On October 20 2005, Madonna was dared by David Letterman to get back on a horse – the first time since her fall (in August) which led to three cracked ribs, a broken collarbone and a broken hand. Madonna accepted the dare to ride again.
When asked why she hadn’t been on a horse since the fall, Madonna explained, “because my record company is not very keen on the idea of me injuring myself.”
On October 17 2005, Hung Up was released by Warner Brothers Records as the lead single from the album Confessions On A Dance Floor.
Written & produced by Madonna & Stuart Price (with additional sampling credits to ABBA’s Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus), Hung Up had initially been previewed instrumentally in a September 2005 commercial for Motorola’s ROKR mobile phone. Price had also teased a dub remix of the track to unknowing audiences during his DJ sets throughout the previous year.
The single was Madonna’s first to be released digitally through iTunes.
In an interview with The Daily Telegraph from October 2005, Benny Andersson spoke about their decision to allow Madonna to sample ABBA’s 1979 hit, Gimme Gimme Gimme (A Man After Midnight):
We get so many requests from people wanting to use our tracks but we normally say ‘no’. This is only the second time we have given permission. We said ‘yes’ this time because we admire Madonna so much and always have done. She has got guts and has been around for 21 years. That is not bad going.”
On October 16 2005, Madonna was photographed leaving a private party held at a club in Midtown New York.
On September 28 2005, Madonna’s official website confirmed that Johan Renck would direct the music video for Hung Up, the lead single from Confessions On A Dance Floor.
Photographer David LaChapelle had initially signed on to direct but dropped out of the project during pre-production after a disagreement with Madonna over the video’s creative direction.
Renck had previously collaborated with Madonna in 1999 when he directed the video for Nothing Really Matters.
On August 29 2005, Madonna appeared on the cover of People Magazine with the caption: Bone Breaking Fall.
Madonna had planned to celebrate her 47th birthday on a warm summer afternoon at her country home outside London, relaxing with her husband and children and horseback riding with her assistant.
And then: boom.
On Aug. 16 the singer took a spill on an unfamiliar horse, suffering three cracked ribs and a broken collarbone and hand. Her husband, Guy Ritchie, drove her to a local hospital, where she was treated and released a few hours later. Fortunately she’s almost finished wrapping up her new album, which she shot cover art for last Thursday and is due out in November. That said, “I’m sure she’ll be very restless,” says rep Liz Rosenberg. “She’s usually doing lots of things at once: Pilates, riding her bike. I think it will be tough on her.” At the very least, she can count on the neighbors to pull her a sympathetic pint or two. “She is well-liked by the locals round here,” says Tim Birks, landlord of Madonna’s local pub the King John Inn. “A lot of people will be wishing her a speedy recovery.” So will she get back on the horse and ride again? “Knowing her, she’ll be riding next week,” says Rosenberg. “She is a fearless girl.”
On August 4 2005, Liz Smith talked about Madonna’s then-forthcoming Confession on a Dance Floor album in the New York Post:
Who are the happiest music executives in the land these days? The big guys at Warner Records. All who have heard Madonna’s coming CD, Confessions on a Dance Floor, have been blown away. (Including WR’s movie – star handsome CEO Tom Whalley.) Confessions is entirely a dance – driven pop disc. No message. No ballads. All fun. These days M seems serene as the chatelaine of an English manor, feeding the chickens, riding, tending to her children, etc. (She, her home and her kids are gorgeous in Vogue for August.) But the once – shocking icon can still get into the groove. And she wants her fans to know it. The album hits stores in November.
Do you remember the anticipation for this album? It was a very exciting time to be a Madonna fan!
On July 2 2005, Madonna performed Like A Prayer, Ray Of Light and Music in front of an audience of over 200,000 during the Live 8 benefit concert at London’s Hyde Park. Part of a series of concerts, many of which were held simultaneously at various locations around the world, Live 8 was broadcast live on television and radio to an estimated global audience of two billion.
Madonna is one of only eight acts – and the only female artist – to have been a headlining performer at both 1985’s Live Aid and 2005’s Live 8. Other returning performers were U2, Paul McCartney, Elton John, Sting, The Who, George Michael, and organizer, Bob Geldof. It took a bit of arm twisting on Geldof’s part to win Madonna’s commitment the second time around, as Madonna explained to MTV’s John Norris in a backstage interview after her performance:
Bob Geldof sent me a letter asking ‘will you do Live 8?’ and he didn’t really tell me anything and I went ‘Oh common dude, you gotta do better than that! Prove to me that it’s gonna make a difference and I’ll be there for you.’ And he did!”
In what turned out to be one of the event’s most moving moments, Madonna was introduced to the stage by Geldof with Birhan Woldu – the starving African child featured in the CBC News report twenty years earlier who had prompted Geldof to organize Live Aid. When Geldof had asked Woldu which artist she would like to appear with on stage, she immediately selected Madonna for the simple reason that she was the only artist on the bill that she had ever heard of. In a later interview, Woldu recalled the experience:
The crowd seemed to stretch for miles, but I’d been telling myself not to be nervous. There was just a huge picture of me as a child on the screen. That photo still upsets me. It was taken 20 years ago, when both my mother and sister died. I knew I must be strong for them but when I walked on I could feel my body shaking. Then Madonna took my hand and looked into my eyes, the crowd roared and I realised the world wanted to help my continent. I felt myself grow stronger.”
Madonna’s memorable performance at Live 8 was largely praised by mainstream media and fans alike.
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