all about Madonna

It took 20 years for Madonna to play in Ireland but for her 80,000 fans who packed into the grounds of Slane Castle it was well worth the wait.
Any pretender to her throne was left in no doubt that Madonna is the undisputed Queen of Pop as she belted out hit after hit in a high-octane performance which left the crowd panting for more.
She may be 46 but the superstar showed no signs of slowing down. "I can't believe it's taken me so long to play here", she told her delighted fans "It's great to be in Ireland at last".
Even the downpours failed to dampen the spirits of fans, though at one stage Madonna, whose arrival on stage was delayed by the weather, did plead with the rain to stop. The singer's career has spanned two decades so there was plenty of material for the Material Girl to choose from. All the hit singles were there - Papa Don't Preach, American Life, Into the Groove and a jazzed-up version of Deeper And Deeper.
There were several costume changes too, from black sequined hotpants to a kilt, but it was a teeshirt emblazoned with the words Irish Do It Better which won the fans' approval. Crowd favourites Music and Like A Prayer had the Slane audience singing along in unison while she saved her early hit Holiday for the last song of the night.
While most fans hailed her debut Irish appearance a major success, the event ended on a sour note for a group of Ulster fans. Up to 40 people were left stranded when a bus organised to convey them down to Slane and home left without them. A number of people had to fork out GBP150 for a taxi back to Belfast, while others were forced to sleep overnight in Slane.
One angry concert-goer, Clare Jackson from east Belfast, said somebody had to take responsibility. "We were told to be back at the bus by midnight but the concert didn't finish to 11.20pm and by the time we had walked from the Castle to where the buses were parked through the hordes of fans it was nearly 1am. "But we were convinced at least one of the seven buses which brought us down would still be there. "I couldn't believe it when we realised that we had been abandoned in Slane.
"It's not the type of place where you can pick up hotel accommodation or get a taxi."
source : belfast telegraph

Police were called to calm angry fans who were turned away from Madonna's London concert although they had already purchased tickets.
About 70 people who paid hundreds of dollars for tickets through an agency arrived Thursday at Wembley Arena to find their seats were unavailable, resulting in an angry scene, Britain's Mirror said Monday.
Some of the people had flown in from far away and they were very disappointed. Some paid $3,000 for three tickets. There were kids of 7 or 8 years old who were most disappointed, said Alain Gavin, an attorney who paid an agency more than $250 for a ticket, but did not get in to the concert.
Approximately 20 of the disgruntled fans bought tickets through www.londonticketshop.co.uk.
I feared for my life. I have received death threats. But we are not a fraudulent company, said Michael James, manager of online firm.
British police were investigating the incident.
source : bignewsnetwork.com

Traditions and rules are meant to be broken. For the first time in the history of Slane concerts, there was no Irish act on the bill at Slane.
It is hardly the fault of promoters MCD, or of Lord Mount Charles, owner of Slane Castle. Rather, it seems as if Madonna wide-reaching control of the event has failed to notice that a music event in a specific country needs a localised, if not personalised touch.
Make no mistake about it, this was Madonna's gig. Not even the paltry support acts, D.J. Paul Oakenfold and Iggy Pop and the Stooges, could, even if they had a notion to, upstage Madonna.
D.J. Paul Oakenfold was, well, a D.J. in a field playing tracks from the likes of U2, Coldplay and Radiohead to a less than enthusiastic, streaming crowd. Iggy Pop and the Stooges fared no better.
The veteran so-called Godfather of Punk, normally works up an almighty sweat, but only in confined spaces. In the chilly expanse of Slane, Iggy looked and sounded faintly ridiculous. The power and visceral glory of tracks such as 1969, TV eye, and I wanna be your dog, the latter prefaced by Iggy's corporate, baiting I like shagging animals, was diluted by a flow of indifference as strong as the River Boyne.
And then it was Madonna's turn. Control over the weather, however, is something that not even Madonna can manage, which meant that over 45 minutes elapsed from the 8.30 p.m. official starting time before she appeared on stage - the stage that had to be continuously wiped dry to prevent slippage.
Arriving on stage to the mellow strains of a Brian Eno instrumental and the big screen flash of the tricolour, Madonna sauntered into Vogue, an impressive opening set-piece that marked the tone for the remainder of the gig. With a full moon you'd swear was strategically situated above the stage, in order to orbit around the star of the show, Madonna quickly and efficiently transformed the wide space of the venue into something less of a field and more of a very big uni sex gym.
She had the brilliant advantage of over 20 years of hits, which she took full use of. From Burning Up and Holiday from 1983 to tracks from last year's American Life album, Madonna traipsed through her back catalogue in a curious manner, ignoring her most successful album (Ray of Light, from which she played only one track, Frozen), concentrating instead on lesser known records.
Damp eyebrows were raised at the inclusion of, perhaps, least appealing hits of her career (Hanky Panky, Die Another Day). Yet feet were stamped at more than several pop classics, including Express Yourself, Like a Prayer, Into the Groove, Papa Don't Preach, Music and Holiday.
Did Madonna rock? No, but she proved why she's the best and most successful female pop star in the world. The material girl is very much in control. Too much in control, some might say, possibly MCD and Henry Mountcharles.
A mixture of arrogance, precision, perfectionism and resolute adherence to detail, Madonna arrived in Ireland made sure she left an indelible impression.
source : irish time

The Irish "do it better," according to pop icon Madonna.
For the Material Girl thrilled the crowd during her first appearance at Slane Castle near Dublin by wearing a T-shirt expressing exactly those sentiments.
She later threw the piece of clothing out to a delighted audience.
Despite initial concern about ticket sales for this part of her Re-invention tour, fans packed the outdoor venue on Sunday to see the superstar unleash hit after hit, from a repertoire spanning a entire 20-year career.
Crowd favourites included oldies from the 1980s and 1990s, such as Like a Prayer and Vogue, as well as more recent material such as Hollywood and Music.
There was a heavy shower just before Madonna went onstage, but the weather remained relatively dry, much to the delight of the concert goers.
At the beginning of the show, Madonna was raised onto the stage wearing black hot pants with a gold sequined top and black knee-high boots.
The show featured spectacular dance routines involving acrobats and breakdancers, with an incredibly energetic Madonna incorporating complex yoga moves into the high-octane choreography.
The stage was carefully designed to avoid delays during set changes.
The 46-year-old singer was lifted into the air on rising pedestals, whizzed across the stage on a conveyer belt and disappeared through trap doors for occasional, and very slick, costume changes. True to form, Madonna did not shy away from controversy, and mounted a strong anti-war protest with the song American Life.
It was set against the backdrop of a powerful video sequence depicting the horror of war, as dancers donned military uniforms and marched around caged prisoners.
Madonna's vocal performance was nothing short of incredible given the singer's fast-paced choreography and at times she took up the guitar herself and played ballads for her fans.
The singer also used the occasion to perform a cover of John Lennon's Imagine, which she said was one of her favourite songs.
Madonna crowned her 90-minute set with a dazzling performance of Holiday which saw the singer and her dancers move out into the crowd on an elevated platform.
They were then lowered below the stage to the sound of fireworks in the distance, confetti raining down and rapturous applause from fans.
Supporting Madonna was DJ Paul Oakenfold who played two 30-minute sets, and rock sensation Iggy Pop, who sent crowds wild with his antics, as he leapt off the stage to greet fans after his performance which lasted more than an hour.
source : bbc

Madonna seems to have put aside her Stella McCartney designer dresses and adopted former Corrie binman Eddie Yeats as her fashion guru.
The Material Girl dressed down in a flat cap and bodywarmer yesterday as she cycled through rainswept London streets. But the film crew on a rickshaw made her stand out from the crowd.
An insider with the crew revealed that the Esther, as she now likes to be known, was heading for a Kabbalah centre and was shooting scenes for a documentory about her new-found beliefs.



source : drownedmadonna

Pop diva Madonna broke down in tears while dedicating the hit number "Crazy For You" to her British fans on her last date in Britain at Wembley Arena.
Dressed in a kilt and with a T-shirt saying, "Brits Do It Better", Madonna dedicated the song to fans whom she said had "stuck by me for 20 years", and suddenly broke down in tears.
"Madonna was overcome with emotion. It seems she has thoroughly enjoyed the tour and she was thrilled at the crowd's response.
She couldn't find a tissue so wiped her eyes with the hem of her kilt, and then pulled herself together to do the number. It was brilliant," The Sun quoted an onlooker as saying.
source : ANI

Critics have expressed reservations about Madonna's latest concerts as she ends the UK leg of her world tour.
The singer visited Manchester and London as part of her 56-date Re-invention tour, which visits Dublin's Slane Castle on Sunday.
The star twisted her way through greatest hits and anti-war protests.
"This is a show of strange juxtapositions, one in which theatricality is often substituted for sentimentality," The Independent said.
'New earnestness'
"Each time she picks up a guitar, you know a message is soon to follow," wrote the newspaper's critic Fiona Sturges.
This mix of pop and politics, coupled with ticket prices as high as £150 each, made a number of critics uncomfortable.
"This new earnestness is terribly wearying," wrote the Daily Mail's Amanda Platell. "We came along for a singsong, and we got a sermon."
The Evening Standard agreed. "All was not wholly well. Five costumes meant four spirit-sapping interludes and the mawkish backdrop to American Life (guns, orphans, bombs) was a reminder of Madonna's unwavering political ignorance."
Nevertheless some were impressed by the sheer professionalism of the concerts.
"The concert ran as smoothly as a Broadway show," wrote Ludovic Hunter-Tilney of the Financial Times.
Showbusiness credentials
"During costume breaks we were kept entertained by a fire juggler, a skateboarder and frenetic break-dancers."
He described the staging of Madonna's songs as "imaginative, sometimes eccentrically so".
"Why she sang a syrupy ballad from Evita strapped in an electric chair was unclear, while the use of a kilted bagpiper and highland drummers on Into The Groove was even more curious."
For some critics, the fact that the 46-year-old yoga fan was still embarking on such huge tours more than proved her showbusiness credentials.
"Madonna has been playing gigs for so long she can do it standing on her head, and last night she did just that," said the News of the World.
"The likes of Emma Bunton, Rachel Stevens and even Britney Spears will never be able to captivate an audience the way Madge did," agreed the Daily Star.
Meanwhile the Daily Express noted: "Madonna's first ever gig in Britain was at the Hacienda club in Manchester more than 20 years ago - and this bold show proved she's still got what it takes to thrill her fans."
The Independent on Sunday's Simon Price compared the concert favourably to her previous Drowned World tour in 2001.
"The actual show is slightly less spectacular than the gravity-defying stunts and cutting edge choreography of her last jaunt," he wrote, "but the selection of songs, admittedly, is superior."
Nevertheless he joined the vast majority of critics in feeling that Madonna's cover version of John Lennon's Imagine, sung against a backdrop of images of starving children, was ill-judged.
"This is the moment when I wonder whether the £150 includes a complimentary sick bag."
source : bbc

Rapper LL COOL J has slammed critics for attacking Madonna's children books.
The Material Girl published the first of five books,The English Roses, last year (03) but received bad reviews for her literary debut, but the Phenomenon rapper - who penned "rap and read" children's book and the winner is ... - fiercely defends the pop-queen.
He says, "I don't know why people didn't like Madonna's books, maybe they don't think it's a valid art form, maybe they don't like kids.
"Why not be rich and famous and take time to inspire kids? That would embarrass whoever said you cannot do it! I don't understand it at all!"
source : contactmusic

As Madonna prepares to reinvent herself (once again) at Slane this weekend, Nick Duerden takes a critical look back through her startling career, evaluating the hits and the misses during her 20 years in the public eye
The pop star
In the past 20 years, Madonna has sold more than 250m records. From the pure pop of her 1983 debut Madonna to the sophisticated majesty of her finest album, Like a Prayer (1989), and with several bizarre diversions - such as 1992's Erotica, in which she panted, sexually, towards hyperventilation - Madonna has always been music's most forward-thinking visionary.
But most fans will only ever associate her greatest moment with the point in 1983 when she burst through the celebrity stratosphere as the decade's quintessential 'Material Girl'. For all the sophistries of her later incarnations, many remember her most fondly, and with no small amount of nostalgia, for the days in which her sartorial ensemble consisted of nothing more designer than a DIY dye job and a yard or so of tulle.
Others champion 1986's True Blue as her finest moment: for this, she sheared her frazzled locks and sported a short platinum crop. The album, which included the seminal Papa Don't Preach, sold 19m copies and made No 1 in 27 countries. And where, artistically, she may have failed to score points for the lyrical poignancy of Erotica, Madonna still managed to win most critics round by judicious disrobing.
In musical terms, it's hard to pinpoint anything where she got it completely wrong, although most would agree that her decision to record American Pie was perhaps the most misdirected decision of her career so far. Ray of Light would have been a very respectable point at which to retire gracefully from the music scene, but last year's American Life heralded yet another new beginning for the Material Girl - as white rapper.
While she may not be selling records in the same vast quantities, she remains the most interesting, challenging and innovative artist of her generation. Each album features another cutting- edge producer taking her in new directions. Sometimes it works, sometimes not, but whatever she comes up with is worth listening to. That is no small achievement.
The film star
Back in 1985, it seemed as if Madonna could do no wrong. Having performed so seductively in the videos for Like a Virgin and Papa Don't Preach, she thought she'd do likewise on the big screen. Desperately Seeking Susan, however, suggested that she'd be wiser sticking to pop videos.
But Madonna was never going to be so easily thwarted. She married an actor (Sean Penn) and appeared in a string of films - Shanghai Surprise (ghastly), Body of Evidence (gruesome) and Dick Tracy (grim) - turning in performances that suggested she was no more an actress than a zoologist. But Evita brought a modicum of actorly respect, and dreams of Oscar glory never quite receded.
When she married Guy Ritchie, many feared they would do what married couples should never do: work together. Temptation proved too much. Madonna was apparently convinced that Swept Away, billed by some fool as a "romantic comedy", would be the role of her life. Instead, it was a gossamer- light tale of a rich socialite's wife who gets shipwrecked on a desert island with an unctuous but handsome Italian man.
It is difficult to say anything positive about Swept Away, because it's the worst movie ever made.
The wife and mother
Once pilloried by church and state for her wanton sexuality and evil ways, Madonna's reinvention in 1996 after the birth of her daughter Lourdes marked one of the most spectacular image transformations ever.
Meanwhile, the role of the child's father, Madonna's personal trainer Carlos Leon, was played down by the Madonna team. Her single-parent status culminated in a Vanity Fair spread, in March 1998, in which she resembled Mother Earth made flesh.
Her subsequent marriage to Guy Ritchie, with whom she had a second child, Rocco, effectively sealed her status as the ultimate celebrity family woman, making her the UK's official spokesperson on motherhood, education, the NHS, child-rearing and shearing (she dictates how children's hair should be styled).
The religious guru
Madonna Louise Ciccone must be one of the world's most famous lapsed Catholics. Ever since she pleasured herself on stage in 1990 with a crucifix, the Pope has taken a very dim view of her art. She has since taken her spirituality elsewhere, stopping temporarily at the temple of Buddhism before settling upon the teachings of the kabbalah, as taught by the 4,000-year-old religion's self-styled "world's foremost authority", one Rabbi Philip Berg, a former insurance salesman. Under a headscarf and the pseudonym Ethel, she attends weekly teachings of the kabbalah in London. She is now as recognisable for her faith as she was, 10 years ago, as John Paul Gaultier's conical-bosomed muse.
Madonna plays Slane on Sunday. Some tickets, GBP61.94, may still be available from Ticketmaster outlets or online. A link bus is also available from Belfast. For details, see ticketmaster.ie
source : belfasttelegraph.co.uk

Madonna has her sights set on buying a Greek island from multibillionairess Athina Onassis, according to reports.
The pop superstar has allegedly visited remote Skorpios, where tycoon Aristotle Onassis famously romanced opera diva Maria Callas and Jackie Kennedy.
The Ionian isle is now owned by Aristotle's granddaughter Athina, who is planning to sell the Greek paradise for a whopping $355m (€294m) - $340m (€281.8m) more than the businessman paid for the land in 1962.
And, according to American tabloid the Globe, Madonna is interested in buying the island, which features three villas and a small chapel.
source : breakingnews.iol.ie

Here's some exciting exclusive news about the re-invention tour documentary and dvd. MadonnaTribe's close friends Sharon and Jamesy had the chance to talk to the crew of the documentary today at wembley arena that gave out some more details about the releases from this tour.
They told them that the London and Paris shows are being filmed to be used in the documentary, more or less like for Truth or Dare. The release date of the film is at moment scheduled for August 2005.
The dvd release, as Madonna Tribe announced a while back, will be a "live in Lisbon" which accoring the documentary crew that spoke to our friends has a release date set for March 2005.
Please note that this are the schedules the documentary team is aware of at the moment as they told our friends, we thought it was a very interesting piece of news. Keep in mind things are subject to change.
source : madonnatribe

Proud mum Madonna looks on intently as daughter Lourdes gets stuck into her pop superstar mum's latest book.
The seven-year-old read out excerpts from the book, Yakov and the Seven Thieves, when the pair visited London's Great Ormond Street Hospital. Madonna took Lourdes along on a trip to the wards earlier this week during a break from her current Reinvention tour.
They met some of the children being treated at the hospital and gave out copies of Madonna's children's books - she has written five so far.
A hospital source said: "All the kids were delighted to see her. They chatted with Madonna and Lourdes and seemed to really enjoy their visit."
source : mirror.co.uk

Music legend Madonna and two of her biggest fans have come together to help the Final Hour Appeal.
Marie-Claude de Bourgonniere, left, and Tessa Flattery are putting up for auction tickets to see Madonna in concert tomorrow to help raise money for the Final Hour Appeal. The two tickets were selling for GBP175 this morning. Bids can be registered with Island FM before noon today on 242000.
Tessa Flattery, 31, and Marie-Claude de Bourgonniere, 29, have decided to auction front-seat tickets for the Thursday performance of the artist's worldwide Re-Invention tour. The thrilled fans were given the complimentary tickets when they went to Madonna's opening night at Wembley on Sunday.
"We were just chatting in our seats and we noticed this American security guard with a Madonna-style cowboy hat around the back of the stage," said Mrs Flattery. Ten minutes later he was walking up the stairs where we were sitting. Everybody let him through and he came up to us and said: "These are for you, courtesy of Madonna."
Both were sceptical at first but they realised it was true and their emotions took over.
Mrs Flattery said her friend was "bawling her eyes out".
"She's obsessed with Madonna."
But the friends quickly realised that they could not use the courtesy tickets because they would be unable to get flights to England on the Thursday. Despite offers of money from fans around them, they kept hold of the tickets until they decided what to do.
"I would love to go back on Thursday, but I've got a little daughter to look after," said Ms de Bourgonniere, a mother of three. "I just hope we can give somebody the same buzz we had."
Mrs Flattery said it was a chance not to be missed.
"You don't let this slip by. If anybody idolises Madonna the way my friend does, then this is giving them a chance to experience what they've always wanted. Whoever gets those tickets is not going to be disappointed."
Mrs Flattery, a mother of four, bought the tickets in April in advance of her friend's 30th birthday. She was on the telephone as soon as the ticket hotline opened. After 20 minutes, she got through. The only seats left cost GBP150.
"It was now or never. I said to Marie-Claude: "Do you want them or not?"."
It was lucky for them that Ms De Bourgonniere said yes " all the Wembley tickets were sold out half an hour later. Both of them said the tickets were worth every penny. Their memories will stick with them forever.
"It was just mind-blowing," said Ms de Bourgonniere. "It was the best day of my life, apart from when I had children. If I could thank Madonna personally, I would."
Mrs Flattery has been an avid fan since the beginning of the singer's musical career in the 80s. The artist, who reportedly arrived in New York in 1978 in search of fame with only $35 dollars in her pocket, is never one to shy away from controversy. Both friends said she was the biggest female superstar of the modern era.
They could see the performer backstage with her children and film director husband Guy Ritchie. They also saw her kiss her dancers goodbye before being ushered off at the end of the show.
"She was just fantastic," said Ms de Bourgonniere.
"She was in great shape and was absolutely beautiful. There was so much adrenaline there and the crowd was buzzing. I'll never forget it."
source : thisisguernsey.com

Songs on the album include "Little Star" from Madonna and "Pure Imagination" from "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" by Maroon 5.

Madonna's herbalist has put her on a strict regime of natural remedies in order to help her perform well during the UK leg of her tour.
The 46-year-old star worried her guru when she turned down a photo shoot aboard a London bus because it would make her feel sick.
A source said: "Madonna is a perfectionist and she gives her everything when she performs.
"She has got the body of someone in their 20s but can't forget that she's four years off 50 in reality so she has to look after her joints.
"Her fabulous routines really push her and she needs to keep healthy. Motion sickness indicates a person feels rundown and worn out but there are many remedies to combat this."
The 56-date Re-Invention tour has so far taken the pop icon across the US and Canada, and she is now performing in the UK.
BENADRYL has some top tips to help you have fun in the sun and still fight hayfever.
To prevent hayfever affecting your holiday always remember to take your hayfever treatments with you.
When choosing your holiday destination think about how you are sensitive to pollen and avoid the times where it is at its peak.
The sea breeze helps you, so if you're designated near the coast it will help to distribute the pollen into the air.
With wrap around sun glasses there is a chance to stop your eyes being itchy and red, but if these symptoms occur do not scratch your eyes as it will make them worse.
The cooler periods of the day like midmorning and late evening means more pollen so try to avoid being outside at these times.
WORRY is the main emotion parents feel when their children are starting school.
Their exposure to different types of germs means their body's won't have experienced much resistance from them and this may come as a shock to some parents and children. Sambucol For Kids will help see them through winter as it is specially formulated to boost the immune system. This boost was brought to us by Dr Madeleine Mumcuoglu Ph.D who is a world renowned virologist.
It's a black elderberry extract but also includes Vitamin C and Propolis which both help support the immune system. Sambucol For Kids is sold at GBP8.25 for a 120ml size bottle.
THE party girls essential Triple Dry Quick Dry Cream, below, priced GBP7.49 at boots is all you need if your one of those people who find it impossible to go straight from work to a night on the town and stay fresh until the early hours of the morning. To reduce the horror even more Triple Dry is also available as a roll on at GBP6.99 or as a spray at GBP4.99.
source : icteesside.icnetwork.co.uk

This documentary has no redeeming features. Writer and director Max Flint sets out to uncover how much Madonna is worth, using a corny cash register graphic to tally his spurious calculations. It's cheap, bitchy and dull. Financial planners, ex-managers with axes to grind, sad fans and alleged "friends" offer a series of worthless insights, while Flint takes us through a house in which Madonna once lived and makes an unsuccessful fly-over of her current abode.
We learn nothing about Madonna; in fact, we barely see her. Just a couple of unflattering stills, one early interview and some grainy footage that supposedly shows her auditioning for a New York dance school. There's not even any of her music. That would have cost $6000 a minute, Flint explains. So instead the soundtrack is provided by Kylie, Dido and a string of other female singers.
At the conclusion of this tawdry exercise, Flint's "exclusive finding after months of research" is that Madonna is worth $US213 million after tax. So now you have absolutely no excuse to watch.
source : smh.com.au

Madonna fans were told to keep clear of the dangerous waters of the Boyne River today by the owner of Slane Castle.
The Irish coastguard unit Gardai will patrolling the flooded waters to ensure there is no trouble as 80,000 fans gather for the queen of pop first ever concert.
Lord Henry Mount Charles, the owner of the historic County Meath Castle said: "The Boyne is a hungry river, it is reputed to claim 12 lives a year, not I might add, on concert days.
"Though we have had some very unfortunate incidents.
"People look at it and admire it, but don't go near it. At some of the previous tragedies people have had tickets in their pockets and that is just crazy stuff."
source : u.tv

Madonna and m-Qube have made it possible for the star's North American fans to download polyphonic ring tones and other licensed mobile content from her official Web site, across most major carriers and without the need for a credit card.
The mobile company said this was the first artist-driven online store of its kind.
"Madonna sees the future of the music business tied intimately to the wireless space and doing this deal is the first step of many to utilize the robust capabilities of mobile phones," Madonna's manager Caresse Henry said.
Visitors to Madonna.com can purchase the handset-personalization products just by providing their mobile phone number and handset type. The charges appear on their wireless bill.
Andrew Miller, m-Qube's senior vp business development, said being chosen by an artist like Madonna validated his company's mobile storefront strategy and the importance of cross-carrier premium billing solutions.
"It's Madonna's music, so the store is going to be her way, on her terms," he said. "This is not through the label. This is working directly through the artist. When fans think of Madonna, they will think of the music and her Web site, not their phone company."
This approach is not suitable for all artists, he added, but is particularly appropriate for someone of Madonna's iconic stature. Participating in her own store also gives her a larger share of the proceeds because there is no label involvement.
Direct premium billing means that consumers who do not have or choose not to use a credit card are able to purchase the products. "In some territories we offer customers both credit card and carrier-billed options, and about 90% choose carrier-billed," Miller said.
M-Qube is headquartered in Boston with offices in Redmond, Wash., and Toronto. The company's strategic wireless partners include Verizon Wireless, Cingular Wireless, Sprint PCS, AT&T Wireless, T-Mobile USA, Nextel Communications, Cincinnati Bell Wireless, Bell Mobility, Rogers Wireless, Telus Mobility, Microcell, SaskTel, MTS and Aliant Mobility.
source : hollywoodreporter.com

Mary Had A Little Amp Features Children's Songs by Madonna, Dixie Chicks, R.E.M., Maroon 5, Dave Matthews, Bonnie Raitt and Others.
On October 5, Epic Records will release Mary Had A Little Amp, a special collection of songs children love performed by sixteen renowned artists. All proceeds from Mary Had A Little Amp will benefit People For the American Way's Project Kid Smart and People For the American Way Foundation's Start Smart America, projects working to ensure preschool education for all American children.
Featuring new takes on children's classics like a rare version of Graham Nash singing "Teach Your Children," the Dixie Chicks' new rendition of "Rainbow Connection," original songs by Moby and Rosanne Cash, contributions from Jack Johnson and Maroon 5, and unique collaborations between Lou Reed and Laurie Anderson and between Dave Matthews and Blue Man Group, Mary Had A Little Amp will be the perfect addition to any parent's, child's, or music-lover's collection.
"This CD is the result of the efforts of many artists and activists. We asked the Dixie Chicks to help us make preschool education a national priority and they stepped up to the plate. The Dixie Chicks' involvement in this project was enormously important to our outreach to other artists," says Project Kid Smart Director Julie Burton, explaining the origin of this unique CD compilation.
source : pfaw..org

Pop legend Madonna's father Silvio Ciccone is proud that his daughter has changed her ways and settled down with a family.
But Ciccone still finds it hard to believe the middle-aged mother-of-two is the same girl that he raised in Michigan.
Ciccone says, "It's true, she's a good wife. When I see her with Guy Ritchie, I can't get it in my head that she's the same girl I raised. She was hell on wheels when she was younger.
"Now she's got this marriage and I'm proud that she's been able to keep it going this long."
source : contactmusic

Madonna is reportedly becoming disillusioned with The Kabbalah Centre, an insider has been reported as saying to the Star newspaper.
The source is quoted as saying that Madonna is upset that they have apparently been marketing off of her.
The source was also quoted as saying that she is also tired of them constantly coming to the well for money, and she was furious they leaked she was to visit to Israel.
The insider said that Madonna and hubby Guy Ritchie have had enough of it feeling leaders have become too intrusive in their lives.
It was reported recently that during rehearsals for a performance Guy Ritchie was so angered with the constant interruptions that he ended up scuffling with one of the Kabbalah rabbis.
source : femalefirst.co.uk

British actor Rupert Everett has leapt to the defence of famous friend Madonna over her conversion to the controversial Kabbalah faith.
Madonna began studying the controversial offshoot of Judaism in 1997 and has managed to encourage her film director husband to embrace the mystical teachings.
Her attempts to convert the spiritually confused Britney Spears seem to have failed, but Madonna's Next Best Thing co-star and pal Everett can see the positive affect her new found faith has had on the MUSIC superstar.
He says, "It's made her much, much softer."
source : contactmusic

Madonna decided to give her Los Angeles fans a special treat on her 46th birthday - a treasure trove of her personal items.
The city's weekly promotion Tigerheat, which marks the Music singer's August 16 birthday annually, celebrated her big day on Friday last at the Hollywood Athletic Club.
And to give her fans an extra treat, Madonna, who celebrated her birthday in London with husband Guy Ritchie, waded through her closets and gave lucky guests a selection of her personal items.
source : iol.ie

Madonna has spent thousands of pounds to buy a rare 12th century book on the Kabbalah religion as a gift for Britney Spears, according to reports.
Britney has kept the Zohar text with her at all times since Madonna sent it to her, according to The Sun.
Both singers are devotees of the Jewish-based religion.
Britney said the Zohar book, which offers philosophy for life as well as astrology and numerology, paints "a bigger picture than even the Bible."
"It's just so interesting to me because I've never read that stuff before," she said.
A friend told The Sun: "Madonna has always looked out for Britney.
"When Britney was going through a tough time earlier in the year, Madonna used Kabbalah teachings to help her through.
"Britney was delighted with the book. She has read it thoroughly and seems completely taken with it."
source : sky.com

True Hurts, recently interviewed by the Vibe magazine, asked if she will collaborate again with Dr. Dre, said: "I will work with Dre again. As a matter of fact I have worked with him since the last project. We worked on a Madonna cut together."

source : drownedmadonna.com

Portugal's state rail operator CP said it would operate a special train to take Madonna fans from northern second city Oporto to Lisbon for the pop superstar's first-ever concert in the country on September 13.
Return tickets will cost 21 euros (26 dollars), the company said in a statement.
The company does not have plans to operate a similar service on the following day when the top-selling singer will close her "Re-Invention" world tour with a second performance in the Portuguese capital.
Only one Lisbon date was originally planned, but a second was quickly added in response to big public demand for tickets.
The self-proclaimed Material Girl kicked off the European leg of her tour, which began in Los Angeles in May, on Saturday with the first of two concerts in Manchester, northern England.
After Manchester the 45-year-old singer is to perform in her adopted hometown of London, followed by appearances in Dublin, Paris, Arnhem in the Netherlands, and finally Lisbon.
source : yahoo.com

Pop queen Madonna's world tour has hit London and her fans were left ecstatic after an electrifying gig at Earls Court.
She kicked off the concert with a crowd-pleasing show at London's Earls Court Arena.
Wearing black hot pants, a sequinned silver top and knee-high black boots, the material girl mixed classics like Vogue and Into The Groove with more recent tracks such as Frozen.
The mother of two, sporting a new muscular physique, struck a series of impressive gymnastic poses.
She also performed an explosive version of American Life - the title track from her latest album - featuring a troupe of backing dancers dressed head-to-toe in military garb.
The Re-Invention tour has been getting rave reviews since landing in England but with tickets priced between GBP75 and GBP160 the she has a lot to live up to.
source : itv.com

The pop star, who had re-christened herself as Esther after taking up the Jewish faith of Kabbalah, is reported to have resumed her original name.
According to The Sun, Madonna had been spotted wearing a necklace bearing the letter E after her Kabbalah name.
However, when she set out to celebrate her 46th birthday in London earlier this week, the E in her necklace had been replaced by M.
source : newindpress.com

When people talk about Madonna exposing herself, they normally mean her tendency to drop her knickers. But her fourth proper album, 1989's Like a Prayer, is filled with nakedly emotional songs such as "Promise to Try" (about her mother, who died when Madonna was just six) and the mournful "Oh Father" (just guess). "The album is drawn from what I was going through when I was growing up," Madonna told Rolling Stone. As always, she had a kicker: "I'm still growing up." Like a Prayer was the sound of Madonna figuring out her life, most explicitly on "Till Death Do Us Part," a thinly fictionalized portrait of her volatile marriage with Sean Penn. But it was also the sound of a pop diva who had been learning how to sing and wanted to show off. Later, this would lead to an unfortunate tendency to tackle show tunes by Andrew Lloyd Webber. But here it meant that she not only belted blockbuster singles such as "Express Yourself," she indulged in gentle psychedelia and a slow, grinding collaboration with Prince, "Love Song." Who would have guessed then that pop music's two leading imps of the perverse would end up as two of its most publicly devout figures (Prince with the Jehovah's Witnesses, Madonna with kabbalah)? That Sacred vs. Profane wrestling match was showcased in the glorious title track, where Madonna declared, "Everyone must stand alone," and then, "I'm down on my knees/I wanna take you there," seeking succor in both God and fellatio, or maybe fellatio with God. In a career full of transgressive moments, "Like a Prayer" is the most transgressive -- and the most irresistible.

5 out of 5 stars

The device gets its nickname from one of the Middle Ages' more notorious instruments of torture. And judging by its many pulleys and wires, 'The Rack' is an apt pseudonym. But for Madonna - who last night took to the stage at London's Earls Court - it has proved a vital tool on her world tour.
The Gyrotonic Expansion System, to give it its correct title, has helped hone the mother-of-two's body for the rigours of performing live.
The GBP3,500 contraption was designed by Romanian ballet dancer Juliu Horvath to help relieve the chronic pain he suffered from injuries.
Exercising with the machine allows for the natural circular motion of limbs. It is said to create long, lean muscles which are toned but not bulging.
Matt Aversa, director of manufacturers Gyrotonic, says: 'Gyrotonic training creates muscles with suppleness and dexterity. This will decrease the chance of injury, and prepare Madonna's body for what she does.'
However, Gyrotonic is just the latest exercise regime in Madonna's relentless pursuit of the perfect body. Here, we reveal the effect that quest has had on her figure and her health.
Fitness
'Madonna looks like an Olympic athlete,' says fitness consultant Cornel Chin, who trains stars such as Leonardo Di Caprio. 'But to have such a physique, she must be putting in a similar level of effort - if not more, to compensate for her age.'
In the past Madonna was known as a fan of extreme exercise, running 20 miles a week, working out for hours on a step machine and pumping iron every day, not to mention rehearsing gruelling dance routines.
Now, she is one of the most advanced ashtanga yogis in the country. She is so experienced in this physical form of yoga that she is on the 'Third Series' - a level equivalent to being an Olympic-standard athlete.
'She's 46 now, and must be exercising for at least three hours a day,' says Cornel. 'A couple of hours will be aerobic exercise - that's how her body fat levels have dropped to such an extent that her muscles have become prominent.
'I think Madonna's body fat level can only be about 17 per cent, which is well below the 23-33 per cent ideal for women. 'She will also be doing a lot of weights to bulk up her muscles. But she needs to be careful. Joints are increasingly at risk as you age. Production of synovial fluid, which lubricates the joints, and glucosamine, which is a nutrient essential for joint health, starts to slow.
'Madonna will have to spend longer on her warm-ups than when she was younger, and less time doing high-impact work such as running and step aerobics, or she could trigger the early onset of arthritis. 'Of course, exercise is vital to staying healthy. But there are limits, and Madonna is at risk of "overtraining syndrome" - a form of chronic fatigue linked to intensive exercise and inadequate rest periods.'
Yoga
'Madonna is a devotee of ashtanga yoga, a Western adaptation of traditional forms of yoga,' says instructor Chris James, who is based at North London's Yoga Junction. 'It focuses on developing upper body strength. But from the level of definition you see in her arms, she must be employing other techniques such as a rigid diet and weight-lifting.
'Her muscle tone is the result of an exercise regime that must border on the obsessive; a woman would need to spend virtually all day exercising to achieve such a muscular look through yoga alone. Practising yoga is about achieving a certain level of balance - which Madonna, despite her devotion to the exercise, clearly hasn't achieved.'
Hair
Madonna's naturally wavy brown hair has emerged virtually unscathed from all the years of colouring she has put it through. 'She has often done more to her hair in one month than other women would do in a decade,' says celebrity hairdresser Martyn Maxey, whose salon is based in London's Grosvenor Street.
'But her hair remains shiny, full and glossy, which shows it is essentially healthy - despite all the peroxide it must have been subjected to. Peroxide is a vital ingredient in hair dye and works by opening up the outer layer of the hair, the cuticle, so that the colour can be absorbed by the inside of the hair.
Over time, with more and more peroxide use, the cuticles start to disintegrate and the hair becomes dry, brittle and unable to hold any colour. 'Madonna is lucky that the structure of her hair hasn't been destroyed by all the colour. She has no doubt reduced the damage by having as many restorative treatments as possible, such as intensive conditioners and protein treatments that help nourish and protect the cuticles. 'Most women's hair thins with age, and also for a couple of years after childbirth - but again, Madonna has been lucky. Her hair is still one of her best features.'
Face and skin
'On a woman of 46 you would expect to see jowls, lines across the forehead, and eyebrows which are beginning to droop,' says Adrian Richards, a plastic surgery consultant and skin expert based in London's Harley Street.
'That's especially the case for someone who has done a lot of running, which loosens skin and muscle due to all the pounding, and general exercise, which increases the body's production of free radicals, the atoms which can damage cells and speed up the ageing process.
'Madonna doesn't show such signs, although there was a period when she was looking more worn than she does now, which suggests some sort of treatment. 'I don't think she's had a facelift, because her lower face doesn't look that stretched or perfect, but she has definitely had a less invasive treatment.
'Eyebrows that have retained such an arch, and a totally smooth forehead, are usually an indicator of Botox treatment, as is a lack of vertical lines between the eyebrows. 'Madonna is also likely to have regular facials using products that contain the anti-ageing ingredient Retinova, which helps reduce fine lines and sun damage, plus more extreme treatments such as skin peels, which remove the outer layers of the skin to reveal the smooth, unlined layers beneath. 'Madonna does have prominent nose-to-mouth lines, though, which suggests she hasn't had any facial fillers.'
Legs :
'Madonna's leg veins could be a result of her exceptionally low level of body fat, which would make veins more prominent,' says Cornel Chin. They could also be the beginnings of varicose veins, according to Dr Sarah Brewer. This condition develops when veins, which carry blood back to the heart, become blocked and swollen, and blood pools in them.
Varicose veins are made worse by childbirth, age, and standing for long periods of time - it's harder for your body to pump blood away from your lower legs due to gravity. 'Varicose veins can be painful and prevent blood from circulating efficiently,' says Dr Brewer. 'They can be removed in a simple procedure under general anaesthetic; mild cases can even be treated by injecting the veins with a special liquid which closes them.'
Breasts :
'She looks like she's had breast implants,' says plastic surgery consultant Adrian Richards. 'Ten years ago, her breasts were quite small and pert, with a small base - they didn't stretch across her chest as they do now. Natural physical changes, plus childbirth, weight loss, and the toll that high-impact exercise takes on breast tissue, would have resulted in smaller, sagging breasts over the years. But instead, they appear much fuller. 'Another give-away is the condition of the skin on her breasts. After childbirth, especially with older mothers, the skin across the breast becomes saggy and flat. But Madonna's is smooth and lean, because the tissue underneath has been filled up with implants. There is no way she could have achieved her buxom look with just the help of Mother Nature.'
Body Fat :
'Madonna's level of body fat is far lower than average,' says Kim Ramessa, an expert from Tanita, which produces body fat monitors. 'A healthy range of body fat is 23-33 per cent. It's impossible to make a precise estimate, but her incredibly defined and muscular arms suggest that she falls well below that range.'
Dr Sarah Brewer says everyone needs some body fat to be healthy: 'It's vital for basic body functions such as regulating body temperature, storing vitamins, providing energy and cushioning joints and organs. 'If body fat levels fall too low, women are put at increased risk of osteoporosis and fertility troubles.'
Diet :
Madonna follows a strict macrobiotic diet - a regime which combines wholegrain cereals, pulses and soy products into meals according to a principle of Tao 'yin and yang' balance.
Ideally no animal products except fish are consumed; refined flour, sugar and dairy products are banned. 'While this isn't the sort of diet to guarantee rapid weight loss, it's a very restrictive way of eating,' says nutritionist Fiona Hunter.
'Madonna is missing out on all the benefits to be had from meat and dairy produce. She will be lacking in calcium, which could compromise her future bone health, while lack of wheat puts her at risk of vitamin B deficiencies, which result in fatigue, memory loss and digestive problems. 'Furthermore, anaemia can result from not eating red meat, because although you can get iron from vegetarian sources such as cereals, pulses and spinach, you have to work much harder to get it.'
source : thisislondon.co.uk

Madonna's last album, American Life, was one of her worst-selling. Her last film, Swept Away, was a resounding flop. Her makeover as the world's most famous Kabbalist and honorary English countrywoman is typically bold, but does not promise much in terms of great pop music. The vultures may not be circling the most successful female singer yet, but they are beginning to take an interest in her career.
Her "Re-Invention" tour answers doubters with a hi-tech spectacle and a set drawn from more than 20 years of hits (unlike the last time she toured in 2001, when she played mainly new material).
Having begun the tour in the US, she launched the European leg in her adopted homeland at the weekend, when she showed a flattering appreciation for the finer points of Britishness, such as wearing a T-shirt reading "Brits Do It Better". "It's true, I should know," she added, in Mrs Guy Ritchie mode, perhaps hoping no one present had seen her wearing an "Italians Do It Better" T-shirt during her American shows.
The tour's theme of reinvention refers to her incessant changes in image, the most recent being her announcement that she had changed her name to Esther as a result of her growing interest in Jewish mysticism. At 45, she has left behind the extrovert Catholic iconoclasm of her youth and replaced it with a new emphasis on inner life and occult spirituality a point underscored by the start of her concert which opened with a tape of Madonna (or Esther) sententiously reciting verses from the Book of Revelation. For those of us who don't go to see Madonna to be enlightened about the end of the world, this was an ill omen. But suddenly Esther's spectre vanished as the singer emerged on stage wearing a diamante slip and thigh-high black boots, contorting her body to the beats of 'Vogue". The lyrics about artifice and striking a pose neatly inverted the show's apocalyptic opening, proof that her self-projection as a performer is as astute and brilliantly choreographed as ever.
The concert ran as smoothly as a Broadway show. During costume breaks we were kept entertained by a fire juggler, a skateboarder and frenetic break-dancers. Madonna's outfits were more muted than on previous tours no conical bras), but the staging of her songs was imaginative, sometimes eccentrically so. Why she sang a syrupy ballad from Evita strapped in an electric chair was unclear, while the use of a kilted bagpiper and Highland drummers on "Into The Groove" was even more curious. By giving one of the key hits of the 1980s an unsettling Brigadoon vibe, she provided a compelling argument against pop stars getting married in Scottish castles.
Her most arresting piece of choreography came when she and her dancers dressed up as soldiers to perform a hyper-charged version of "American Life" in front of pictures of injured civilians in Iraq and Vietnam. The polemic was crude but bold. It was as if Madonna and her well-regimented dance troupe were trying to reclaim pop from the US military, which has been known to use loud rock songs as a psy-ops tactic. (It is ironic that there has been so little prominent anti-war pop music during the Iraq conflict, yet such widespread use of it as an instrument of war.) A mawkish version of "Imagine" took the gloss from her politics, and seeing her sing piously about imagining a world without possessions while charging "20 for a tour programme was disgraceful.
But other attempts to inject seriousness and maturity into her music had more success. "Like A Prayer" was given a gospel backing that preserved the song's exuberance yet added a fresh sense of tuneful sanctity, and "Material Girl" took on added weight with Madonna playing guitar, looking every inch the principled singer-songwriter. She ended with a trio of songs that emphasised how full of life and relevant her music continues to be. "Papa Don't Preach" bounced along, "Music" juddered past and segued into her finale, a cleverly updated, techno version of "Holiday". Escapist and fun, it also struck conscientious notes with lyrics such as "Come together people in every nation".
Madonna's desire to tackle big themes can lead her down some dubious musical byways into some trite sentiments but it has also freed her and given new impetus to her work.
source : ft.com

Madonna and her husband, filmmaker Guy Ritchie, will spend Rosh Hashana in Israel, it was confirmed Monday by Rabbi Yehuda Berg, co-director of the Kabbalah Centre in Los Angeles.
The couple will spend two days, primarily at the associated Kabbalah Centre in Tel Aviv, Berg said.
However, he denied Israeli press reports that Madonna and Ritchie would meet with Kabbalah sage Rabbi Yitzhak Kadouri while in Israel to seek spiritual guidance.
Madonna, who recently adopted the Jewish name of Esther, has been a frequent visitor at the Los Angeles Kabbalah Centre and has taken courses there. Her series of children's books, the latest of which was published last month, claims the Kabbalah and Judaism as inspiration.
Britney Spears, Demi Moore, and Paris Hilton have also taken classes, Berg confirmed.
source : jpost.com

As Madonna begins her latest British tour, her fans, who last time offered four-figure sums for a pair of seats, are proving less enthusiastic.
The pop diva kicked off her previous British tour at the peak of her powers, but years on, she seems to have lost some of her sparkle.
Tickets were failing to meet even their face value as sellers cut their losses to take what they could as they traded on the online auction site eBay.
A pair of seats for her London shows on the Reinvention Tour later this month, which had originally cost more than GBP300 ($831), raised just GBP140 at the close of bidding, and some tickets for the show failed to attract a single bid.
Some sellers had posted messages on the website to say they were resigned to making a loss on someone who was once one of the world's biggest box-office draws.
Tickets were still available at the box office for some of her shows. However, a spokeswoman for Madonna said that was due to extra capacity becoming available as the venues finalised their staging requirements.
Sales for the pop queen's shows got off to a good start, although it is thought many buyers simply may have been snapping up tickets for re-sale following the clamour to see her Drowned World tour in 2001 for which tickets were changing hands for GBP600 each.
The shows - like all Madonna performances, more of a visual spectacular than a gig - were her first major dates for eight years and followed two acclaimed albums, Ray of Light and Music, which once again made her one of the coolest stars on the planet. Her latest dates are on the back of a flop, the critically panned American Life album.
Shows outside Manchester and London were expected to get far less than the actual cost of GBP75 to GBP160 for seats.
Radio 2 presenter Paul Gambaccini believed the poor reception for last year's album was the root cause of the lack of interest.
"In popular music no one is as dead as someone who is recently dead, and Madonna has just had her first stiff album. It might have had a high chart entry but it disappeared quickly.
"There will come a time when she will sell out quickly again but that is because people will be viewing her in the context of her historic career achievements. They are currently viewing her in the light of the album's failure.
"I'm not bothering to see her. I saw her on the Vogue tour. I know I've seen her at her peak so why see her flogging a dead horse?"
source : nzherald.co.nz

Madonna is reportedly splashing out 3,000GBP on a day of pampering for her best friends to help celebrate her birthday.
The Queen of Pop, who is currently on the British leg of her 're-Invention' tour, turns 46 today (16.08.04) and wants to treat her friends to the luxurious health treatments at some of her favourite London spas.
A source told Britain's Daily Mirror newspaper: "She is really generous and just figured that as she has been on tour she fancied a relaxing birthday.
"And what better way to do that than to have a real 'Sex and the City'-style day out with her best friends."
The mother-of-two has reportedly booked several different places, including Covent Garden's Sanderson Hotel and the Mandarin Oriental hotel in Knightsbridge to have the treatments, as she wants to be able to relax in peace.
source : femalefirst.co.uk

Madonna kicked off the European leg of her "Re-Invention" tour Saturday with a crowd-pleasing show for 14,000 British fans.
Wearing black hot pants, a sequined silver top and knee-high black boots, the material girl mixed classics like "Holiday" and "Vogue" with tracks from her recent album "American Life" during the show at the Manchester Evening News Arena.
Tickets for Madonna's two Manchester dates the first in Britain since 2001 sold out within an hour of going on sale in May.
Madonna is due to perform again in Manchester on Sunday, followed by five nights in London and shows in Dublin, Paris, the Dutch city of Arnheim and Lisbon, Portugal, where the tour ends Sept. 14.
source : abcnews.com

Madonna wowed thousands of fans with a dance spectacular tonight as she kicked off the European leg of her Reinvention Tour.
The star was at the Manchester Evening News Arena in the city for the first UK date of the tour - a mix of classic songs like Holiday from her early days with recent tracks from her American Life album.
Madonna, 45, has thrown off her bullet bras in favour of a more grown-up show.
It was lit with moving LED screens showing the singer in heavy costume as she spoke a passage called The Beast Within.
Thousands of fans stood clapping and screaming as she came up through the floor on a moving stage to sing her hit Vogue.
Wearing black hotpants, a sequinned silver top and knee-high black boots, Madonna belted out the songs surrounded by backing singers and dancers.
She then took to a moving conveyor belt at the front of the stage to perform Nobody Knows Me.
Madonna is set to play tonight and tomorrow in Manchester before taking the tour to London, Ireland, The Netherlands and Portugal.
Manchester last welcomed the singer in 1984 when she played at the Hacienda Club, but she has not been in the north of England since 1987 when she performed at Roundhay Park in Leeds as part of the 1987 Who's That Girl Tour.
source : scotsman.com

Madonna fans have hit out at the superstar after she turned down the air conditioning at shows during her Reinvention tour.
The Material Girl has received numerous complaints from members of the audience, who say her gigs were too hot to enjoy the performance.
But it's not just the fans that are feeling the heat - her dancers have also complained about their sweaty working conditions.
But John Page, director of Wachovia Centre - where Madonna played on the 4th and 5th of July - insists that, hot or not, the fans still had a fantastic time.
He says, "We limited the air conditioning during the show and it warmed up a bit, but everyone got Into The Groove and enjoyed the Holiday".
source : teenmusic.com

Madonna will kick off the European leg of her world tour later in Manchester.
All 14,000 tickets for the Material Girl's first UK performance as part of her Re-Invention Tour sold out within an hour of going on sale in May.
Madge will perform two shows in the city's MEN Arena before playing five in London and one in Dublin. She will then move on to play the remaining dates in mainland Europe.
Ticket prices for the Manchester gigs started at GBP75 and ranged up to GBP150.
The last time the queen of pop performed in the city was in 1984 at the legendary Hacienda night spot, which has since closed down.
Fans will undoubtedly hope to hear a few of her classic hits such as Vogue, Material Girl, Like A Prayer and Poppa Don't Preach, mixed in with her latest songs.
Only one Manchester date was originally planned but a second was added following huge public demand for tickets, bringing the total number of performances in the tour to 56.
source : itv.com

As you read this, an articulated truck should be winding its way to Manchester, laden with glittering Victorian-style bustiers, hot pants, stockings, matching pairs of customised underpants which spell out the word "Freedom", T-shirts proclaiming "Kabbalists do it better", designer army fatigues and a range of somewhat self-defeating mini-burkhas, cut off at the buttocks.
The vehicle in question is Madonna's wardrobe truck for her Reinvention world tour, which arrives this weekend for eight arena dates in Manchester and London.
The convoy also includes a 50-ton revolving stage and more than 100 personnel, including 12 dancers, one skateboarder, one bagpipe player, five musicians and an astonishing 56 security guards. I don't know if she is expecting trouble, but, since the first batch of tickets sold out within two hours, it seems unlikely she will be facing a hostile crowd.
These are practically homecoming dates for the 45-year-old mother of two. Indeed, since the US leg of her tour wound up in Miami last month, Madonna has been spotted out and about in London, jogging in Hyde Park and, in cloth cap and tweeds, visiting The Punchbowl pub in Mayfair with British husband, Guy Ritchie.
As Madonna's typically idiosyncratic take on English fashion suggests, the Michigan girl has embraced a quaint, Hollywood version of England, mixing working-class, salt-ofthe-earth aesthetics with aristocratic pretensions, as if Bertie Wooster had become landlord of the Queen Vic.
When not supping pints down her local, Madonna retreats to her stately pile on the Wiltshire/Dorset border, where she has recently been engaged in the time-honoured country house pursuit of trying to ban ramblers. Yet, for all her newly acquired aura of stately decorum and domestic harmony, one can never entirely shake the suspicion she might be entirely naked beneath her Barbour jacket.
After 20 years in the spotlight, Madonna carries a lot of baggage. Yet such is her propensity for image makeover that her past does not so much define as obscure her. Peculiarly for such a public figure, there is no consensus on what lies behind the ever-changing facade.
In her heyday, outraged publications regularly used to ask "Who does Madonna think she is?" These days, it is more germane to ask if anyone still cares.
Madonna's last album, American Life, an attempt to weld polemical statements to fractured disco beats, failed miserably. Panned by critics and ignored by the public, it became her first major release to fail to break the million mark.
This greatest-hits tour has been widely viewed as an attempt to re-establish her place in the pop pantheon. Initially greeted with enormous scepticism in the US, the tour has become the sellout success story of the summer, and this despite ticket prices of more than $300 for the best seats.
"The tour was certainly deemed a commercial success but critically it got mixed responses," according to Anthony De Curtis, a contributing editor at Rolling Stone magazine. "I think that, after a long successful run, the lustre has gone off her in the US. But I don't think anybody could quite make sense of what she was trying to do with her shows. Even the very title seems a little redundant."
But she does seem to have assembled yet another stirring spectacle. The Washington Post called it "a new performance hybrid, one that lifts and blends elements of Broadway, Cirque du Soleil, Rock the Vote rallies, art installations, extreme sporting events, church sermons, disco dances and gun-spinning military drills. For a few songs, it even looked like a rock concert."
However, critics seemed universally baffled about what exactly the Reinvention tour was all supposed to represent, with Madonna apparently finding no contradiction following the anthem of self-interest Material Girl with a hippie strumalong of John Lennon's Imagine, all set to footage of war-ravaged children.
An anti-war theme runs through the show, but The Washington Post accused her of jumping on this particular band wagon long after it had trundled out of Iraq.
"Gutsy? Not at this point, now that it's safe to stand against the administration. Madonna would earn points for courage if last year, at the time of the US invasion, she hadn't yanked the video for American Life, which ridiculed Bush as a warmongering nincompoop.
"No doubt Madonna was worried she'd get Dixie Chicked - that country threesome paid dearly for criticising the president last year. Madonna's finger-wagging felt like catch-up, and it was turned into a Miss Saigon-style dance number that trivialised its own point of view."
But someone whose ventures into the world of publishing are as sharply contrasting as a book of erotica and a stern children's morality tale is unlikely to be embarrassed by having her contradictions pointed out.
"There's a lot of mixed messages," Madonna said after the launch of her tour in LA. "It would take me hours to explain them. Come back and see the show again."
The critics have also noticed that there is less sex on this tour than ever before: the bullet bra has been replaced by an age-appropriate corset and the bedroom bump and grind of earlier shows has given way to yoga demonstrations.
"The last time she really made an impact in the US was when she kissed Britney at the MTV awards and everyone got a chance to say how exploitative it was, just like the old days," says De Curtis. "It's sort of funny. For years, everybody complained that 'Madonna's shock obsessed'. Then on this tour everybody was saying, 'Gee, where's the sex?' I think people were a little let down that she was kind of acting her age for once. That's the last thing anyone expected."
Madonna's old infatuation with decadence has largely given way to an obsession with physical and spiritual health. Her concert rider demands 25 cases of Kabbalah blessed water backstage, and there are no shows on Fridays due to her observance of Shabbat.
But searching questions were asked by a senior recording industry executive and personal acquaintance of Madonna. "At the very heart of the Kabbalah is the idea that what you put out, you get back. So I wonder what she gets out of that, because she is not a generous person.
"She is the Margaret Thatcher of pop. Her entire philosophy is about self-belief and selfmotivation. She has never thanked anyone who ever worked for her. Her vibe is 'You are lucky to work for me'. Which is great; she's a tough woman and people love it, but I can't figure out how that fits with this new hippie shtick, because I don't think there's a hippie bone in her body. She's punk rock, all the way."
The contrast between Madonna's boy-toy past and new-found political idealism and religious conviction seem to be at the core of the sceptical response of US critics.
The question raised time and again is why should Madonna be taken seriously, just because she takes herself seriously?
As baffled or amused as the US critics might have been, they did concur with her loyal fans on one point: Madonna's latest shows are never less than entertaining. "Here's the weird part,'' said The Washington Post. "It's not a mess. It's actually kind of amazing."
Rolling Stone went further, proclaiming that her latest reinvention was perhaps the most surprising of all: "The 45-year-old, whom few have ever taken seriously as a musician has matured into a truly great pop singer."
source : telegraph.co.uk

Big-heatrted Madonna has uncorked some of her vast wealth to save her dad's struggling wine business.
The singer has stumped up a fruity half a million pounds to prevent Ciccone Vineyard closing down, because hubby Guy Ritchie loves their wine so much.
Guy is mad on Tony Ciccone's 2002 Dolcetto and Pinot Noir wine, so he persuaded his mega-rich wife to inject cash into the vineyard.
A pal of the singer, who reached No3 in 1984 with Like A Virgin, said: "Madonna hasn't always had the best relationship with her father but she is very close with him now.
When she learned the company wasn't doing so well she decided she wanted to step into the fray.
But Tony is a very proud man and didn't want to accept charity, so he made her a major shareholder in Ciccone Vineyard. She was a little reluctant at the start but Guy is a huge fan of the Pinot Noir Tony has been sending them bottles at Christmas for years.
He couldn't bear to be without it, so he convinced Madonna to put some money in.
The Ciccones have a huge vineyard in the Leelanau Peninsula, Michigan, in the States.
Madonna has always kept her distance from the company, but Tony approached his daughter when it started going through a lean patch.
Pals of the star say she was dithering on the deal until wine-lover Guy convinced her.
She then wrote a cheque for nearly half a million pounds and became the major shareholder.
The Material Girl may have bucketloads of money but at least she's generous with it. She donates to loads of charities and gives huge amounts of her cash to the Kabbalah faith.
In fact she has just forked out GBP12million to set up a Kabbalah school in New York. Madge doesn't drink much alcohol herself. Although she enjoys the odd glass of wine, her favourite tipple is Guinness.
But she's been abstaining altogether since starting her amazing Reinvention world tour, to cope with the huge physical demands of her stage show.
Madge is currently in Britain for the tour's UK leg and she was snapped jogging around the grounds of her Wiltshire estate with her trainer and Guy.
She was obviously keeping in top shape for her gruelling concert schedule.
Guy, on the other hand, might just be working off the effects of a session on his beloved Ciccone Dolcetto.
source : sun

Madonna's new book for children entitled "Yakov and the Seven Thieves" will be released in Russia on the singer's birthday, August 16th. Pop star's third book for children was released worldwide on June 21st. Madonna's new creation instantly entered The New York Times best-seller list.
The third book, as the two previous ones - "The English Roses" and "Mr. Peabody's Apples" - became bestsellers both in Europe and in the USA. "The story is about how all of us have the ability to unlock the gates of Heaven - no matter how unworthy we think we are. For when we go against our selfish natures, we make miracles happen, in our lives and in the lives of others," says Madonna about her piece of work.
"Yakov and the Seven Thieves" has been published in 110 countries of the world, and translated into 38 languages. The book was illustrated by Russian artist Gennady Spirin, who is considered to be the best contemporary illustrator of Russian classics. The work of one of the world's best artists to illustrate children's books was perfect to fit the setting of a small town in East Europe, where the action of Madonna's book takes place. Gennady Spirin says "Yakov" teaches children compassion, first and foremost.
Madonna's fourth book of the series entitled "The Adventures of Abdi" will be released worldwide in November 2004.
source : pravda.ru

Religious convert or not, the original Material Girl is proving she is still high maintenance long before she sets foot on Irish soil.
A pilates stretch ball, something called Throat coat tea and no less than 25 crates of healing Kabbalah water are just some of the backstage demands from Madonna for her one-night concert at Slane Castle in Co Meath.
Apparently, the fact that the gig has still failed to sell out has not stunted her capacity to play the pop diva, with special requests for ricola cough drops, if you don't mind, to soothe her expensive throat.
Having committed to paying the queen of pop an estimated 4m euros for the August 29 concert, organisers are now being asked to attend to her every whim.
Perhaps the most surprising item on the singer's so-called rider is her stipulation that the back-stage provisions should include vodka, hardly the tipple of choice for a yoga-loving health fanatic.
But fans needs not gasp in horror at this revelation - Madonna plans to use the high-alcohol spirit to remove unwanted stains from her stage clothes.
Why spend any of those millions on a dry-cleaning service when you can use a bit of the colourless fluid most of us would prefer to see in a glass with ice. It is not clear whether Madge prefers Smirnoff or Stoli for stain-removal.
To be fair, Madonna's backstage demand list is nothing extraordinary compared to other international pop divas and rock stars. The infamous J-Lo specifies Evian water at room temperature and a host of foodstuffs including Apple Pie a-la-Mode.
Janet Jackson betrayed her guzzling by demanding four gallons of spring water, but without the healing energies and positive vibes associated with Madonna's favourite brand.
Still, Madge brings her own unique style to the backstage wish-list, warning organisers MCD that her precious pilates stretch ball will take eight minutes to warm-up.
The 45-year-old singer, on the other hand, will require just short of an hour to get her hair and make-up stage perfect, even with the help of an entourage of 110 people.
source : belfasttelegraph.co.uk

Madonna's upcoming pilgrimage to Israel for a Kabbalah spiritual retreat has raised questions over the nature of her faith - has the self-proclaimed Material Girl really embraced the traditions of ancient Jewish mysticism or is this simply the latest glitterati self-help fad?
In a bid to shed something of her former raunchy image, the US pop diva in 1997 began looking into Kabbalah - or at least a modern version of it - rapidly becoming one of its most high-profile faces.
Symbols of Madonna's deepening "faith" are readily apparent - religious Jewish symbols and Hebrew letters feature in many of her more recent pop videos and she is rarely seen without the trademark red string around her wrist to ward off the evil eye.
Two months ago, she changed her name to Esther and is now reportedly observing the Jewish sabbath.
Madonna's conversion arrived after she came into contact with the Los Angeles-based Kabbalah Centre which, according to its website, offers a path to spiritual enlightenment through an eclectic mix of Orthodox Jewish tradition, visualisation and positive thinking.
Through meditation on the "cosmic energy" emitted by the Hebrew alphabet, the site says, adherents can gain "inner peace, financial prosperity, power and pleasure", amongst other things.
Despite its obvious Jewish character, this westernised version of Kabbalah has attracted a panoply of non-Jewish celebrities, such as Britney Spears, Demi Moore, Elizabeth Taylor and Mick Jagger.
And now Madonna's spiritual odyssey looks set to bring her and several thousand others to Israel in mid-September over the Jewish New Year.
Not everyone is happy with Madge's attachment to Jewish mysticism, with religious scholars at pains to point out that this 'popularised' version of Kabbalah is a far cry from the Orthodox spirituality prescribed by the sages of old.
An esoteric offshoot of Judaism, Kabbalah's origins can be traced back to the 12th and 13th centuries when its central text, the Zohar, was penned.
Taught only to a select few - namely, pious Jewish males over the age of 40 who had spent a lifetime immersed in the study of Hebrew texts - study of Kabbalah required arduous meditation and a strictly ascetic lifestyle.
Little wonder then that the Kabbalah Centre's scented candles for banishing depression or improving your sex life, not to mention its specially-blessed Kabbalah spring water, has been greeted with ill-disguised contempt by many Orthodox Jews.
If the 45-year-old singer was hoping to use her upcoming visit to Israel to swap notes with Rabbi Yitzhak Keduri, one of Israel's most venerated adherents of Kabbalah, she is set to be disappointed.
"I don't know her, I don't know of her and I won't see her," Keduri told the Maariv daily recently, pointing out that the study of Kabbalah was not open to women nor to non-Jews.
"Kabbalah is an added mystical tier to Judaism which comes after there is a total acceptance of a religious lifestyle and a religious value system," Rabbi Shlomo Rifkin told AFP.
The traditional idea is that anyone studying Kabbalah must first be a mature, practising Jew, explained Rifkin, chief rabbi of the Efrat settlement in the southern West Bank.
"Maturity is important because some people can get wrapped up in the esoteric spirituality which can sometimes be cheapened into general love fests, or debauchery," he warned.
"In the Hollywood sense, the people who are accepting Kabbalah with such alacrity, such as Madonna, are taking many of the mystical concepts but not necessarily the unique lifestyle."
Jerusalem-based rabbi Yehoshua Engelman believes the upsurge in popularity of Kabbalah is part of a growing interest across the globe in the deeper meaning of life.
"Just as in the past 30 or 40 years, Buddhism and other religions have become popularised, so a similar thing has happened with Sufism and Kabbalah," Engelman said.
"People are looking for a greater depth and spirituality than they were a hundred years ago. I imagine Madonna is searching for something meaningful in life and that search has to be encouraged."
But Rifkin is not convinced.
"As an actress and a singer, if the quality of her shows has changed fundamentally since she's found Kabbalah, and if sex is not paraded publicly then I would say it's positive," he surmised.
"If it hasn't influenced these things, then it's just a Hollywood fad that is meaningless in terms of Judaism."
source : theage.com.au

A string of A-list celebrities including Tom Cruise, Madonna and Brad Pitt are flying to the Greek capital Athens ahead of the opening ceremony of the Olympics this Friday.
The list includes Angelina Jolie, a pregnant Julia Roberts, David and Victoria Beckham, Britney Spears, Jack Nicholson, Harrison Ford, Sylvester Stallone and members of the British Royal Family.
Hollywood stars Roberts and Nicholson have rented villas about 35 miles from Athens, whereas soccer star Beckham and his ex-Spice Girls wife have already booked a suite aboard the Queen Mary II - the world's most luxurious cruise ship - which will dock at the city's Piraeus port.
Spears, her fiance, and twelve of her pals have also taken to the water - renting a luxury yacht to cruise around the Greek Islands.
Pop queen Madonna has also booked a yacht and villa in the area.
However these high profile guests will add more pressure to the already stretched security budget.
The Greek government have already spent three times more on security than organisers of the last games in Sydney, Australia four years ago - with the bill already exceeding a massive $900 million.
source : wkkj.com

Pop queen Madonna's latest fad is downing pints of Guninness before her live Re-Invention concerts.
The Material Girl has embraced many aspects of British and Irish culture since moving to England with husband Guy Ritchie and has developed a penchant for the dark stout.
A close source says, "She finds it perks her up for a live performance and gives her an extra edge. She has to have it in a proper pint glass and chilled to exactly the right temperature before she will drink it. She's even got some of her crew on the same ritual. They all swear by it."
The Kabbalah-loving megastar also insists on praying for 30 minutes to aid her performance.
source : contact music

Madonna has reportedly demanded a special "peace room" to be built for her backstage at her upcoming UK gigs.
She wants a soundproof area where she can medidate and go into a trance before going on stage, according to The Sun.
The 45-year-old superstar is a devotee of the mystical Jewish Kabbalah religion.
The paper says the walls of the room must be draped in green sheeting and have soft cushions on the floor.
It quotes "an insider" as saying: "She doesn't want to hear a pin drop and it needs to be green - the colour most conducive to medidation.
"She calls it her peace room."
The room is reportedly being set up at the Manchester Evening News Arena, where Madonna plays two concerts this weekend.
She also has six other dates on her British tour.
source : sky.com

LENNY Kravitz has been named Hollywood's biggest heartbreaker.
The 40-year-old topped the poll after being linked to a string of celebrity beauties, including Nicole Kidman, Kylie Minogue, Madonna, Vanessa P