Madonna In-depth Biography
Madonna (full name Madonna Louise Ciccone), the worlds’ foremost original female pop icon was born in 1958, Michigan and moved to New York in 1977. She first had success in the early years with disco sensation “Born to Be Alive” with Patrick Hernandez and was later part of two groups, the Breakfast Club and in 1980 formed Emmy with her former boyfriend Stephen Bray.
It was in the early 80’s Madonna’s career really started to grow when she was signed to Sire Records by New York DJ/producer Mark Kammins. With the club hit “Everybody”, and her second success with “Physical Attraction” and worldwide Top 40 hit “Holiday”, Madonna was on the way to super-star status. Seventeen consecutive Top 10 hits followed, and then her second album and further hit “Like a Virgin” reached number one and stayed in the charts for six weeks.
Madonna’s tour began in 1985 after the pop “Material girl” and then with film success of Desperately Seeking Susan, Madonna went on to release US number one “Papa Don’t Preach” and this was followed with the Who’s That Girl World Tour. By the late 80’s her sound had changed and was influenced by rock, dance and pop. Hits such as “Express Yourself”, “Cherish”, “Keep It together” produced further hits which led on to her Blonde Ambition Tour in 1991.
By the mid-90’s Madonna had moved into acting and appeared in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Evita where she received critical acclaim for her portrayal of Evita Peron. Alongside her singing career, Madonna went on a further five concert tours. A change in musical direction in ‘97 saw Madonna work with electronic dance producer William Orbit and “Ray of Light” was the result of the collaboration which reached number two in the chart.
Madonna’s last concerts, the Sticky and Sweet Tour (2008-9), broke all tickets sale records and she performed in over 32 countries, making her the second highest grossing tour by a solo artist of all time. In July 2009, Madonna’s second leg of the tour included a concert at the O2, London as part of a twenty-five European date live tour.
Read More
Close