Today in Madonna History: February 12, 1984

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On February 12 1984, Madonna was featured on The Dance Show, a syndicated American television variety show.

She appeared in a segment from New York performing Holiday and Borderline, followed by a brief interview in which she introduced her brother and backup dancer, Christopher. Borderline was also included in a second episode that aired a few months later on April 25th, as the single was climbing the charts.

Despite an extensive list of promotional appearances for her first album, this was Madonna’s only known television studio performance of Borderline until she revisited the song during a 2016 appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.

Today in Madonna History: January 21, 1984

 

On January 21 1984, Madonna earned her very first Canadian chart entry as Holiday entered RPM’s Canadian Top 50 Singles chart at #48.

Madonna would go on to collect a total of 25 #1 singles to date in Canada  – the most for any solo artist in Canadian chart history. She has also racked up a staggering 68 Top 40 singles in Canada – 51 of which ascended into the Top 10.

 

Today in Madonna History: December 24, 1983

On December 24 1983, Madonna was named runner-up for Top Dance/Disco Artist Of The Year in Billboard magazine’s year-end issue, while Michael Jackson took top honors.

The double-sided club hit Holiday/Lucky Star peaked at #3 on the Top Dance/Disco Singles Of The Year tally, while Madonna’s second entry at #26 combined points from her first two single releases, Everybody and Burning Up/Physical Attraction.

Today in Madonna History: December 10, 1983

On December 10 1983, Madonna was featured on the back cover of Billboard magazine with the caption: “A Star Is Born!”

Very perceptive, Billboard! Bravo!

Today in Madonna History: September 24, 1983

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On September 24 1983, Madonna’s Holiday hit #1 on the Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart in the USA. Holiday was Madonna’s first #1 single on the dance charts.

Today in Madonna History: September 8, 1983

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On September 8 1983, Madonna’s Lucky Star single was released in the UK.

Although Lucky Star was issued promotionally as a double A-side with Holiday in the US in September 1983, it was not released commercially in North America until August 1984 when it was issued as the final single from Madonna’s self-titled debut album.

Lucky Star was written by Madonna and produced by Reggie Lucas, with additional remixing by Jellybean Benitez. It is the most successful of her North American singles that were entirely self-written, reaching #4 on the U.S. Hot 100 and #8 in Canada (RPM Top 100). It was also her first Top-5 single in the U.S.

In the U.K., her self-written single Gambler was a bigger hit, reaching #4 in the fall of 1985, while Lucky Star peaked at #14.

Madonna wrote the song in 1982 after landing her first recording contract with Sire Records. It was rumoured to have been written about Mark Kamins, although we’re unsure whether that has ever been confirmed by Madonna herself.

Today in Madonna History: August 18, 1987

On August 18 1987, Madonna performed the first of three sold-out Who’s That Girl Tour concerts at Wembley Stadium in London.

In total, Madonna performed for 216,000 fans during the three nights at Wembley.