Today in Madonna History: July 28, 1990

July 28, 2024 By Jay in 1990, July Tags: Blond Ambition World Tour, Canada, Hanky Panky, I'm Breathless, Music Videos, Toronto 1 Comment

On July 28 1990, Hanky Panky hit its peak position of number-ten on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S.

The rarely seen official video for Hanky Panky was recorded at the May 27th 1990 concert in Toronto, Canada. Rather than use live audio from the tour, Warner opted to overdub the live performance with the album version. The video was broadcast for a few weeks and then withdrawn from rotation in most countries. Although no official reason was given, it is assumed that due to the low-budget nature of the video, it was only ever intended to serve as an initial promotional push for the song, with its subsequent withdrawal from rotation being part of the plan.

Today in Madonna History: July 20, 1990

July 20, 2024 By sonicboy19 in 1990, July Tags: Blond Ambition World Tour, Controversy, Fuck 1 Comment

On July 20 1990, Madonna performed the first of three Blond Ambition Tour concerts at Wembley Stadium in London. She also performed on July 21 and 22.

BBC Radio 1 broadcast the full July 21 show, live from Wembley Stadium with no time delay, which led to controversy over the amount of swear words Madonna uttered live on air and the BBC had to issue an apology. Madonna said the F-word 24 times.

Highlights of the show were later aired after the 1992 interview with Madonna and Simon Bates.

Today in Madonna History: May 27, 1990

May 27, 2024 By sonicboy19 in 1990, May Tags: Blond Ambition World Tour, Canada, Interview Videos, Live Videos, Liz Rosenberg, Much Music, Toronto 1 Comment

On May 27 1990, Madonna played the first of three shows at the Toronto Skydome during her Blond Ambition Tour. The shows were Madonna’s only Canadian dates for the tour.

I was fortunate enough to have attended this show when I was twelve years old. Not only was it my first Madonna live experience, it was my first live concert experience. The morning tickets went on sale my mom was working out-of-town so she let me skip sixth-grade for the morning and I headed downtown to Sunrise Records…I managed to score two 100-level tickets directly facing the stage. I don’t think the word “excited” would sufficiently describe how elated I was to be going to see Madonna. The next two months felt like the longest two months of my life, but I couldn’t have been happier. I watched the Ciao Italia! concert on VHS daily during the lead-up, hoping that the new tour would be equally good. Needless to say it far exceeded my expectations – and my mom’s as well! We had the best time dancing and singing and just being utterly blown away by the spectacle. I couldn’t have asked for a better first concert experience, or for a better memory. Much love to the two M’s for making it possible! – Justin

Today in Madonna History: May 2, 2016

May 2, 2024 By sonicboy19 in 2016, May Tags: Blond Ambition World Tour, Canada, CBC, Interview Videos, Jose Gutierez, Kevin Stea, Oliver Crumes, Strike A Pose 1 Comment

On May 2 2016, three of Madonna’s Blond Ambition Tour dancers – Jose Gutierez, Kevin Stea & Oliver Crumes – were interviewed by Gill Deacon for CBC-Radio’s arts and culture show, Q.

The dancers were in Toronto to promote their documentary, Strike A Pose, which was being screened during the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival between April 27–May 7 and the Inside Out Toronto film festival from May 27–June 5, 2016.

For anyone who hasn’t yet watched Strike A Pose, be sure to check it out! It’s a beautiful film!

Today in Madonna History: May 1, 1990

May 1, 2024 By sonicboy19 in 1990, May Tags: Arsenio Hall, Blond Ambition World Tour, Dick Tracy, Hanky Panky, Paula Abdul 1 Comment

On May 1, 1990, Madonna was a guest on the Arsenio Hall Show. During her appearance, Madonna promoted Dick Tracy and made Arsenio sweat about Paula Abdul, etc.

Today in Madonna History: July 25, 1990

July 25, 2023 By Jay in 1990, July Tags: Blond Ambition World Tour, Japan, Laserdisc Release, Like A Virgin (Single), Live Videos, VHS Release 1 Comment

On July 25 1990, Warner-Pioneer released Madonna: Blond Ambition Japan Tour 90 on VHS and laserdisc, exclusively to the Japanese market.

The release captured one of Madonna’s performances in Yokohama, Japan in April, 1990 and had previously been broadcast live on Japanese television. Due to heavy winds, no curtains were lowered to hide set changes during this particular open-air concert.