On June 11 1985, Madonna ended The Virgin Tour with a sold-out concert at New York’s Madison Square Garden.
Category Archives: 1985
Today in Madonna History: June 1, 1985
On June 1 1985, Warner Bros. and Sire Records took out a centerfold ad in Billboard magazine to celebrate the resounding success of Madonna’s first concert trek, The Virgin Tour.
Featuring the cover image from her then-current single, Angel, as a backdrop, the spread cheekily alluded to Madonna’s “virgin” moniker with the caption:
“You were wonderful! We’re proud of you. Congratulations on your first tour.
– Warner Bros. and Sire records.”
Today in Madonna History: May 27, 1985
On May 27, 1985, Madonna appeared on the cover of Time Magazine. Photos by Francesco Scavullo.
Today in Madonna History: May 25, 1985
On May 25 1985, Madonna’s self-titled video collection hit number-one on Billboard’s Top Music Videos chart in the U.S.
Released on VHS, Beta and 8″ LaserDisc, the “video ep” included four of her earliest music videos (while it excluded the low-budget and rarely seen video for Everybody, it included a previously unreleased extended version of the Lucky Star video). It marked Madonna’s first foray into the home video market.
Today in Madonna History: April 27, 1985
On April 27 1985, Madonna’s Angel single was briefly reviewed in Billboard magazine as it entered the Hot 100 at #48.
The Angel 12-inch single, which included an extended dance mix of the track – plus Into The Groove on the b-side – would be issued commercially in North America in late May.
Today in Madonna History: April 23, 1985
On April 23 1985, Madonna’s Like A Virgin album was certified 4x platinum (4 million units).
Today in Madonna History: April 10, 1985
On April 10 1985, Madonna’s Virgin Tour opened with 3 sold-out concerts at the Paramount Theatre in Seattle, Washington.
During a 2009 interview with Rolling Stone, interviewer Austin Scaggs asked Madonna regarding her feelings and emotions during the tour, since it was the first time she was playing in arenas. Madonna replied saying, “That whole tour was crazy, because I went from playing CBGB and the Mudd Club to playing sporting arenas,” she told the magazine. “I played a small theater in Seattle, and the girls had flap skirts on and the tights cut off below their knees and lace gloves and rosaries and bows in their hair and big hoop earrings. I was like, ‘This is insane!’ After Seattle, all of the shows were moved to arenas.”
Madonna had three shows in Seattle – April 10, 12 and 13 – and all three were sellouts by the time she took the stage that first night. The Beastie Boys opened for Madonna and they weren’t well received by the pro-Madonna crowd. The show was a year before “Licensed to Ill” was released.
Their 30-minute set got off to a bad start when one of the Beastie Boys declared himself King of the Paramount, and generally made the pro-Madonna audience feel like a swarm of hillbillies, P-I pop music critic Gene Stout wrote in his review.
“Dressed in what looked like a Boy George outfit, she looked reluctant, almost scared, and kept her eyes on the ground as she and her small entourage swept past a modest gathering of fans,” Stout wrote.
Madonna started the show with Dress You Up, followed with Holiday, and performed Borderline for the first time live as her seventh song. Madonna ended by debuting Material Girl as her encore.
Today In Madonna History 