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.”
On May 31 1985, Madonna The Videos was certified platinum for shipment of 50,000 units in the USA.
The photos above show the Australian release of Madonna The Videos on VHS.
On May 27, 1985, Madonna appeared on the cover of Time Magazine. Photos by Francesco Scavullo.
On May 25 1985, Madonna performed The Virgin Tour at Cobo Arena in Detroit, Michigan. The show was filmed by Daniel Kleinman, and released by Warner Music Video and Sire Records on November 13 1985.
Here is the dialog from Madonna’s famous Virgin Tour introduction (filmed by James Foley for the video release, it was not present during the concerts):
“I went to New York. I had a dream. I wanted to be a big star, I didn’t know anybody, I wanted to dance, I wanted to sing, I wanted to do all those things, I wanted to make people happy, I wanted to be famous, I wanted everybody to love me. I wanted to be a star. I worked really hard, and my dream came true.”
Madonna Live: The Virgin Tour was an enormous success. The home video release was the top selling music video cassette of 1986 in the USA, and the video was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipment of 100,000 copies.
On May 23 1985, Madonna accepted a Canadian Quadruple Platinum certification award for shipment of over 400,000 copies of her second album, Like A Virgin, within Canada. The award was presented by WEA Canada’s VP of sales Garry Newman to Madonna and Sire Records president Seymour Stein prior to her sold-out Toronto concert at Maple Leaf Gardens.
Like A Virgin was eventually certified (in July, 1992) with the rare Canadian Diamond certification for shipment of over one million copies in Canada. The only other Madonna album to date to receive Diamond certification in Canada is True Blue, which managed to achieve the feat within a year of its release. To date, only eighteen albums in total (by any artist or musical group) have received a Diamond certification in Canada.
On April 10 1985, Madonna’s Angel single was released by Sire Records. Angel was the third single released from the Like a Virgin album.
Written by Steve Bray and Madonna, it was one of the first songs developed for the project and, according to Madonna, was inspired by a girl who is saved by an angel, and she falls in love with Him.
Lyrics:
Why am I standing on a cloud
Every time you’re around
And my sadness disappears
Every time you are nearBridge:
You must be an angel
I can see it in your eyes
Full of wonder and surprise
And just now I realizeChorus:
Oooh you’re an angel
Oooh you’re an angel
Oooh you’re an angel
In disguise, I can see it in your eyesWalking down a crowded avenue
Other faces seem like nothing next to you
And I can’t hear the traffic rushing by
Just the pounding of my heart and that’s why(bridge)
(chorus, repeat)You’re an angel
You’re an angel, baby
You’re an angel
You must be an angelNow I believe that dreams come true
‘Cause you came when I wished for you
This just can’t be coincidence
The only way that this makes sense is that(chorus, repeat)
You’re an angel
You’re an angel, baby
You’re an angel
You must be an angel, babyClouds just disappear
On February 23 1985, Material Girl made its debut on Billboard’s Airplay chart at #19, while on the Hot 100 the single jumped ahead ten positions from #34 to #24.
Meanwhile, television viewers were getting a double-dose of Madonna as both the Material Girl and Gambler music videos earned “Power Rotation” status on MTV’s weekly monitor.
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