Today in Madonna History: December 15, 1990

December 15, 2025 By in 1990, December Tags: , , , , , 1 Comment

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On December 15 1990, the LA Times printed a feature article by Robert Hilburn, about Madonna’s forth-coming laser-disc release of the Blond Ambition tour.

Can Madonna sell laser-disc players as well as she sells herself? Pioneer Artists, the nation’s leading distributor of music-related laser discs, hopes so. In a move virtually unprecedented in the video industry, Pioneer has just released Madonna’s Blond Ambition World Tour Live exclusively on laser disc. Normally, video packages of this nature are released on videocassette two to six weeks before they are released on laser-disc. In this case, however, Blond Ambition won’t be released on videocassette for at least a year.  Steven Galloway, president of Pioneer Artists, said he hopes the fact that an artist of Madonna’s stature would release a video only on laser disc will send a signal to millions of potential laser customers that the new format has finally come of age.

Galloway said that the laser exclusive with Madonna grew out of an agreement last spring for Pioneer, the electronics hardware and software giant, to sponsor her tour.

“I contacted her manager, Freddy DeMann, long before the tour started in hopes of getting the laser-disc rights to any video that was going to be shot in association with the tour,” Galloway said. DeMann was meeting with potential corporate sponsors at the time, Galloway said, and he asked if Pioneer would be interested in sponsoring the tour. The company apparently jumped at the opportunity.

“Madonna is the ideal artist to reach the new demographics that we are hoping to attract with the new, low-priced combination CD and laser players . . . the young, hip 18-35 audience,” Galloway said.

“Until these low-priced players arrived, laser discs were considered something just for the high-end market . . . a rich man’s toy. But that has changed and Madonna seemed the ideal artist to drive that point home.”

And what about the Blond Ambition package itself?

The video is based on the same concert in Nice that HBO broadcast live last summer, but the new, edited laser version offers much more of the vitality and charm of the show itself than the HBO special.

Today in Madonna History: December 14, 1985

December 14, 2025 By in 1985, December Tags: , , , 1 Comment

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On December 14 1985, Dress You Up peaked at #5 on the UK singles chart.

It was Madonna’s eighth UK Top-5 hit of 1985:

  1. Like A Virgin  #3
  2. Material Girl  #3
  3. Crazy For You  #2
  4. Into The Groove  #1
  5. Holiday (re-release)  #2
  6. Angel  #5
  7. Gambler  #4
  8. Dress You Up  #5

https://vimeo.com/43226872

Today in Madonna History: December 13, 1984

December 13, 2025 By in 1984, December Tags: , , , , , 1 Comment

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On December 13 1984, Madonna performed Like A Virgin on BBC1-TV’s Top Of The Pops in London, England.

Madonna wore her signature Boy Toy belt, a Keith Haring jacket and a vibrant pink wig. She wore the same pink wig during a performance on Like A Virgin on Solid Gold.

Today in Madonna History: December 12, 2001

December 12, 2025 By in 2001, November Tags: , 1 Comment

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On December 12 2001, Madonna participated in a MSN Live Chat, to promote GHV2 (Greatest Hits Volume 2), which was released on November 12.

Here are some GHV2 related questions from Madonna’s fans and her answers from the live chat:

 

Do you think that the journey that the Immaculate Collection covers is greater than GHV2?

No, actually the opposite. I experienced a much greater journey later, and I was paying attention more.

Which song do you wish was on GHV2 but was left off?

I don’t. At the end of the day, if people want to hear a song, they can go get the record it was on. I don’t regret not having anything else on it (GHV2).

I am really pleased to have a new greatest hits collection from you but why aren’t there any new songs in GHV2?

Because they are my greatest hits. New songs would be false advertising because if it’s a new song, it wouldn’t be considered a greatest hit. That’s a little presumptuous isn’t it?

I found some Japanese expression in the cover of your GHV2. That reads “mo-dzi-ji-ra-mi-mi-dzi” (this is how we pronounce it). What does it mean?

It’s supposed to be my name in Japanese.

Madonna, thank you for joining us today to talk with your fans from around the world. Continued success with GHV2 and from all your fans and from all of us here on MSN, happiest of holidays.

Thank you! I enjoyed it immensely, happy holidays!

ghv2msn-end

Today in Madonna History: December 11, 1989

December 11, 2025 By in 1989, December Tags: , , 1 Comment

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On December 11 1989, Madonna was featured on the cover of People magazine as one of the best-dressed celebrities of 1989.

Topping the list of the best dressed were Princess Diana, Kevin Costner, John Candy, Jacqueline Onassis, Mick Jagger, Angela Lansbury, Madonna, Marlon Brando, Michelle Pfeiffer and Mel Gibson.

People listed Bruce Springsteen, Kim Basinger, Sean Young, Elizabeth Taylor, Rod Stewart, Roseanne Barr, Jerry Hall, Geena Davis, Kathleen Sulilvan and Prince Andrew as the worst dressed.

Today in Madonna History: December 10, 1991

December 10, 2025 By in 1991, December Tags: , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

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On December 10 1991, Madonna was honoured with the Award Of Courage by the American Foundation For AIDS Research (AMFAR) at a Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel dinner, in Beverly Hills, California.

At the event, Madonna discussed the rumours that she had tested positive for AIDS:

“When the rumors surfaced that I was HIV-positive, I thought, well, someone’s really bored today . . . let’s make up a real juicy story. I tried to ignore it but it wouldn’t go away. . . .

Instead of pointing the finger at people and having witch hunts and ostracizing each other for lifestyles and sexual preferences, we should all be uniting to fight this disease . . . but we’re not. Because we’re afraid. We’re scared out of our skins to face the truth that AIDS is not a gay disease, it’s a human disease.

Now I’m not HIV-positive, but what if I were? I would be more afraid of how society would treat me for having the disease than the actual disease itself. If this is what I have to deal with for my involvement in fighting this epidemic, then so be it.

I’m not afraid to be associated with people who are HIV-positive, and I am not afraid to love people who are HIV-positive. Because their ordeal is more important than mine, because their courage is larger than mine, because what they’re facing is real. And if we can learn to deal with real, and our fears, then I’m hopeful that we can conquer this disease.”

The event drew 850 guests, and raised $750,000 for AmFAR. Performers included Patti Austin, k.d. lang, Barry Manilow, Michael McDonald, David Pack and Rosie O’Donnell, who did a hilarious send-up of the Madonna’s Vogue.

Today in Madonna History: December 9, 2016

December 9, 2025 By in 2016, December Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 2 Comments

On December 9 2016, Madonna’s Rebel Heart Tour premiered on SHOWTIME, on-air, on-demand and over the internet.

Here’s a snippet from the press release for the broadcast:

MADONNA: REBEL HEART TOUR was shot around the world and features a collection of live and behind these scenes footage culminating in performances at the Sydney Olympic Park in March of this year. The film is co-directed by Danny B. Tull and Nathan Rissman, both of whom have worked extensively with Madonna on her feature films and tour movies. Madonna will be honored later this year as Billboard magazine’s 2016 Woman of the Year award, at a star-studded event held in conjunction with the publication of Billboard’s Women in Music list, which identifies the 50 most powerful female executives in the industry each year.

“When it comes to putting on a show, there is only one Madonna – an iconic performer that we’re thrilled to have on our air,” said David Nevins, President and CEO, Showtime Networks Inc. “With her unique creative vision and unmatched stage presence, our viewers will see an arena show packed with visual theatrics, stunning costumes and intricate choreography, featuring new hits and beloved classic songs.”

The set list for MADONNA: REBEL HEART TOUR spans all decades of the iconic superstar’s illustrious career, including songs from Rebel Heart (the No. 1 dance hits “Living for Love” and “Bitch I’m Madonna“) to classic fan favorites like “Material Girl” and “Holiday” and a “Dress You Up” medley that included “Into The Groove,” “Everybody” and “Lucky Star.” Memorable highlights from the tour include her first-ever live concert performance of “Take a Bow,” acoustic versions of “Like A Prayer,” “Secret” and “Don’t Tell Me.”  At each tour date during the song “Unapologetic Bitch,” Madonna would bring someone up from the crowd to dance with her during the song. Some nights it was a fan, another night it was Katy Perry. Other guest dancers included: Amy Schumer, Ariana Grande, Jessica Chastain, Idris Elba, Diplo, Gwendoline Christie, Graham Norton and Anderson Cooper.

Produced by Live Nation Global Touring, the Rebel Heart Tour kicked off on September 9, 2015 in Montreal and visited arenas in 55 cities on four continents over seven months. Madonna performed 82 shows, plus a special fan club show in Melbourne. The tour grossed $169.8 Million with 1,045,479 in attendance, making her the top grossing touring female artist in the history of Billboard Boxscore with over $1.31 billion in ticket sales sold over the course of her career. Madonna is also the fourth top grossing touring act (behind The Rolling Stones, U2 and Bruce Springsteen) since tracking began in 1990.

The Rebel Heart Tour was directed by Jamie King with musical direction by Kevin Antunes (the band’s keyboardist Ric’key Pageot, drummer Brian Frasier-Moore, guitarist Monte Pittman, and background vocalists Kiley Dean and Nicki Richards), lead choreography by Megan Lawson, hair by Andy LeCompte, makeup by Aaron Henrikson, and costume design by Arianne Phillips.