Today in Madonna History: November 20, 1993

girlie-show-november-93-hbo-1 girlie-show-november-93-hbo-2 girlie-show-november-93-hbo-3 girlie-show-november-93-hbo-4 girlie-show-november-93-hbo-5 girlie-show-november-93-hbo-6 girlie-show-november-93-hbo-7 girlie-show-november-93-hbo-8 girlie-show-november-93-hbo-9 girlie-show-november-93-hbo-10 girlie-show-november-93-hbo-11 girlie-show-november-93-hbo-12 girlie-show-november-93-hbo-13 girlie-show-november-93-hbo-14girlie-show-november-93-hbo-16 girlie-show-november-93-hbo-17

On November 20 1993, Madonna – Live Down Under: The Girlie Show was broadcast on HBO. Live Down Under was the channel’s most watched original program of the year.

The November 20 show was to be filmed at the Sydney Cricket Ground and aired on HBO, however, severe weather conditions forced the cancellation of the show, so the November 19 show (which had been taped at the same venue the night before as a “safety show”) was aired instead.

The broadcast included the following songs:

The Girlie Show Theme
Erotica
Fever
Vogue
Rain / Just My Imagination / Singing in the Rain
Express Yourself
Deeper and Deeper
Why’s It So Hard
The Beast Within
Like A Virgin
Bye Bye Baby
I’m Going Bananas
La Isla Bonita
Holiday
Justify My Love
Everybody is a Star / Everybody

Today in Madonna History: November 17, 1993

diger-downunder-1 diger-downunder-2 diger-downunder-3

On November 17 1993, Madonna arrived in Sydney, for the start of the Australian leg of her Girlie Show World Tour and it didn’t take long before she was making stirring up controversy over a gift she received.

Here’s a snippet of what ran in the Chicago Tribune the day after she arrived:

The didgeridoo is a long, tube-like wind instrument that is traditional among the Aborigines. Only men are allowed to play it.

Madonna, who offended some fans in Puerto Rico when she rubbed the island’s flag against her crotch, received a five-foot didgeridoo on her arrival in Sydney on Wednesday. It was a gift from the promoter of the Australian leg of her tour.

“The fact Madonna is a Westerner and the didgeridoo as a gift does not change the fact she should not be carrying it around,” said Badangthun Munmunyarrun, an Aboriginal elder.

diger-downunder-end

Today in Madonna History: November 6, 1993

On November 6 1993, Madonna performed The Girlie Show to a sold-out crowd of 120,000 fans at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The Girlie Show Rio show ranks as one of the highest-attended single-artist’s ticketed concerts (excluding festivals) of all-time.

Today in Madonna History: October 26, 1993

oct-26-a oct-26-b oct-26-d oct-26-c oct-26-e oct-26-i oct-26-g oct-26-h oct-26-j oct-26-k

On October 26 1993, Madonna performed at the Juan Ramon Loubriel Stadium, in Bayamon, Puerto Rico and caused a stir when she wiped a Puerto Rican flag on her crotch in front of 26,000 fans.  The Puerto Rican House of Representatives charged Madonna with desecration of the flag and passed a resolution to condemn her.

The following (poor quality) video shows Madonna wiping her crotch with the flag:

There are no good photos of the event, so we decided to celebrate with some awesome photos of Deeper and Deeper from The Girlie Show.

Today in Madonna History: October 21, 1993

On October 21 1993, Madonna performed The Girlie Show for a sold-out crowd of 15,000 fans at The Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Michigan.

Today in Madonna History: October 14, 1993

On October 14 1993, Madonna performed the first of three sold out concerts at New York’s Madison Square Garden during her Girlie Show Tour.

Today in Madonna History: October 11, 1993

M_Toronto_October_11_1993 M_Toronto_October_12_1993

On October 11 1993, Madonna opened the North American leg of The Girlie Show at the SkyDome in Toronto, Canada.

The original Toronto date was October 12 (Thanksgiving Day in Canada), but due to overwhelming demand, a second show was added on October 11.

Madonna performed for 50,880 fans during the two Toronto shows.

The above two ads are the original Toronto Star ads from my (Jay’s) personal collection. Because the newsprint is so old I had to pump up the contrast on my scans to make them more visible. 

Here is the full itinerary for The Girlie Show:

September 25 – Wembley Stadium, London England
September 26 – Wembley Stadium, London England
September 28 – Bercy, Paris France
September 29 – Bercy, Paris France

October 01 – Bercy, Paris France
October 02 – Festhalle, Frankfurt Germany (cancelled)
October 05 – Park, Tel Aviv Israel
October 07 – Inonu Stadium, Istanbul Turkey
October 11 – Toronto Skydome, Toronto Canada
October 12 – Toronto Skydome, Toronto Canada
October 14 – Madison Square Garden, New York United States
October 15 – Madison Square Garden, New York United States
October 17 – Madison Square Garden, New York United States
October 19 – The Spectrum, Philadelphia United States
October 21 – The Palace, Michigan United States
October 23 – Olympic Stadium, Montreal Canada
October 26 – Juan Ramon Stadium, Bayamon Puerto Rico
October 30 – River Plate Stadium, Buenos Aires Argentina
October 31 – River Plate Stadium, Buenos Aires Argentina

November 03 – Estadio Do Morumbi, Sao Paulo Brazil
November 06 – Estadio Do Maracana, Rio De Janeiro Brazil
November 10 – Foro Sol (Sun Forum), Mexico City Mexico
November 12 – Foro Sol (Sun Forum), Mexico City Mexico
November 13 – Foro Sol (Sun Forum), Mexico City Mexico
November 19 – Cricket Ground, Sydney Australia
November 24 – Anz Stadium, Brisbane Australia
November 26 – Cricket Ground, Melbourne Australia
November 27 – Cricket Ground, Melbourne Australia
November 29 – Cricket Ground, Melbourne Australia

December 01 – Oval, Adelaide Australia
December 03 – Cricket Ground, Sydney Australia
December 04 – Cricket Ground, Sydney Australia
December 07 – Fukuoka Dome, Fukuoka Japan
December 08 – Fukuoka Dome, Fukuoka Japan
December 09 – Fukuoka Dome, Fukuoka Japan
December 13 – Tokyo Dome, Tokyo Japan
December 14 – Tokyo Dome, Tokyo Japan
December 16 – Tokyo Dome, Tokyo Japan
December 17 – Tokyo Dome, Tokyo Japan
December 19 – Tokyo Dome, Tokyo Japan