Today in Madonna History: December 26, 1987

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On December 26 1987, RPM magazine – Canada’s definitive music industry publication at the time – issued its year-end singles tally. All four of Madonna’s eligible Canadian singles charting in 1987 made the list:

  • Who’s That Girl – #12
  • La Isla Bonita – #22
  • Causing A Commotion – #42
  • Open Your Heart – #68

Today in Madonna History: December 7, 1996

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On December 7 1996, You Must Love Me spent its final week on Billboard’s Top 40 Mainstream chart.

The song spent a total of six weeks on the Top 40 Mainstream chart, peaking at #23 during the week of November 23rd.

Today in Madonna History: November 15, 2005

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On November 15 2005, Madonna performed an intimate club show for roughly 1,500 contest winners and guests at KOKO in London’s Camden Town district. The event was held to celebrate the release of her album, Confessions On A Dance Floor.

While roughly 200 fans queued overnight to secure a spot near the stage for the gig, fans around the world were able to enjoy a live stream of the performance online.

VIP guests in attendance included Sir Bob Geldof and his late daughter Peaches, Stella McCartney, Guy Ritchie and Pet Shop Boys’ Neil Tennant.

Madonna’s very first promotional concert in London was held at the same venue – then named Camden Palace – in October of 1983.

Setlist

  • Hung Up
  • Get Together
  • I Love New York
  • Let It Will Be
  • Everybody

Today in Madonna History: October 27, 1990

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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 5, 1985

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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 11, 1987

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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 6, 2013

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On September 6 2013, MDNA World Tour was released in Germany and Australia by Live Nation Entertainment and Interscope Records.  The complete show was included on the live album which was issued as a digital download and as a 2-CD set in some countries, while the concert film was issued in various configurations including DVD, Blu-ray and as a 2-CD+DVD set.

Madonna served as producer for the project and spent several months editing the concert film with directors by Danny B. Tull and Stephane Sennour. The show was primarily recorded over two nights the previous November in Miami, Florida, although additional audience footage shot by Guy Oseary over the course of the tour was also interspersed throughout the film.