On November 11 2005, Madonna gave a sparkling performance of Hung Up & Get Together on French reality television series Star Academy during the European promotional tour for her album Confessions On A Dance Floor.
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Today in Madonna History: October 27, 1990
On October 27 1990, Madonna’s first dance teacher and mentor from Michigan, Christopher Flynn, passed away from an AIDS-related illness. With the news of his death, Madonna issued the statement: “Christopher Flynn was my mentor, is my higher power, and will remain an eternal inspiration.”
Indeed, Flynn would later serve as the inspiration for one of the characters from Madonna’s directorial debut, Filth And Wisdom, as she explained to Gus Van Sant in the October 2010 issue of Interview magazine:
The character that Richard E. Grant plays in the film I directed, Filth and Wisdom, is this blind professor who was based on my ballet teacher, Christopher Flynn. Growing up in Michigan, I didn’t really know what a gay man was. He was the first man-the first human being-who made me feel good about myself and special. He was the first person who told me that I was beautiful or that I had something to offer the world, and he encouraged me to believe in my dreams, to go to New York. He was such an important person in my life. He died of AIDS, but he went blind toward the end of his life. He was such a lover of art, classical music, literature, opera. You know, I grew up in the Midwest, and it was really because of him that I was exposed to so many of those things. He brought me to my first gay club-it was this club in Detroit. I always felt like I was a freak when I was growing up and that there was something wrong with me because I couldn’t fit in anywhere. But when he took me to that club, he brought me to a place where I finally felt at home. So that character in Filth and Wisdom was dedicated to him and inspired by him.”
Madonna would also recall Christopher’s influence in the second verse of the lyrics to her song, In This Life.
Today in Madonna History: October 26, 1985
On October 26 1985, Madonna’s sassily self-written soundtrack slice, Gambler, peaked at #4 in the UK.
You could be taking your chances on this hidden gem once again, Madonna.
We know you want to.
Come on.
Today in Madonna History: October 5, 1985
On October 5 1985, Dress You Up peaked at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S.
The song also spent the first of a four-week run at #1 on the 12-inch Singles Sales chart and peaked at #3 on the Club Play chart in the same issue.
Today in Madonna History: September 27, 2002
On September 27 2002, the theme and title-track for the twentieth film in the James Bond franchise, Die Another Day, received its world premiere on New York radio station Z100. The song had been due to hit the airwaves on October 10th, but when Z100 got their hands on the track ahead of schedule they immediately added it to their heavy rotation playlist. Other stations quickly followed suit, prompting an early but very strong debut at #41 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S. and becoming the chart’s highest first-week entry of the year.
Die Another Day was written and produced by Madonna and Mirwais with string arrangement by the late, great Michel Colombier. After being introduced to Madonna through Mirwais, Colombier arranged strings for Madonna’s 2000 hit Don’t Tell Me, scored her film Swept Away and arranged the American Life tracks Nothing Fails and Easy Ride. Colombier sadly lost a brief battle with cancer in 2004, leaving behind a legacy of celebrated collaborations with the likes of Serge Gainsbourg, Prince and Joni Mitchell, to name only a few.
Madonna’s Bond theme was first performed during 2004’s Re-Invention Tour, where it became a visual showstopper with its ambitious and impressively executed tango-influenced choreography.
Today in Madonna History: September 11, 1987
On September 11 1987, Madonna won Best Female Video for Papa Don’t Preach at the MTV Video Music Awards at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles.
Having just completed her Who’s That Girl World Tour in Europe, Madonna did not attend the ceremony in person. Instead, a performance of Causing A Commotion recorded the week before in Turin, Italy was featured during the broadcast.
Today in Madonna History: September 4, 1987
On September 4 1987, Madonna performed the second-to-last show of her Who’s That Girl World Tour at the Stadio Comunale in Turin, Italy. Broadcast live in Italy, France, Germany, Austria and Spain, the television special also aired at a later date in Australia and The Netherlands. The commercially released Ciao Italia! combined the Turin & Tokyo broadcasts with additional footage from the tour’s final concert in Florence, Italy.
Today In Madonna History 