#thevirginera

KCBS News Los Angeles

USA March 29th 1985

The Virgin Tour

Madison Square Garden New York City, NY June 10th 1985

The Virgin Tour

Orange County Convention Center Orlando, FL May 10th 1985

SOLD OUT

Desperately Seeking Susan Lobby Cards

The Palladium

New York City, NY June 11th 1985

Heibon Punch

Japan February 11th 1985

Madonna was shot exclusively for Japan, these pictures were never published outside of Japan. 

The Virgin Tour

Apr 10th 1985 - June 11th 1985

Madonna’s debut tour was a resounding success. While critics may not have all agreed, reviews were generally favourable, if not begrudgingly so. Most critics agreed Madonna had presence and the ability to handle herself on stage. It would soon become apparent that Madonna was not just a fad.

The tour broke records, selling out the Pacific Ampitheatre in Costa Mesa in 70 minutes, Radio City Music Hall in 34 minutes, the UIC Pavillion in Chicago sold 18,000 tickets in one day and in Philadelphia a record breaking 31,000 tickets were sold in under four hours. 

After a massive sell out at Seattle’s Paramount Theatre, Madonna was moved to arenas, by the time she got to New York, demand was so great, two shows at Madison Square Garden were added.

Madonna had originally intended Bronski Beat to be the opening act, but later decided upon The Beastie Boys, she would say later that she loved them, but they were hated and booed off stage at almost every show.

The Virgin Tour

The Spectrum Philadelphia, PA May 29th 1985

SOLD OUT

Promoter: Stephen Star/The Concert Co. Attendance/Capacity: 15,551/15,551 Ticket Price: $15.50/$13.50 Gross: $237,047

Madonna: Lucky Star Live It Up

By Jonathan Takiff (Philadelphia Daily News)

She’s the special delight of teenage girls who emulate her pop tart look with their own dangling “Lucky Star” earrings, lacy gloves, sequined halter tops, bare midriffs, short skirts ad pointy high heels.

She’s also the scourge of enlightened feminists, who despise her “Boy Toy” philosophy, her flaunting, come-and-get-me sexuality and her self-centred, materialistic bent.

And last night at the Spectrum, near the tail end of her debut “Like a Virgin” tour, Madonna Louise Ciccone gave all the opinion makers exactly what they were looking for, and maybe even more.

She pulled off a well paced, precision stage show ripe with street wise terpsichord and flashy costuming (Paisley punk for starters, then all black, then white wedding style); plus lurid sexuality; sly bits of humor and fluid lighting and rear projections.

Oh yeah, there was also a long stream of Madonna’s bubble funk hits, from “Holiday” to “Borderline” to “Like a Virgin,” though at times the music did seem to take a back seat to all the other production distractions.

I found myself enjoying Madonna much more than I had anticipated. She certainly has a lot more going for her than just an alluring bellybutton. However, I had some gripes with the show’s lack of spontaneity. It was polished to such perfection that I was often compelled to ask, “So is this live or is it Memorex?”

One can certainly understand why Madonna would want to line up all her cards “just so.” Discovered first in 1982 by the tastemakers of urban contemporary radio (who now seem to have abandoned her, judging by the severe shortage of black faces at last night’s show), and then embraced by white teen-age America through the power of her riveting video clips, Madonna has chalked up a remarkable seven Top 20 records in a period of just 16 months. (Note, strictly for comparison’s sake, that it took Barbra Streisand 16 years to achieve the same number of hits.)

Yet, prior to last night, Madonna had never performed live in Philadelphia on any kind of stage. And many cynics were predicting she’d fall flat on her face - that she was a phenomenon who wouldn’t last till lunchtime.

So, starting out here at the top before a sold out (in 45 minutes) arena crowd numbering about 18,000 surely took guts and lots of rehearsing. And Madonna did prove that she could carry a 75 minute show - relying on material from her two solo albums and her two movie soundtracks - “Visionquest” and “Desperately Seeking Susan.”

She moves in concert every bit as confidently as she does on screen, and even steamier - with lots more of the strip queen inspired hip shakes, dry humping and groveling on all fours than the TV censors will allow. For support, Madonna comes equppied with a pair of step mimicking male dancers. Their one girl/two guys dance routines are actually an old-style nightclub performances conceit; very Mitzi Gaynor-ish, very Ann-Margaret, merely updated with some new moves.

What especially floored me (and also made me a bit suspicious) was the fact that her near constant choreography never once took Madonna’s breath away! Amazing. She’s hardly more than a gurgly wisp of a singer (vocalizing came as an afterthought to her dance training), and yet Madonna belted them out in concert last night with exactly the same smoothness and electronic voice thickening effects that she and her record producers take months to methodically create in the studio.

I’m certain that at least some of the backing vocal tracks heard last night at the Spectrum were pre-recorded on tape - when Madonna was heard harmonizing with herself. As for the surprising strength in her own lead parts, I can only conclude that madonna is either an entertainer with the hearty constitution of a horse, or an extremely good lip-syncher.