Today in Madonna History: September 14, 2004

On September 14 2004, the final show of Madonna’s Re-Invention Tour took place in Lisbon, Portugal.

The Lisbon concert was recorded and considered for release on DVD but these plans were unfortunately shelved. However, a rough cut leaked on the internet several years later. To date this remains the only complete, professionally shot recording of the tour available to fans.

Today in Madonna History: September 13, 2011

torfront2

On September 13 2011, Madonna appeared on the cover of the National Post (Canadian newspaper).

Madonna was photographed wearing a Tom Ford dress on the red carpet of the Toronto Film Festival to promote her second movie as a director — W.E. — about a woman (played by Abbie Cornish) who obsesses about divorcée Wallis Simpson, for whom King Edward gave up his throne. 

Today in Madonna History: September 12, 1992

On September 12 1992, Shep Pettibone left the Soundworks Studio in New York with the completed master of Madonna’s forthcoming Erotica album in his hands.

What is your favourite Madonna / Shep Pettibone collaboration from Erotica? 

Today in Madonna History: September 11, 2001

september_11_madonna

On September 11 2001, Madonna postponed a scheduled Drowned World Tour concert at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California due to terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York, and the Pentagon in Washington, DC.  The concert was re-scheduled for September 15.

“Violence begets violence,” Madonna told the Staples Center crowd of nearly 20,000 fans on September 14th, “and I don’t know about you, but I want to live a long and happy life. I want my kids to live a long and happy life.”

“What happened was horrible, but I’d like to think of it as a wake-up call. There’s terrorism every day all over the world.”

“Last night, we had a minute of prayer for everybody who died on Tuesday. Tonight I’d like to say a prayer for peace.”

“I said it last night and I’ll say it again: If you want to change the world, change yourself.”

Madonna pledged that proceeds from the final shows on the tour would go to relief funds for victims of the attacks and their families.

Today in Madonna History: September 10, 1998

mtv_vma_98-1 mtv_vma_98-2 mtv_vma_98-3 mtv_vma_98-4 mtv_vma_98-5 mtv_vma_98-6 mtv_vma_98-7 Jonas Akerlund and Madonna

On September 10 1998, Madonna performed Shanti/Ashtangi and Ray Of Light at the 15th annual MTV Video Music Awards at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles, California.  Ray Of Light won Best Video, Best Female Video, Best Direction (Jonas Åkerlund), Best Choreography, Best Editing and Frozen won Best Special Effects.

Today in Madonna History: September 9, 2015

Rebel_Heart_Tour_Montreal_1 Rebel_Heart_Tour_Montreal_2 Rebel_Heart_Tour_Montreal_3 Rebel_Heart_Tour_Montreal_4 Rebel_Heart_Tour_Montreal_5 Rebel_Heart_Tour_Montreal_6 Rebel_Heart_Tour_Montreal_7 Rebel_Heart_Tour_Montreal_8 Rebel_Heart_Tour_Montreal_9 Rebel_Heart_Tour_Montreal_10 Rebel_Heart_Tour_Montreal_11 Rebel_Heart_Tour_Montreal_12 Rebel_Heart_Tour_Montreal_13

Madonna opened her Rebel Heart Tour on September 9 2015, in Montreal, Canada.

Before the first show, Women’s Wear Daily shared some of the costume designs by Gucci, Prada, Moschino, Alexander Wang and Fausto Puglisi.

Alexander Wang commented on the process of selecting costumes:

“For her, the performance comes first. She has to be able to dance and move and feel comfortable in it”

Arianne Phillips also commented on the process:

“Madonna doesn’t really finalize any of the designs until 100 percent of the choreography is set. It’s a real back-and-forth conversation and it’s a brutal process for most fashion designers. You’re hanging in the balance while all the practical aspects are worked out, like the choreography and the quick-changes.”

Today in Madonna History: September 8, 1994

On September 8 1994, Madonna presented the award for Video of the Year at the MTV VMA’s. She was escorted onstage by David Letterman, poking fun at their supposed feud following Madonna’s infamous profanity propelled appearance on Letterman earlier that year.

The appearance was intended to generate buzz for her soon-to-be-released single, Secret and its accompanying album, Bedtime Stories.