all about Madonna

On reaching their mid-forties, many pop stars are beginning to slow down, ease off, move into a more contemplative phase. Not Madonna. At 47, she has just released the most relentlessly up-beat album in her career of 20-plus years: Confessions on a Dance Floor.
Packed with samples from 70s disco acts such as Abba and Donna Summer, it is a collection of songs guaranteed to get people on their feet and moving.
And to announce its release, the woman who is still probably the world’s most famous female pop star, last night played a brief set at what was for her a tiny venue, the 1,500-capacity Koko, to a crowd of celebrities, music business representatives and competition winners.
Outside, the streets were scattered with sparkly disco dust and star-spotters thronged the entrance to the venue. Inside, a giant glitter-ball twirled and a DJ whipped the crowd into a frenzy.
A video screen at the back of the stage opened up to reveal Madonna in velvet culottes, leather jacket, leather boots, Farrah Fawcett curls, singing Hung Up, her new number one single. The place erupted.
She sang just five songs and spent less than half an hour on stage, but made a lasting impression. This was dance music, pure, uncomplicated, loud, and fun.
A surprise choice was I Love New York, which denigrates London. It turned out to be musically the night’s best moment. A guitar riff hammered out, strobe lighting flashed, Madonna slumped on to the floor and tossed her head.
The crowd cheered throughout the show and Madonna paid tribute to fans who had camped outside overnight to ensure a good position. She smiled a lot, and talked a lot. “I’m out of shape,” she said at one point, breathless. “I don’t like falling off a horse.”
Her appearance – it was, frankly, too short to be called a show – ended with a performance of a song that she sang at this same venue in 1983: Everybody, for which Madonna held nothing back.
Twenty-two years on, she’s still doing what she does best: making music to dance to
source : telegraph.co.uk

Madonna lit up Koko last night with an electric live show to launch her new album, Confessions on a Dancefloor.
The 47-year-old legend picked the intimate Camden club because back in 1983 it was the first UK venue she ever performed at – then known as the Camden Palace. This time around she blasted out five tracks in front of 1,500 fans, including MTV.co.uk competition winners and 200 who had braved the freezing weather to camp overnight and grab the final batch of free tickets.
Gwyneth Paltrow, Stella McCartney and Sir Elton John were rumoured to be at the gig. But only Sir Bob Geldof, Sara Cox, Dermot O’Leary, Chris Evans and Will Young were spotted tramping up the red carpet…
The 30-minute set saw Madge sing four songs from the new album – Hung Up, Get Together, I Love New York and Let It Will Be. But she saved a classic for last with Everybody, one of the tracks she played during her 1983 gig.
She told the crowd: “”The last time I played Camden Palace was 22 years ago. It was my first show in London and I’ve got to tell you it’s so f*cking great to be back.”?
source : mtv.co.uk

Madonna leaving Koko club and attending after party (November 15 2005)

Madonna is odds on to scoop a chart double this weekend, with her new album “~Confessions On A Dancefloor’ currently fending off opposition.
According to midweek figures, Madge is currently outselling her closest rivals Il Divo and Westlife in the albums chart.
He single “~Hung Up’ also looks set to keep hold of the number one slot, outselling the likes of Will Young.
Elsewhere, The Darkness and Black Eyed Peas look certain for top ten slots.
source : gigwise

Madonna turned back the years with a one-off gig for just hundreds of fans at the same spot where she first performed in Britain 22 years ago.
The 47-year-old star launched her new album, “Confessions On A Dance Floor,” in front of 1,500 people at London’s Koko Club.
The undersize venue — formerly known as the Camden Palace — was where Madonna gave her first live UK performance in June 1983.
Fans camped out for more than 24 hours to get into the club — once an old-style theatre played by Charlie Chaplin and where the BBC, in the 1950s, recorded the Goon Show. Most of the crowd consisted of contest winners.
When she last performed at the north London venue — two miles from London’s center — she was an unknown singer who had just released the underground U.S. club hit “Everybody.”
In 2005 the gig by the woman dubbed “Queen of Pop” was described by British media “the hottest ticket in town.”
Of the 1,500-strong audience, 200 had queued overnight in freezing temperatures to bag the last batch of free tickets.
British newspapers admitted to being star-struck.
“She is still the Dancing Queen — live and at her glittering best,” said the Times.
“Pelvic thrusts, high kicks.. they went wild,” said the Daily Mail calling the show “noisy, panting and mildly pornographic.”
“Never let it be said Madonna doesn’t work for her millions,” said The Guardian, adding that the star “is certainly one of the few forty something women on earth who could stand onstage playing air guitar.”
Four of Madonna’s songs were tracks from the new album, including her current and 11th number one hit “Hung Up.”
The fifth was “Everybody” — the song that started it all.
She told the audience: “The last time I played Camden Palace was 22 years ago.
“It was my first show in London and I’ve got to tell you it’s so f……ing great to be back.”
Among the crowd were celebrities including Stella McCartney, Bob Geldof and his daughter Peaches, and Pet Shop Boy Neil Tennant.
The club was a far cry from the huge venues Madonna normally plays — her last London performance was at Live 8 in the capital’s Hyde Park before tens of thousands.
After arriving on stage 40 minutes late, Madonna emerged from a giant glitter ball to sing the first number dressed in an all-purple ensemble of jacket, velvet pedal pushers and knee-high boots.
She took off her jacket to reveal a tight vest and when one fan threw his shirt at the stage she remonstrated: “Don’t throw your clothes at me — I took my shirt off, I don’t want to put another one on.”
“Confessions on a Dance Floor” is a return to Madonna’s disco roots and she performed with a four-piece band dressed in Saturday Night Fever-style white suits.
Introducing her last song, “Everybody,” she referred to the riding accident three months ago when she suffered three cracked ribs, telling the crowd: “I feel like I’m really out of shape right now, I don’t like falling off horses, so I’m going to do one more song.”
One of the new songs she performed was “I Love New York” — a title which prompted her to apologize to the audience at the north London club.
She explained: “This next song is called ‘I Love New York.’ But I love London too — if I didn’t, why do you think I’d live here?
“I wrote a song about New York because New York for me was about survival. It is more a state of mind than a place.”
And she added: “I want to thank all of my fans who camped out all night in the freezing cold so they could see me. That’s what I’m talking about. That’s a New York state of mind.”
The gig was broadcast live on the Internet to a worldwide audience.
British media were quick to point out that the performance was also a chance for Madonna to prove she could sing live.
Elton John sparked a war of words at the Q Awards when he accused her of lip-synching during her last tour — a charge she denies.
According to The Guardian, this was no place to find the answer.
Wrote its reviewer: “A guttural scream in the middle of ‘I Love New York’ certainly suggests that her microphone is switched on, but, in reality, no one comes to see Madonna in a venue this small in order to marvel at her vocal prowess.”
source : cnn

It had taken Madonna 22 years to return this way and she wasn’t about to miss the chance to relive a little bit of her early history.
Back in 1983, she was a rising star who had landed in London to try to build a reputation and played a gig at Camden Palace hoping to win a place in locals’ hearts with her dance number Everybody.
Within a few years, she found chart success and was playing to sell-out crowds at Wembley Stadium.
But to mark the launch of her new album Confessions Of A Dancefloor, which has seen her rediscover the disco fever that infected her earliest hits, she chose to make the return journey, albeit to a club now renamed Koko.

Mirrorball

She rounded off her five-song set of otherwise brand new numbers with a rare rendition of that almost-forgotten song right from the faltering start of her career.
Introducing its opening bars, Madonna said: “This is the song I performed here back then. I think I’ve had enough time to remember the words.”
It was the highlight of a 30-minute show that showcased her new album Confessions On A Dance Floor and her latest style metamorphosis.
The theme was definitely disco. As her band, attired in Saturday Night Fever-style white suits, looked on, a huge mirrorball parted on stage and Madonna made her entrance dressed all in purple – matching jacket, velvety pedal pushers and knee-high boots.
As always a Madonna show – big or small – is as much about dance as it is about song, and it was not long into the performance of Hung Up, her current number one single, that the jacket was discarded to reveal a purple vest top more suited to the energetic dancing that was to follow.
At one point, she said slightly breathlessly: “I feel like I’m really out of shape right now, I don’t like falling off horses.”
But over the course of her set, we saw Madonna shimmy, strut, writhe, and high kick.
But most importantly for the 200 fans who had queued through the night for last-minute tickets, this was a chance to enjoy Madonna from the closest of close-up views rather than gazing at a screen from the back end of an Earls Court-sized venue.
Madonna did not flinch from them getting up close and personal, slapping the hands of the most energetic fans bouncing up and down around the stage.
When fan Glen Charleston threw his T-shirt in her direction, she tossed it back again, quipping. “Don’t throw me clothes. On this stage, I take clothes off. I don’t put extra on.”
Charleston, 24, spent the night queuing in the cold after taking a train from Newcastle. Later, he said: “The highlight was when she performed Everybody. I missed out on that first time round so this was a chance to go back in time.”

‘Fantastic performance’

Overall it was a strong showcase for her new album – although it was the audience watching on the internet rather than the fans in the hall who would need convincing – and an intriguing appetiser taster for a promised tour next year, which is likely to retain much of the disco theme.
For those streaming out of Koko afterwards, the verdict was unanimous.
Julie Morris, who flew in specially from New York, said: “Her dancing was unbelievable. She was kicking ass out there.”
Italian visitor Alberto Cordeia added: “Seeing her perform so close up was amazing. This was unforgettable”.
Londoner Ravi Chohan said: “You have to give her 10 out of 10. She is on top of her game – a fantastic performance from somebody who fell off a horse just a few weeks ago.
“She showed that she doesn’t need a huge set or loads of dancers to put on a great show. If there is a tour next year and it is even better than this, it will be amazing.”

source : bbc.co.uk

Madonna went back to where it all began with a one-off gig for fans.
The star launched her new album, Confessions On A Dance Floor, at London’s Koko Club. See photos from the show here.
The intimate venue – formerly known as the Camden Palace – was where Madonna gave her first live UK performance in June 1983.
Then she was an unknown singer who had just released the underground US club hit Everybody.
Now she is the undisputed Queen of Pop and last night’s gig was the hottest ticket in town. Read the Daily Mail’s Quentin Letts review of Madonna’s ‘mildly pornographic’ show here.
Madonna performed five songs for an audience of 1,500 fans, including 200 who had queued overnight in freezing temperatures to bag the last batch of free tickets.
Four of the songs were tracks from the new album, including her current and 11th number one hit Hung Up.
The fifth was Everybody – the song that started it all.
She told the audience: “The last time I played Camden Palace was 22 years ago.
“It was my first show in London and I’ve got to tell you it’s so f****** great to be back.”

Ecstatic audience
The audience comprised mainly competition winners from around the world – and they were ecstatic despite the show lasting barely half an hour.
It drew a celebrity crowd including Stella McCartney, Chris Evans, Bob Geldof and his daughter Peaches, Donna Air and Pet Shop Boy Neil Tennant.
The tiny club was a far cry from the huge venues Madonna normally plays – her last London performance was at Live 8.
Madonna emerged from a giant glitter ball to sing first number Hung Up, dressed in an all-purple ensemble of jacket, velvet pedal pushers and knee-high boots.
She took off her jacket to reveal a tight vest and when one fan threw his shirt at the stage she remonstrated: “Don’t throw your clothes at me – I took my shirt off, I don’t want to put another one on.”
Confessions on a Dance Floor is as return to Madonna’s disco roots and she performs with a four-piece band dressed in Saturday Night Fever-style white suits.
Watching her energetic dance routines it was difficult to believe she suffered three cracked ribs in a riding accident only three months ago.
But introducing the last song, Everybody, she told the crowd: “I feel like I’m really out of shape right now, I don’t like falling off horses, so I’m going to do one more song.”
One of the new songs she performed was I Love New York – a title which prompted her to apologise to the audience at the north London club.
She explained: “This next song is called I Love New York. But I love London too – if I didn’t, why do you think I’d live here?
“I wrote a song about New York because New York for me was about survival. It is more a state of mind than a place.”
And she added: “I want to thank all of my fans who camped out all night in the freezing cold so they could see me. That’s what I’m talking about. That’s a New York state of mind.”
The gig was broadcast live on the internet to a worldwide audience. It was a chance for Madonna to prove she could sing live.
Sir Elton John sparked a war of words at the Q Awards when he accused her of lip-synching during her last tour – a charge she denies.
Madonna has been working hard promoting this new album. She appeared on chat show Parkinson at the weekend, opened the MTV Europe Music Awards earlier this month and this week she will perform at London Club G-A-Y.

source : dailymail

Madonna has played a special show at the London club where she made her British debut 22 years ago.
The star launched her new album, Confessions On A Dance Floor, at London’s Koko Club.
The intimate venue – formerly known as the Camden Palace – was where Madonna gave her first live UK performance in June 1983.
Madonna performed five songs for an audience of 1,500 fans, including 200 who had queued overnight in freezing temperatures to bag the last batch of free tickets.
Four of the songs were tracks from the new album, including her current and 11th number one hit Hung Up.
The fifth was Everybody – the song that started it all.
She told the audience: “The last time I played Camden Palace was 22 years ago.
“It was my first show in London and I’ve got to tell you it’s so f***ing great to be back.”
The audience comprised mainly competition winners from around the world – and they were ecstatic despite the show lasting barely half an hour.
It drew a celebrity crowd including Stella McCartney, Chris Evans, Bob Geldof and his daughter Peaches, Donna Air and Pet Shop Boy Neil Tennant.
The tiny club was a far cry from the huge venues Madonna normally plays – her last London performance was at Live 8 in Hyde Park.
source : channel4

The last time Madonna played this venue was, as she reminded us, 22 years ago. Then, she was just another struggling blonde singer/dancer/actress living on popcorn and the hope she would make it.
Of course, a lot has changed since then. She has sold more than 200 million albums, changed pop culture for ever, done some severe depilation work on those eyebrows and had a frankly astonishing 58 singles in the UK Top Ten. You might want to spend a moment compiling a list of them in your head. It’s a pretty impressive spread.
But Madonna isn’t the only one to have undergone radical change in the past two decades. This, the shabby end of Camden High Street, was decked out, for one night only, with glitterballs on the streetlights. This is the power of Madonna ” she managed to make the sad crossroads of Mornington Cresent kebab shops and legal advice centres look like a thrilling New York disco nexus from 1979.
When she finally took to the stage, resplendent in purple knickerbockers, purple knee-high boots and blonde flicks 40 minutes late ” mere peanuts to the 200 fans who camped out overnight for tickets ” she was greeted with a World Cup goal roar. And little wonder: the current, resurgent Confessions From A Dancefloor album is one of the all-time great pop World Cup goals.
Never one to shilly-shally, Madonna launched straight into the present No 1 single Hung Up, which had the audience screaming as if they were being tortured, but in a good way.
“It’s f***-ing great to be back here!”? she yelled, throwing her sunglasses to a perfectly positioned sunglasses roadie.
The proof of how universally loved Madonna is in 2005 came in the truly bizarre make-up of her audience. A 70-year-old man in a blazer; Graham le Saux; an otherwise very straight man wearing a towel round his neck, in homage to the video to Hung Up; Bob Geldof looking like a vengeful Gandalf being forced to dance to the DJ’s amyl-house set by his daughter Peaches; a man in a toga; Stella McCartney; a respectable-looking matron in an anorak embroidered with horses; Frankie Dettori.
There was much speculation over whether Madonna’s vocals would be live. Compared to the undeniably live honk-fest she turned in at the European Music Awards, both Hung Up and the subsequent Daft Punk-ish Get Together sounded suspiciously pristine. However, both Madonna’s hair and Madonna-ness were undoubtedly live, which is the important thing. Launching into her third number ” I Love New York, accompanied by a squad of street-dancers and a backdrop of New York skyscrapers ” Madonna’s voice became endearingly honking again.
Of course, some might say that doing a mere 20-minute set composed entirely of new material is not quite the act of pop munificence one would hope for in this key week of Madonna’s success ” especially as the set was cut short so that she could sing at a subsequent “intimate gathering”? for the European heads of Warner Music.
Ending with Everybody, she got the audience to chant “Dancing Queen go and do your thing”? at her while she busted some frankly impressive moves in a feather boa, beaming like a happy kid and still not breaking a sweat.
“Thank you, London,”? she screamed as a gigantic glitter-cannon exploded in the ceiling, shedding two tons of glitter across the Koko and making the whole audience look gay.
And really that’s Madonna’s modus operandi in a nutshell.

Rated : 4/5

source : times

There is a fever in the North London air. Four hours before Our Lady takes the stage, fans and photographers are clamouring outside Koko in a state of severe hyperventilation.

By virtue of her longevity, Madonna may not be the mistress of the unpredictable she once was but her live shows are still a major event, so much so that even Chris Evans can be seen queuing patiently outside and clutching his ticket with visible glee.

The choice of venue isn’t a random one. Madonna played her first London gig here 22 years ago so, this time, she has taken it upon herself to spruce the place up, hanging a giant glitter ball out front and lining the floors with sparkling vinyl.

It takes one ticket, two separate wristbands and a laminated pass to get through the doors. Contravening the rules of London gig-going, those lucky enough to have won, blagged or stolen tickets have actually dressed up for the occasion. Before the show starts, it’s cocktail hour, with assorted pastel-coloured drinks being distributed by glacial girls and boys in Madonna t-shirts and David Bowie make-up.

Then the lights go down and the temperature goes through the roof.

Opening the show with “Hung Up”, her new No.1 single is, of course, equivalent to serving your dinner guests dessert first and the crowd go predictably bananas. Madonna gives it her all, which is probably the least you’d expect, given that she’s only playing five songs. She does, you have to admit, look fabulous. The look is Farrah Fawcett meets Joan Jett – tonight she has ditched the leotard in favour of purple knee-length boots and pedal pushers – while the sound is late 70s disco.

To the almost palpable relief of the crowd, she has ditched the anti-war, tree-hugging bluster of her last American Life album (though, of course, none of that would have mattered had there been some good tunes).

This is Madonna reclaiming the plastic pop of her past and reconnecting, Kylie-style, with her devoted gay fanbase.

Hot on the heels of “Hung Up” comes “Stay Together”, “I Love New York” and “Let It Will Be”, alll songs from her new album Confessions on a Dancefloor.

Lurking behind the keyboards is Stuart Price, the man behind Les Rythmes Digitales and Madonna’s latest producer whom, safe to say, has enabled the one-time Queen of Pop to reclaim her crown,

There are, of course, the usual clunking lyrics. These days, you no more expect lyrical elegance from Madonna than you do choreographed tap dancing from Morrissey. Luckily, the propulsive beats and whooshing choruses are enough to distract you from such howlers as “I don’t like cities, but I love New York/Other places make me feel like a dork.”

For her final number, the early 80s track “Everybody” she goes out all out on the camp, bring on dancing boys and revelling in some gloriously tacky dance moves

But in contrast to the strictly choreographed stylishness of her arena shows, tonight looks and feels like an intimate affair, with Madonna looking and feeling like a proper singer rather than a distant hologram.

After the image changes and reinventions, this is Madonna being herself. Its her best trick yet.

source : independent.co.uk