On January 18 1986, Madonna Live: The Virgin Tour hit #1 on Billboard’s Top Music Videos chart in the US. It went on to become the country’s top-selling music video of 1986.
Tag Archives: The Virgin Tour
Today in Madonna History: October 3, 1985
On October 3 1985, Madonna’s second single from the motion picture Vision Quest, Gambler was released by Geffen Records in select markets.
Gambler was entirely self-written by Madonna and produced by John “Jellybean” Benitez.
Gambler was never released in the United States, but it went to #4 in the UK. The single also reached the top-ten in the charts of Australia, Belgium, Ireland, Ireland, Netherlands and Norway.
The music video for the song is an excerpt from the film.
Madonna has performed the song only once, on her Virgin Tour in 1985.
Alex Henderson from Allmusic called the song “an ultra-infectious gem that, unfortunately, isn’t on any of the Material Girl’s CDs” and felt that Gambler should have been a big hit.
Would you like to see Madonna perform “Gambler” on a future concert tour?
Today in Madonna History: August 14, 2012
On August 14 2012, Madonna’s first make-up artist, and close friend, Debi Mazar spoke to Allure.com’s beauty editor, Sophia Panych about what Madonna’s hair and make-up was like for The Virgin Tour in 1985:
Her hair was long and wild, and she had just had her bangs cut. She had this thick, curly, gorgeous hair—thicker than anyone else I knew—and it didn’t really need much. I just tried to make sure her bangs nicely framed her face and make sure it moved well, rather than creating a polished look. Really, it was more about the music and the show. We just wanted her to look good, get on stage, and do the damn tour. Plus, she was in her twenties: Her skin was good, and as long as you had bright lipstick and good hair, the crowd didn’t care—they just wanted to dance.
Today in Madonna History: June 6, 1985
On June 6 1985, Madonna performed the first of 3 sold-out Virgin Tour concerts at Radio City Music Hall in New York.
Today in Madonna History: May 5, 2012
On May 5 2012, Madonna expressed her condolences for the death of Adam Yauch:
“The Beastie Boys were one of a kind! And so was Adam! They were all an important part of my musical history and integral to the musical revolution that was happening at the time. I’m very sad to hear about Adam’s passing. God bless him and his family”
Adam “MCA” died of parotid gland cancer at the age of 47.
The Beastie Boys were the opening act, supporting Madonna, during her 1985 Virgin Tour.
Today in Madonna History: June 1, 1985
On June 1 1985, Warner Bros. and Sire Records took out a centerfold ad in Billboard magazine to celebrate the resounding success of Madonna’s first concert trek, The Virgin Tour.
Featuring the cover image from her then-current single, Angel, as a backdrop, the spread cheekily alluded to Madonna’s “virgin” moniker with the caption:
“You were wonderful! We’re proud of you. Congratulations on your first tour.
– Warner Bros. and Sire records.”
Today in Madonna History: May 23, 1985
On May 23 1985, Madonna performed her Virgin Tour concert in front of a sold-out crowd of 16,000 fans at Toronto’s Maple Leaf Gardens. The show generated $238,264 in ticket sales.
Here’s a great photo of the Beastie Boys hanging outside Maple Leaf Gardens before the show (on Church Street just north of Carlton):
Maple Leaf Gardens was primarily a hockey and concert venue from 1931 until 2001. The building sat dormant until November 2011, when it reopened as a Loblaws grocery store. To celebrate the history of the building, Loblaws kept centre ice, created art out of some of the seats and commemorated important dates on some of the supporting columns. Here is one of those columns:
Jay’s note: I’d like to say that I made a special trip to Loblaws just to take this photo, but it’s the long-weekend here in Canada — and I really wanted one of their amazing chocolate dip donuts!
Today In Madonna History 