Category Archives: August

Today in Madonna History: August 29, 2004

August 29, 2019 By in 2004, August Tags: , , , 1 Comment

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On August 29 2004, Madonna played to over 62,000 fans at Ireland’s Slane Castle during the only open-air performance of The Re-Invention Tour.

A fan who attended the show shared their review with Madonna fan-site Mad-Eyes.net:

“I can’t believe I’ve finally come to Ireland. Jesus Christ, what took me so fucking long!” Yesterday evening Madonna gave her first open air concert in 11 years. And Madonna didn’t disappoint. Even though it rained and she had to cover herself with a jumper sometimes, she put on a magnificent show. During the first part of the show, she wore the golden corset again. Later, while spinning during Papa Don’t Preach, she said “I’m just trying to keep myself warm!” while wearing an “Irish Do It Better” shirt. The crowd was certainly warmed up and gave her a lot of energy. When it was raining during Nothing Fails, a crew member sat on his knees on stage, covering Madonna under an umbrella while she was playing the guitar. Madonna laughed and sang “rain, rain, go away”. Because of the open air, the catwalk was present all the time and even much lower than usual, giving Madonna the chance to skim hands of the fans. The confetti for Holiday was blown into the air. As the message “Re-Invent Yourself” appeared on screen, Madonna thanked the crowd “thank you goodnight” and added “Ireland you’re the best!” Afterwards, huge fireworks broke out over the place.

Madonna herself recalled the performance in her tour documentary I’m Going To Tell You A Secret, although her recollection of the show’s attendance appeared to be slightly hazy. Billboard magazine reported ticket sales of 62,275 for the event rather than the 80,000 people capacity of the grounds.

(Thanks to Madonnalicious & their readers for the pics and to Mad-Eyes.net!)

Today in Madonna History: August 28, 1986

August 28, 2019 By in 1986, August Tags: , , 3 Comments

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On August 28 1986, Madonna and Sean opened in David Rabe’s Goose & Tomtom at Lincoln Centre’s Mitzi Newhouse Theatre, in New York.

Here’s a snippet of an article that Dena Kleiman published about the play:

A Revival that may not revive (New York Times August 19, 1986):

Madonna and Sean Penn are quietly dashing in and out of Lincoln Center these days in connection with closely guarded rehearsals of David Rabe’s Goose and Tomtom that may never be opened to the public.

But maybe, said Mr. Rabe, who is also directing the play, he will invite a special audience to come next week to a free performance – or even two. And after that? ”I’ve reserved the right not to show it,” Mr. Rabe said.

The rehearsals, in which Harvey Keitel, Barry Miller and Lorraine Bracco are also taking part, have been described by Mr. Rabe as a ”work in progress” for a play that was previously – but in his view unsuccessfully – produced. He said he believes he has a better handle on the play now, but is still not absolutely sure.

In the play, Goose (Barry Miller) and Tomtom (Sean Penn) are a pair of jewel thieves, who, in collaboration with a sexy woman named Lorraine (Madonna), amass a collection of gems only to have them stolen by a rival gang.

”I’m in the process of trying to understand it,” said Mr. Rabe, who is currently working with the actors on the stage of the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater. ”I wrote it without understanding it, and it has taken a long time to grasp.”

Today in Madonna History: August 27, 1983

August 28, 2019 By in 1983, August Tags: , , , 1 Comment

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On August 27 1983, Holiday/Lucky Star made its debut on Billboard’s Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart in the U.S., entering at #31.

The promo-only double A-side single was serviced to clubs by Sire/Warner in order to gauge public interest before deciding which track should be promoted to radio. Although technically serving as the B-side, Holiday was given top billing for its chart entry when it proved to be the more popular selection with club DJ’s. It was subsequently issued as Madonna’s third commercial single in North America, while Lucky Star was released as her fifth single a year later.

Today in Madonna History: August 26, 1989

August 26, 2019 By in 1989, August Tags: , 1 Comment

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On August 26 1989, Madonna’s third single from the Like A Prayer album, Cherish, debuted at #32 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart.

Song review by Stewart Mason (AllMusic.com):

True Blue had the gimmicky quality of an early Cyndi Lauper single, like a new waver’s vague approximation of what a 1960’s girl group song might have sounded like. Cherish is a much more successful dip into the musical past, not least because the ’60s flavor is very slight, more of a mood than any kind of particular stylistic pastiche. Perfect pop touches like the flirty “ooh, ooh” backing vocals on the bridge and the dead-on introduction of a short, sharp horn section accent on the final chorus are part of what puts the song over, but the bulk of the credit belongs to Madonna’s bubbly and endearing lead vocal, which uses the helium-pitched high register of her early singles, but minus the occasional harshness of those songs. Cherish is a delight, one of many highlights on Madonna’s best album.

Today in Madonna History: August 25, 1987

August 25, 2019 By in 1987, August Tags: , , , 2 Comments

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On August 25 1987,  Causing a Commotion was released as the second single from the soundtrack album Who’s That Girl, by Sire Records. Causing a Commotion was written and produced by Madonna and Stephen Bray, the song was inspired by Madonna’s relationship with then husband Sean Penn, and his abusive and violent nature.

Today in Madonna History: August 24, 2006

August 24, 2019 By in 2003, August Tags: , , , , 1 Comment

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On August 24 2006, clothing retailer H&M released its Madonna inspired tracksuit. Madonna and select members of her crew from The Confessions Tour were also featured in the accompanying print ad campaign, photographed by Rankin.

The success of the campaign led to more comprehensive Madonna co-branding ventures with H&M, D&G, and to the eventual launch of her own fashion brands – Material Girl and Truth or Dare by Madonna.

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Today in Madonna History: August 23, 1997

August 24, 2019 By in 1997, August Tags: , 1 Comment

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On August 23 1997, Evita: Music from the Motion Picture (the highlights disc) debuted at #168 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart in the USA.

The highlights disc included 19 tracks from the film, and was released on July 29 1997 in North America to help promote the home video release. The single disc was released in select markets around the world in 1996 at the same time as the double disc complete soundtrack, but not in North America.

Evita: The Motion Picture Music Soundtrack featured all 34 tracks from the film, and was released on November 12 1996.

The highlights disc didn’t perform very well in the late summer of 1997 because it was released a full 8 months after the original release. No single was released to radio to promote it, and most die-hard fans had already secured an imported version of the single disc soundtrack the previous year. Why it was released at all in July 1997 remains a mystery. Why the single-disc set wasn’t released in North America in November 1996 is a better question. Why not release the double-disc set (expensive) and the single disc set (average price of a CD at the time) and appeal to the largest possible group of consumers? That was the approach around the world, but not in North America, we can’t help but wonder why? – Jay