Tag Archives: Live Videos

Today in Madonna History: August 10, 1985

August 10, 2015 By in 1985, August Tags: , , , , , 1 Comment

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On August 10 1985, Into The Groove spent the first of four weeks in the number-one position on the UK Singles Chart. It was Madonna’s first chart-topping single in the UK, where she has collected a total of thirteen number-one hits to date.

As an added validation, Into the Groove was Madonna’s first attempt at co-producing a song. While artists co-producing their own work is common today, it was relatively unusual at the time, particularly for female artists. The immense success of the single undoubtedly helped convince the powers at Sire/Warner to grant Madonna the artistic freedom to co-produce her next album, True Blue, together with her collaborators Stephen Bray and Patrick Leonard.

Today in Madonna History: July 25, 1990

July 25, 2015 By in 1990, July Tags: , , , , , 2 Comments

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On July 25 1990, Blond Ambition Japan Tour 90 was released on VHS and LaserDisc by Warner-Pioneer, exclusively to the Japanese market.

Recorded in Yokohama, Japan on April 26 1990, the show had originally aired as a live television special in Japan. Due to high winds impacting the outdoor stadium during the concert, no stage curtains were used in the performance, allowing viewers the ability to see some of the normally hidden set changes in the darkened background.

It was the only official VHS release of the tour worldwide due to a sponsorship contract which granted Pioneer rights to issue the tour exclusively on LaserDisc in other regions. For this reason, copies of the Japanese VHS were in high demand from fans in other countries that shared the Japanese NTSC video format, with imported copies selling for approximately $100 USD.

Today in Madonna History: July 23, 2006

July 23, 2015 By in 2006, July Tags: , , , 1 Comment

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On July 23 2006, Madonna experienced – as she put it – “some technical difficulties in [her] brain” during a performance of Let It Will Be at the second of two Miami shows for The Confessions Tour.

After coming in too early on a vocal cue, she quickly poked fun at herself with some improvised lyrics, only to experience further issues towards the end of the song. She then humourously referenced the glitches – and nearly suffered a G.W. Bush-inspired orgasm – during her post-song banter.

The show marked the final date on the North American leg of The Confessions Tour.

(Thanks to YouTube user Ryan Keefe for the video, and to our friends at Madonnalicious and their readers for the wonderful tour pics from Miami!)

Today in Madonna History: July 18, 2004

July 18, 2015 By in 2004, July Tags: , , , , , 1 Comment

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On July 18 2004, Madonna played the first of three sold-out dates at Toronto’s Air Canada Centre during her Re-Invention Tour. Playing to a combined total of over 52,000 fans, the shows were the only Canadian stop on the tour and marked her first concerts in Canada in eleven years.

At the second show Madonna proclaimed to those in attendance that they were the best audience of the tour thus far, while the final Toronto date saw Madonna in an uncharacteristically playful mood. Interrupting the show’s normally swift progression between Papa Don’t Preach and Crazy For You, she joked about the infamous 1990 threats of arrest and whipped the audience into a cheering frenzy with her self-described “unprofessional” behaviour.

Today in Madonna History: July 15, 1992

July 15, 2015 By in 1992, July Tags: , , , 1 Comment

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On July 15 1992, Truth Or Dare was re-released on VHS in the U.S. and Canada, priced for retail purchase. The new edition featured bonus performances of Hanky Panky and Like A Prayer filmed in Paris, following the film’s credit roll.

While bonus features were a relatively uncommon addition to VHS releases, even more unusual was the omission of these same special extras from all other releases of the film, including the subsequent DVD and Blu-ray editions – formats that would normally include any bonus content available. The most likely explanation is that the extra footage has been lost. A recent interview by Queerty.com with the film’s director Alek Keshishian appears to support this when he noted that neither he nor Madonna’s management have been able to locate the whereabouts of any of the film’s outtakes.

The original 1991 VHS release of the film, which had been priced for the rental market at nearly $100 per copy, featured alternate packaging and no bonus content.

Today in Madonna History: July 11, 1987

July 11, 2015 By in 1987, July Tags: , , 1 Comment

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On July 11 1987, the Who’s That Girl single made its debut on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S., entering the chart at number forty-three.

Today in Madonna History: July 6, 1985

July 6, 2015 By in 1985, July Tags: , , , , , 1 Comment

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On July 6 1985, Angel/Into The Groove reached number-one on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart in the U.S., where it spent a single week. It was Madonna’s fourth release to top the Dance chart.

Due to the fact that both sides of the commercial single received a substantial amount of club play, the release charted as Angel/Into The Groove on the Hot Dance Club Play chart. This is despite the fact that Sire/Warner had actually promoted the single to clubs without Into The Groove, as the official U.S. promotional 12-inch single contained Angel on both sides.

In spite of the label’s apparent attempts to downplay Into The Groove, in the end its inclusion on the commercial single unquestionably helped to propel the release to the top of the Dance chart.