-year contract and the sponsorship of what would have been the Like A Prayer World Tour, due to the boycott threats from religious groups against her own Like A Prayer music video.
Here’s a snippet of an article from the New York Times (printed April 5, 1989):
”When you’ve got an ad that confuses people or concerns people, it just makes sense that that ad goes away,” said Tod MacKenzie, a spokesman for Pepsico Inc. He would not say whether Pepsico had canceled its sponsorship of Madonna’s tour.
Pepsico paid Madonna more than $5 million to appear in a two-minute commercial that first appeared on March 2. In it, Madonna traveled back to her 8th birthday.
Jay’s Thought: Had the Like A Prayer World Tour gone forward as planned, Madonna might not have participated in Dick Tracy or released I’m Breathless or Vogue for that matter. How different would the Like A Prayer World Tour set-list have been from Blond Ambition?
Today In Madonna History 