madonna blond ambition tour 1990

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Madonna: Blond Ambition World Tour 90 (1990 & 1991 versions)

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How Madonna’s Blond Ambition Tour Changed Pop Concerts Forever

1990's Blond Ambition took Madge's natural sense of showmanship to new heights.

By Jon O'Brien

Jon O'Brien

“I know that I’m not the best singer and I know that I’m not the best dancer. But, I can f—ing push people’s buttons and be as provocative as I want. This tour’s goal is to break useless taboos.” There was only one all-singing, all-dancing chart-topper who could get away with such a bold declaration at the turn of the ’90s, and it wasn’t Paula Abdul.

From the moment that she writhed around suggestively in a wedding dress at the 1984 MTV VMAs, Madonna became the live act that you couldn’t — and didn’t want to — take your eyes off. Singing in front of a traditional guitar-bass-drums trio was never going to cut it for the woman seemingly hellbent on shocking middle America.

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Then the undisputed Queen of Pop by quite a margin, Madonna had already toyed with the theatrical on 1987’s Who’s That Girl Tour, a whirlwind of glitzy costume changes, giant video screens and dramatic reenactments that she described as “Broadway in a stadium.” But 1990’s Blond Ambition — which kicked off 30 years ago — took Madge’s natural sense of showmanship to new heights.

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Madonna asked Jean-Paul Gaultier to create more than 60 costumes for the tour, an amount which the haute couture designer admits took  350 aspirins  to get through. Luckily, all this headache-inducing work paid off. The Frenchman’s conical bra creation, which was later sold at auction for $52,000 , became one of the defining fashion statements of the decade. And items such as the polka-dotted blouse, clip-on ponytail and mic headset all became a part of the chart-topper’s style legacy, too.

Unsurprisingly, Madonna was just as fastidious when it came to the tour’s choreography. “Wimps and wannabes need not apply” read the call out seeking “fierce male dancers” for the tour. Led by Vincent Paterson, the chosen army of six were put through boot camp-like rehearsals in preparation for a tour that spanned 57 dates, five months and three continents. And with its large hydraulic platform and multiple elaborate sets, Blond Ambition’s staging essentially cost the same as the GDP of a small country. Simply no one else could compete, not even the King to Madonna’s Queen of Pop. A few years prior, Michael Jackson’s Bad Tour had impressed many with its slick moves and dazzling lights – even the BBC’s cult hero John Peel hailed it as a “performance of matchless virtuosity.” But Madge’s elaborative high-concept, five-act production left it for dust.

Blond Ambition didn’t give fans a single opportunity to get bored or head for the bar. Every four minutes there was something new to digest. Take the opening ‘Metropolis’ section, inspired by the expressionist sci-fi of Fritz Lang, for example. Madonna simulates sex in that bra while performing “Express Yourself,” straddles a chair during “Open Your Heart” and belts out “Causing a Commotion” while playfully wrestling her two backing vocalists to the ground. And this was just the first quarter of an hour.

As you’d expect from an artist whose Pepsi commercial had been yanked amidst calls of blasphemy, the second ‘Religious’ section was even more attention-grabbing. Wildly rubbing her crotch in a red velvet bed, Madonna left little to the imagination on a sensual reworking of “Like a Virgin.” And on “Like a Prayer,” the track whose provocative video had caused the soft drink giants to bail, the star and her crew are kitted out as nuns and priests.

Of course, much of the predominantly Roman Catholic nation of Italy didn’t appreciate this type of cosplay. A second date at the Stadio Flaminio was called off after none other than Pope John Paul II implored citizens to boycott “one of the most satanic shows in the history of humanity.”

The controversial blend of religion and erotica also incurred the wrath of the Toronto police force, particularly the “lewd and obscene” display of “Like a Virgin.” But despite the threat of arrest, Madonna and her management team refused to bow down to authority. The star even referenced the furor during her second show at the city’s SkyDome, asking the crowd “Do you think that I’m a bad girl?… I hope so.”

Madonna famously described Toronto as a fascist state in Truth or Dare , the illuminating backstage documentary which further boosted Blond Ambition’s pop cultural cachet. Who can forget the scene where the star pretends to gag after Kevin Costner – then the biggest movie star in the world – summarizes 105 minutes of sense-assaulting, boundary-pushing entertainment as “neat”?

Thankfully, the sell-out crowds reacted to the tour with a little more enthusiasm, even the Dick Tracy section featuring several numbers that would have been unfamiliar at the time. The comic book adaptation, which co-starred Madonna as femme fatale Breathless Mahoney, hit the big screen half-way through Blond Ambition’s run. And the ever-astute star attempted to guide fans towards the cinema with a high-kicking third act dedicated to the trench coat-wearing detective.

But for sheer entertainment value, the ‘Art Deco’ segment is tough to beat. Sporting a pink bathrobe and curlers while seated under a beauty parlor hair dryer, Madonna performed the whole of “Material Girl” in a comical Noo-Yawk accent before throwing fake dollar bills into the crowd. “Cherish” saw the star take up the harp accompanied by (what else?) a troupe of dancing mermen. And following a West Side Story -inspired routine for arguably her finest pure pop moment, “Into the Groove,” she wrapped things up with a faithful recreation of the iconic “Vogue” video.

By the time each and every crew member bids an on-stage farewell during the Bob Fosse-meets- A Clockwork Orange encore of “Keep it Together,” it’s clear that you’ve just witnessed a spectacle of ground-breaking proportions. As dancer Luis Camacho said, Madonna “wanted to give the audience an experience, rather than them just going to a concert. She set the stage for concert shows and experiences that followed.” The tour even impressed Grammy voters, who were notoriously slow to recognize Madonna’s greatness. The video of the tour won the 1991 award for best music video, long form — Madonna’s very first Grammy Award.

Sure enough, no longer were audiences content to watch their pop idol simply play the hits. Elaborate production values and strong narrative arcs soon became just as integral to the superstar tour as the music itself. You only have to look at Michael Jackson’s Dangerous shows, complete with catapult stunts and ghoulish illusions, two years later to recognize the immediate impact Blond Ambition had. And it has continued to inspire pop’s A-listers ever since. Without Blond Ambition, it’s unlikely we’d have the gravity-defying acrobatics of P!nk, the candy-colored razzmatazz of Katy Perry or the formidable conceptual journeys of Beyoncé. And it goes without saying that its footprints were all over the various balls staged by Lady Gaga.

Madonna herself has refused to rest on her laurels, going even bigger and bolder on the likes of 1993’s The Girlie Show, 2004’s Re-Invention and 2008’s Sticky and Sweet. But nothing has ever changed the game quite like her extremely blond and incredibly ambitious 1990 world tour.

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25 Reasons Madonna's Blond Ambition Tour Still Rules, 25 Years Later

A quarter of a century ago, cone bras ruled the world

Madonna kicked off her Blond Ambition World Tour on April 13, 1990, 25 years ago this week. Besides offering the world Madonna in her absolute prime – as a performer and as an all-around focus of attention – Blond Ambition changed the pop-culture landscape.

Fans might be surprised to learn that it’s not Madonna’s highest-grossing tour; Sticky & Sweet, MDNA and The Girlie Show each performed better. And it featured only 57 stops. But it’s still hugely important and might have done the most to define Madonna as a music icon – and here are 25 reasons for that.

(NSFW warning: The article features clips from Madonna in concert, and some of the language might not be work-appropriate. Hey, it’s Madonna.)

1. It reinvented the concert tour.

Today, most major pop tours are full-scale productions with costume changes, special effects, elaborate sets and a sense of drama that takes the experience beyond someone just singing into a microphone. It wasn’t always that way, however, and Madonna and choreographer Vincent Paterson specifically set out to elevate the concert.

As Paterson explained to PEOPLE in a 1990 interview, “The biggest thing we tried to do is change the shape of concerts. Instead of just presenting songs, we wanted to combine fashion, Broadway, rock and performance art.”

2. It has full-on acts

The fact that Madonna divided her performances into five thematic categories – Metropolis, Religious, Dick Tracy, Art Deco and Encore – suggests not only a level of creative planning unusual for concerts at the time but also the sheer volume of material Madonna had to work with – and at only 31 years old, no less.

3. It made a ton of money.

In the first two hours that tickets went on sale, a total of 482,832 were purchased, for a grand total of $14,237,000. By the end of the tour, Madonna had generated more than $62 million – that’s $113 million adjusted for inflation.

4. It helped cement the link between pop costumes and couture.

In addition to the vast majority of Blond Ambition’s many stage costumes, Madonna’s bullet bra was designed by haute couture legend Jean Paul Gaultier. In 2012, one of these very bras sold at a Christie’s auction for $52,000.

5. It gave us that iconic ponytail.

According to a 1990 edition of PEOPLE’s Style Watch, Madonna’s clip-on ponytail quickly became a look that fans copied when attending Blond Ambition stops. “Lots of women – and men – are showing up at her concerts with this hairdo,” remarked Warner Bros. Records publicity VP Liz Rosenberg. “It’s really catching on.”

You might think Madonna would do anything for a look, but that clip-on ponytail resulted from one specific need: she needed a style that wouldn’t get tangled in the headset she wears when she sings.

6. The title itself was a stand for independence.

Initially, it was to be the Like a Prayer World Tour, sponsored by Pepsi. Of course, the “Like a Prayer” video was met with a great deal of controversy, and Pepsi eventually backed out of a licensing deal with “The Donner.” Thus, Blond Ambition was born.

7. It overcame a rough start.

Blond Ambition kicked off on Friday the 13th – Friday, April 13, 1990, near Tokyo, Japan. Suitably, the weather was miserably wet and cold, and at one point Madonna slid across the wet stage and proclaimed, “You didn’t know you were here for an ice-skating show. Well, I’m Dorothy Hamill.”

8. It featured Madonna at her most perfectionist, for better or worse.

And according to the New York Times review of the concert , that meant the concert was more “live” than live. “Madonna has become so perfectionistic, and so athletic in her dancing, that she would clearly rather lip-sync than risk a wrong note,” the review notes. “With tickets priced at $30, concertgoers might expect a more live concert.”

9. It made Madonna confront "the fascist state of Toronto."

As documented in the 1991 behind-the-scenes movie Madonna: Truth or Dare , Toronto police threatened to arrest Madonna should her performance of “Like a Virgin” feature her miming masturbation. When the faux-Middle Eastern arrangement of the hit song played, however, Madonna did her usual dance, hand motions and all.

Ultimately the police opted not to arrest her on obscenity charges, but she still famously called the Canadian city a "fascist state."

10. It was condemned by the Vatican.

Not that it’s a good thing to earn the wrath of the Roman Catholic Church, but it speaks to what a big deal the Blond Ambition tour was that the Vatican’s official newspaper, Osservatore Romano , declared the show sinful – a more or less unprecedented decision.

11. "Don’t talk. If you talk, I will stop speaking, all right?"

Madonna’s response to the condemnation, however, was 100 percent Madonna. After commanding the Italian press to cease talking, she defends her performance. “Like theater, [Blond Ambition] asks questions, provokes thought and takes you on an emotional journey, portraying good and bad, light and dark, joy and sorrow, redemption and salvation.”

12. Every Blond Ambition performance began with a prayer.

Regardless of what the Pope may have thought of Madonna’s work, she felt she was on good terms with God, and Truth or Dare notes that she began every show with a group prayer.

13. She sang "Happy Birthday" to her dad at the tour’s Detroit show …

There’s been no shortage of kerfuffle about Madonna’s relationship with the rest of the Ciccone clan, but the tour featured a touching moment onstage with her dad, Silvio Ciccone, at her hometown show in Detroit.

14. Which means she performed all those naughty bits with her dad in the audience.

There’s a moment in Truth or Dare when she mentions that her dad watching the racier parts of the Blond Ambition tour is scarier than confronting the Toronto police.

15. It was a decidedly pro-gay show.

It’s notable that Madonna was up-front about the fact that six of her seven male backup dancers were gay men. Madonna, after all, had been outspoken about gay rights and gay people in general long before it became the norm among celebrities. In fact

16. Its final U.S. performance was dedicated to Keith Haring.

Madonna was good friends with the pop artist Keith Haring, who died of AIDS-related complications on Feb. 16, 1990. The Blond Ambition World Tour’s last American stop, in East Rutherford, New Jersey, was dedicated to Haring’s memory, and the more than $300,000 the show made was donated to the Foundation for AIDS Research. (Madonna’s Sticky & Sweet Tour used a Haring-inspired backdrop, seen in the above clip.)

17. It featured a gay Dick Tracy chorus line.

Skip forward to the 5:45 mark in this clip of the Blond Ambition performance of “Now I’m Following You” to see six dancing Dick Tracys pair off into three male-male pairs. It’s quite the spectacle, and it’s even more notable when you realize that most of the tour began before the 1990 Dick Tracy remake (in which Madonna starred) hit theaters, meaning this chorus line was the first glimpse fans saw of the reinvented Dick Tracy.

And no, none of those Dick Tracys were Warren Beatty , who played the title character and who was dating Madonna throughout the tour.

18. It was also pro-safe sex.

You have to hand it to Madonna: Encouraging the use of condoms was on-point in 1990, and every show had her introducing “Into the Groove” by saying, “You really never get to know a guy until you ask him to wear a rubber.”

19. It mocked the perception of Madonna as a dumb blond sexpot.

For the Blond Ambition take on “Material Girl,” Madonna sang the entire song in an accent that falls somewhere between dumb blonde, “Noo Yawk” housewife and gangster’s moll. Say what you will about Madonna taking herself very seriously, but most singers wouldn’t ever perform in curlers and a bathrobe.

20. It had grand cinematic aspirations beyond Dick Tracy .

The first act of the show is themed “Metropolis.” That’s not Superman’s city. That’s the 1927 German expressionist epic Metropolis , and you can see it in the retro-science-fiction aesthetic of the stage. Hey, if you were Madonna, you’d aim for high art.

21. There’s some Stanley Kubrick in there, too.

In a 1991 New York Times interview , Madonna described the Blond Ambition performance of “Keep It Together” as “Bob Fosse-meets- Clockwork Orange .”

“It’s the show’s ultimate statement about the family, because we’re absolutely brutalizing with each other, while there’s also no mistaking that we love each other deeply,” she said.

22. Kevin Costner thought the show was "neat."

There’s a famous scene in Truth or Dare in which Madonna parties with other celebs after a Los Angeles show. Among them is Kevin Costner, who tells Madonna he found the show “neat.” It’s an amazing moment, and Madonna is predictably incensed that Costner would use that adjective to describe her. “No one’s ever described me quite that way,” she tells him. Later, she decrees “Anybody who says my show was ‘neat’ has to go.”

Costner would forgive the diss in 2007.

23. Truth or Dare was a success, too.

The documentary about Blond Ambition was released in 1991. It cost $4.5 million to make. It earned $29 million. Sure, Madonna was nominated for a Razzie for Worst Actress – for playing herself, no less – but she had piles of money with which to console herself.

24. It was parodied twice.

Truth or Dare – and by extension, Blond Ambition – were skewered two times, by Julie Brown in Medusa: Dare to Be Truthful and by English comedians Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders in In Bed with French and Saunders . We’d like to think Madge took it all in stride.

25. It essentially made The Immaculate Collection happen.

The tour concluded in August 1990. Everyone was all “Wow, Madonna has an amazing library of hits.” In November 1990, her first greatest hits collection, The Immaculate Collection , was released. You do the math.

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Related articles.

Blond Ambition World Tour

The Blond Ambition World Tour is the third tour by Madonna . It promoted her fourth studio album Like a Prayer (1989) and the soundtrack album I'm Breathless (1990), which was recorded for the movie Dick Tracy . The tour reached North America, Europe and Asia. It was a highly controversial tour, mainly for its juxtaposition of Catholic iconography and sexuality.

Background [ ]

Originally to be called the " Like a Prayer World Tour ", Sire Records announced the Blond Ambition World Tour in November 1989, following the success of Madonna's fourth studio album,  Like a Prayer , and Madonna's performance of " Express Yourself " at the 1989 MTV Video Music Awards - considered as a tour preview. Initially, the tour was only to reach Japan and North America, as Madonna was considering roles in several films. By the end of 1989 plans were announced to bring the tour to Europe as well because of popularity and fan demand. In December 1989, when preparations for the tour began, Madonna herself announced during a pre-recorded interview on German TV channel ZDF, that she would tour Germany during 1990. In April 1990, additional dates in Europe were added. [13]  Stage preparations and dress rehearsals took place at the Disney Studios, Burbank, California, before the tour kicked off in Japan.

The tour incorporated as central themes, sexuality and Catholicism, a combination which engendered controversy. The catholic associations called for a boycott of the show in Rome, and one of three scheduled Italian dates was eventually canceled. The show has achieved a measure of cult status, with elements such as the bullet bra and false ponytail hairpiece becoming cultural icons in their own right.

Madonna herself called the concert "like musical theater" and choreographer Vincent Paterson stated she wanted to "break every rule we can... She wanted to make statements about sexuality, cross-sexuality, the church... But the biggest thing we tried to do was change the shape of concerts. Instead of just presenting songs, we wanted to combine fashion, Broadway, and performance art."

The show's explicit overtone caused problems. In Toronto, police were alerted that the show might possibly contain lewd and obscene content (particularly a masturbation scene) and threatened charges unless parts of the show were changed. The show went on unaltered, however, and no charges were made after the tour manager gave the police an ultimatum: "Cancel the show, and you'll have to tell 30,000 people why.

French fashion designer Jean Paul Gaultier designed the costumes for the tour, including the now-infamous cone brassiere inspired by Polish Art-Deco painter Tamara de Lempicka. Additional costume pieces were designed by Marlene Stewart, who had previously worked with Madonna on the 1987  Who's That Girl World Tour .

Director Alek Keshishian captured more than 250 hours of film of Madonna and her troupe during the tour. This footage was edited and released to movie theaters as  Truth or Dare (In Bed with Madonna) .

Due to ongoing throat problems, six shows had to be canceled, bringing the tour down from 63 shows to 57; altogether, 125,000 tickets had to be refunded. The proceeds of the last American date in New Jersey, was donated to the Nonprofit organization amfAR and dedicated to her friend  Keith Haring  who died of AIDS, grossing over $300,000.

Setlist: [ ]

Act 1 - Metropolis

Act 2 - Religion

Act 3 - Dick Tracy

Act 4 - Art Deco

• 1 Bedtime Stories Photoshoot
• 2 Ray of Light Photoshoot
• 3 Erotica Photoshoot

Pose Reaches Peak Madonna: a Visual History of the 1990 Blond Ambition Tour

Pose has finally done it: the series has reached peak Madonna, and there is no turning back. After heavily referencing the superstar on each episode of season two, the obsession finally reached an apex with episode five . In “What Would Candy Do?” Ricky and Damon (played by Ryan Jamaal Swain ) are on the rocks relation-ship wise, and are both auditioning to be backup dancers for the Blond Ambition tour. Going head to head in a dance-off is certainly not helping them in the love department, but we, as viewers, do get some insight into the importance of the backup dancers on the iconic tour. Over the past decade, critics have accused other pop stars—like Lady Gaga—of copying Madonna, but the show makes clear that the Material Girl also did her fair share of “borrowing.” It’s no secret now—especially not in the ballroom world of Pose — that Madonna brought voguing to the mainstream when she co-opted the moves. But the question of appreciation versus appropriation comes up here, with Blanca on one side of the argument (she sees the popularization of voguing as useful and empowering) and Pray Tell on the other (he’s fearful of the subculture being siphoned). Looking back at the real Blond Ambition tour, which was immortalized in the documentary Madonna: Truth or Dare (and later in the 2016 doc Strike a Pose ), we can see that as much as that tour is known for Madonna’s famous Jean-Paul Gaultier cone bra , it was her dancers who made the whole spectacle culturally relevant. Pose aims to unpack that in this episode. If it weren’t for the queer men of color who danced on the tour, Blond Ambition would not have been as effective or as subversive. And neither would her music video for “Vogue”—a black-and-white David Fincher project that was as inspired by the ballroom scene as it was by Isaac Julien’s film Looking for Langston and the work of Bob Fosse . Here, a glimpse of what the tour looked like nearly 30 years ago—including scenes of backup dancers Luis Camacho, Oliver Crumes, Salim “Slam” Gauwloos, Jose Gutierez Xtravaganza, Kevin Stea, Gabriel Trupin and Carlton Wilborn.

Madonna poses with her backup dancers for Madonna: Truth or Dare . Photo courtesy Everett Collection.

Madonna performs with backup dancers in a Bob Fosse inspired bowler hat routine. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.

Madonna with backup dancers during the Blond Ambition World Tour in 1990. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.

Backup dancers rehearse in a scene from Strike a Pose , Ester Gould and Reijer Zwaan’s 2016 documentary about the backup dancers of the Blond Ambition World Tour. Photo courtesy of Everett Collection.

Luis Camacho prepares for the stage in a still from Strike a Pose . Photo courtesy of Everett Collection.

Madonna performs with her dancers in the Blonde Ambition Japan Tour at Chiba Marine Stadium, April 13th, 1990, Chiba, Japan. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.

Madonna and her dancers performing in 1990. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.

Madonna performs another routine that pays homage to Bob Fosse and Gwen Verdon in the Blond Ambition World Tour. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.

Madonna’s Blond Ambition World Tour 1990. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.

Madonna and her backup dancers, wearing mermaid tails, during the Blond Ambition World Tour in 1990. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.

Madonna plays the harp while her mermaid backup dancers surround her during the Blond Ambition World Tour in 1990. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.

Not all of Madonna’s backup dancers were men. Two women support the singer on stage during the Blond Ambition World Tour in 1990. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.

Madonna wears the iconic Jean-Paul Gaultier cone bra during the Los Angeles leg of the Blond Ambition World Tour in 1990. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.

Madonna and Salim Gauwloos have a Dick Tracy moment during the Blond Ambition World Tour in 1990. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.

Madonna shares the cone bra spotlight with a backup dancer during the Blond Ambition World Tour on June 30, 1990. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.

To revisit this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories .

The Story Behind Madonna’s Iconic Jean Paul Gaultier Cone Bra

By Liam Hess

On the first night of Madonna ’s Blond Ambition tour, held in April 1990 in Chiba, Japan, few in the audience could have prepared themselves for the spectacle about to unfold. With its $2 million dollar stage set, explosive choreography by voguing legends from the New York City ballroom scene, and headline-grabbing aesthetic fusion of Catholic imagery and BDSM, the show solidified Madonna’s position at the top of music’s pantheon. In less than two hours, she was no longer just a pop star—she had graduated to become a fully-fledged pop culture icon.

For her most avid fans, though, it was less of a surprise: Madonna was merely following up on the string of controversies that accompanied her latest album, Like a Prayer , a year earlier. A $5 million sponsorship deal with Pepsi was swiftly pulled after she debuted the video for her lead single, “Like a Prayer,” the plot of which implicitly drew a link between racial injustice and organized religion. Featuring Ku Klux Klan-style burning crosses and Madonna receiving the stigmata, it led to a direct call from the Vatican to boycott Pepsi and its subsidiaries. “Art should be controversial, and that’s all there is to it,” Madonna told the New York Times with nonchalance in the lead-up to the album’s release. (This laid-back response may have been due to the fact that Pepsi, eager to extricate themselves from the kerfuffle, let Madonna keep the $5 million check.)

Yet outside of the pearl-clutching backlash that followed the tour’s debut, the image that would come to define it was far more modest, arriving within the first few minutes of the show. Sporting an artfully slashed pinstripe suit, Madonna levitated to the stage on a hydraulic platform. She held a monocle hanging off her necklace up to her eye, before launching into “Express Yourself.” Then, moments later, she and her backup dancers whipped off their jackets to reveal something a little more sexy.

The pink conical bra that Madonna wore underneath is so embedded within the canon of both pop music and fashion that it now requires little introduction. Designed by Jean Paul Gaultier, who Madonna personally requested to create the costumes for the tour (she even handwrote him a letter to express her admiration for his humorous take on fashion), the look was the product of many months of collaboration, with fittings taking place both in New York and Gaultier’s ateliers in Paris.

“When Madonna first called me in 1989, it was two days before my ready-to-wear show, and I thought my assistant was joking,” said Gaultier in a 2001 interview with the New York Times . “I was a big fan. She knew what she wanted—a pinstripe suit, the feminine corsetry. Madonna likes my clothes because they combine the masculine and the feminine.” Indeed, it was this gender-bending spirit that made the tour’s visuals so memorable; just take her male dancers, who threw flamboyant shapes while sporting Tom of Finland-esque leather lace-back tops paired with Bob Fosse bowler hats. (The less glamorous side of which was explored memorably in the 2016 documentary Strike a Pose , where these dancers, many of whom were living with HIV/AIDS, saw their hopes and aspirations either realized or heartbreakingly thwarted.)

By Elise Taylor

By Hannah Jackson

What made Madonna’s take on this undergarment truly subversive, though, was its nuances. The cone bra grabbed the public’s attention for the way in which it rebelled against the narrow definition of the beautiful female body that, for so many centuries, had been dictated by corsetry’s body-morphing strictures. Sure, designers like Vivienne Westwood had also spent the ’80s exploring a more freeing, playful take on the corset, but Gaultier’s version—first debuted on the runway in 1987 before being adapted for the Blond Ambition tour—took the piece and made it feel defiant, aggressive even. In place of the soft curves the corset was supposed to shape, the female anatomy became a spiky, phallic weapon, one that Madonna celebrated by exerting her dominance, sexual or otherwise, over the dancers she frolicked with across her one-and-a-half-hour musical extravaganza. This was a pop star in control, and her outfits told the story before she even opened her mouth to sing, or began gyrating wildly across the stage (or simulated masturbation, in a sequence that almost resulted in her Toronto leg of the tour being shut down).

Gaultier would go on to collaborate with Madonna on multiple occasions, including a memorable appearance at Gaultier’s 1992 AIDS fundraising gala in support of amFAR, where she walked the runway in Los Angeles before dropping her jacket to reveal a bondage-inspired harness top that left her breasts fully exposed. “I love Madonna,” Gaultier added in his New York Times interview. “She’s the only woman I ever asked to marry me. She said no, of course, but every time she asks me to work on her shows, I can’t say no.” Thirty years after making its first debut, the cone bra is more than just a part of fashion history, or an artefact hanging in a museum. Its legacy lies in the very real way in which it has encouraged generations of female pop performers in Madonna’s wake to channel their sexuality through the outfits they choose to wear without shame, and on their own terms. To paraphrase Gaultier, who could say no to that?

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Madonna: Blond Ambition Tour, 1990

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Product Description

This release captures Madonna performing 19 songs, live in Houston, on her celebrated 'Blond Ambition' tour. Includes the hits: 'Express Yourself', 'Like A Virgin', 'Material Girl', 'Like A Prayer', 'Vogue' and 'Into The Groove'.

Product details

• Aspect Ratio ‏ : ‎ 1.33:1
• MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ NR (Not Rated)
• Package Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.1 x 5.42 x 0.58 inches; 2.93 ounces
• Media Format ‏ : ‎ NTSC
• Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour and 42 minutes
• Release date ‏ : ‎ October 15, 2007
• Actors ‏ : ‎ Madonna
• Subtitles: ‏ : ‎ English
• Studio ‏ : ‎ Falcon
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0009YLHO0
• Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
• #173,070 in DVD

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• Cast & crew

Madonna: Live! Blond Ambition World Tour 90 from Barcelona Olympic Stadium

Madonna and her crew perform in Barcelona, Spain for the legendary Blond Ambition Tour in 1990. Madonna and her crew perform in Barcelona, Spain for the legendary Blond Ambition Tour in 1990. Madonna and her crew perform in Barcelona, Spain for the legendary Blond Ambition Tour in 1990.

• David Mallet
• Mark Aldo Miceli
• Lauren Harris
• Luis Camacho
• Oliver Crumes Jr.
• Donna DeLory
• 1 Critic review

• Self - Dancer

• (as Oliver Crumes)
• Background Vocals
• (as Donna Delory)
• Self - Dancer …

• (as Niki Harris)

• (as Kevin Stea)

• Self - Guitar
• Mark Aldo Miceli (co-director - as Mark 'Aldo' Miceli)
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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Did you know

• Connections Version of Madonna: Blond Ambition - Japan Tour 90 (1990)
• Soundtracks Express Yourself Written by Madonna and Stephen Bray Performed by Madonna Contains a sample of "Everybody" Written by Madonna

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• December 24, 1990 (United Kingdom)
• United States
• Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
• RAI Radiotelevisione Italiana
• Radio Televisión Española (RTVE)
• See more company credits at IMDbPro

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• Runtime 1 hour 57 minutes

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Blond Ambition Tour 1990 – Live Report by Hans

• Madonna Live Reports
• Blond Ambition Tour 1990 –…

The very first announcement of a possible tour came to me through a friend. He had found a voucher for a Madonna concert in Denmark on June 27th and for Goteborg in Sweden on June 29th, think it was going to be a very hot summer indeed! Denmark was denied very quickly but Goteborg was a go, so we could safely say that the tour was indeed a fact! This was the ultimate opportunity for me to go and see more shows of Madonna. I really wanted to see her live in London, the magical Wembley Stadium (after I had seen Live Aid I just had to have seen her there). But how am I going to get tickets for shows abroad?

After two weeks of more uncertainties, a friend of mine told me that the tour had taken off in Tokyo Japan in a really strange outfit (I was shown the pic of the Like A Virgin performance). I really had to get used to her new look and her ponytail, and what and where would she be playing? There wasn’t even talk of European dates at that point. Only in April we learned that Madonna would indeed come to Europe! Goteborg Sweden on June 29th and London July 20th, so I just had to go! Those were the only dates confirmed as of then. The ticketsale for London would start on April 29th, since I didn’t have a creditcard we found an option of arranging tickets through a Dutch ticket agency (Keith Prowse). We learned from them that two more dates would be added to the London shows. Later we heard that Madonna would be coming to Holland, and once again in the ‘The Kuip’ in Rotterdam. So I was going to go to four shows as of now, and was planning on trying for Sweden.

At the end of may the Paris shows were announced, on July 3 and 4 she would perform in Bercy. Through an add in a newspaper I managed to buy tickets for both shows, my friend only was going to see the shows in London and Rotterdam. I really still wanted to get tickets for shows in Germany and Italy. But Madonna’s tour schedule was so vague that nothing was confirmed. German magazines spoke of Madonna performances in July in Berlin, Cologne and Munich. Tickets for Cologne was with a bustrip included. I was planning on traveling to Berlin from Goteborg and then on to Paris (by train). I thought I had everything planned, but things didn’t quite work out that way.

Ticketsale Rotterdam May 11th 1990

I didn’t want to end up with the worst tickets in the house like I did during the ‘Who’s That Girl’ Tour in 1987. So I left around 6 in the afternoon to the postoffice to camp out during the night for tickets. I picked out my spot in front of the building and brought all the necessary supplies. I was fantasizing about my upcoming holiday, then I started thinking ‘what if the show sucks?’ But I really couldn’t imagine, not after reading all those reviews from the show. Well here I was, all alone with people walking by asking me what I was doing there. At first I told people I was here to camp out for Madonna tickets, but when people reacted like ‘he’s crazy, Madonna is so over!’, I just stopped telling them. After a few hours some others joined me, so we started talking with some music, but then at midnight it started to rain. But everyone remained at their spot, the radio gave out after so many rain and my sleepingbag was soaked. The night went on quickly.

When the clock struck 9 in the morning, the door finally opened. We were allowed five at a time to buy our tickets. So I bought my ticket for the field, I went back outside and took a little walk around the building, just now I saw how many people were standing in the queue. I was very happy with my ticket. I said goodbye to the people who had spent the night outside with me and went on home.

Blond Ambition Tour Europe!

June 27th 1990.

I had a four-week holiday so my Blond Ambition Tour was safe to start. I got into some fights back home about my planned trip. They just didn’t understand why I wanted to see the same show so many times, in different countries. But still my mom wished me all the best when I left. I got on the train to Hamburg where I had to switch for Copenhagen and from then on to Goteborg. I had my walkman with me and the train took off. Trip went smoothly and I arrived on June 28th in the afternoon in Goteborg. Hello Sweden!, the hotel was good and from here there was a direct coach to Eriksberg.

 Goteburg June 29th

The first disappointment was a fact, the show was delayed by a day. There were some technical problems, so I had to see to entertain myself for another day. I decided to do some shopping.

Goteburg June 30th

Still had no ticket and was wondering if I would be able to buy one. When I arrived at Eriksberg there were indeed scalpers selling tickets but for prices like $500. No thought in my mind was thinking of spending that much money for a ticket. I knew I was certainly going to see Madonna in London, Paris and Holland, so no way! I spent the day with some other fans, had a great time! When the hours started passing, we still had hope to find a cheap ticket, but no such luck. We just decided to stay outside and enjoy the show from here. When the clock turned 9 the show started. Of course we couldn’t see a thing, only hear it all, so we just imagined all the things going on. We heard lots of screaming, and we had goosebumps all over. ‘Alright Sweden, do you believe in love?!’ We danced and we sang along, halfway during the show someone came over to us trying to sell his leftover ticket, he still wanted $50 for it. We were like ‘bye bye, we’re having a great time as it is’. In the end he never managed to sell his tickets.

 Goteburg – Amsterdam – Paris July 1st

It was my schedule to now go to Berlin, but decided to ask around before I caught the train. I then searched through newspapers to see pics of last night’s show, I was quite surprised to see she didn’t have a ponytail, but her hair loose. When I asked around about M’s show in Berlin, it turned out that there was no Berlin show scheduled at all! I was so disappointed, the tour really didn’t start off the right way for me. I knew I was still going to see her in Paris, but kinda regretted the fact not buying a ticket for last night’s show. I was glad to have found out here that there was no Berlin show.

When I arrived back in Amsterdam, I just had a few hours to catch my train to Paris. I reserved a spot in the train and went to sleep.

Paris July 2nd

The next morning around 7 we arrived in Paris at Gare du Nord. After finding a hotel and sleeping a bit, I made my way to Bercy. There I learned that another show had been added to the schedule in Paris. I couldn’t book one more night at my hotel, so no third Paris show for me! There were already people waiting to be the first in line tomorrow to enter Bercy.

Paris July 3d

Early in the morning I went to Bercy and sat down in the queue. There were about 50 people in front of me. We had a great time, I shared my experience of Sweden with them. They told me that Madonna arrived in Paris yesterday and that they had heard her soundchecking. I was so happy, I was finally going to see her for real today! When it was time to go in I just ran until I found a great spot in the front row on the right side. It was very hot in Bercy and the support act was really bad. The stage was almost empty, which made it look a bit boring.

At 21:15 the lights went off and Bercy just became a hot mess! Lots of screaming, shouting and pushing! There she is Madonna! She looked amazing, she put on an amazing show. Finally I see what all the controversy is about regarding Like A Virgin, and can finally put the pics I’ve seen together with the reviews. There is so much happening on stage that I don’t know where to look. I was just very grateful to know I was going to see the show 6 more times. Vogue was the absolute highlight for me, and Holiday was just a lot of fun. After she finished Keep It Together she throws her hat on the floor and makes her exit for the last time. I want more!! What a night!, I go back to my hotel take a shower and hit the sheets.

 Paris July 4th

At 8 in the morning I was back at Bercy, the queue was just as big as yesterday. There is a lot more security and people with cameras are walking around. At 6 in the evening the doors go open and I aim for the same spot I was in yesterday. The support act was just as bad as yesterday. And at 9 there our lady is again! She just keeps on surprising me how many things are going on on the stage. Why does it pass by so quickly? She speaks some in French but I don’t understand a word of it. Again the show is over too quickly and the Paris shows are a fact for me as of now.

Paris – Amsterdam July 5th

Took my train back to Amsterdam and just thinking about the shows I have seen. In the evening I arrive back in Amsterdam. I tell everyone how my trip went and call my friend to tell him all about it. He told me that shows in Italy were going to be cancelled as they thought it was too sexy.

 Amsterdam – Paris July 10th

Did nothing for three days straight. In the morning I take the train from Amsterdam to Paris, Paris-Annecy and then the next day the train from Annecy to Turin. I read a lot, sleep a lot, and times passes by quickly. At 6 I arrive at Gare Du Nord, I catch my next train there to Annecy. In the evening I arrive there and go to find a hotel for the night, I quickly find one and go straight to bed. I have to catch my train to Turin at 9 in the morning!

Annecy – Turin July 11th

The trip from Annecy to Turin would take about 5 or 6 hours, so I put on my walkman and settle back in my chair. Around 3 in the afternoon we arrive and I feel my heart beating faster. I don’t have a ticket for the show in Turin, am I able to get one?? I quickly find a hotel and then I take off to Stadio delle Alpi.

The heat is driving me crazy and after a long search I finally found the stadium. The stadium is just huge. I then ask if there were still tickets available, much to my delight there are still normal tickets available for regular price! I just screamed out and started to laugh, couldn’t believe my luck! Went back to my hotel and had a whole day to get to know the city. I really wanted to be in the front so had to make sure what time to go to the stadium.

Turin July 12th

Decided to go to the stadium today and just to sit and wait for the show tomorrow. When I got there I was the only one except for some crew members. Decided that it was no use at all to stick around on my own and headed back to the hotel. I phoned my friend in Holland who told me that there was once again a change in the tour schedule. Cologne was moved to Dortmund and nobody was talking about a gig in Munich anymore. I then went into town, had a drink and watched people walking by.

Turin July 13th

I woke up at 4 in the morning, by cab I went to the stadium and found out that I wasn’t the only one there anymore. Day passed by really quickly, the Italian people were a lot of fun. You could leave your place to get something, and no problem to get your seat back at all. There was a moment when everybody went nuts when they heard the soundcheck that M was doing. A group of Italian fans were singing along with tears in their eyes, which was very touching. Around 5 the gates were opened and we ran like lunatics, the stadium was just huge! And I made it, I am at the very front. A dream that came true, seeing Madonna play in Italy from the front row! The amazing thing is that now there are two huge billboards on both sides of the stage.

There were two support acts. When the show starts the crowd just went nuts and she screamed ‘Ciao Torino, Ciao Italia!’ But there is a lot of pushing and a lot of screaming, I just play along. Because the stage is higher than in Paris, I am missing certain things on the stage. But I really don’t care because I am enjoying each and very moment of the show. Everyone loved the show and everybody just kept on clapping their hands and singing along. When ‘Vogue’ comes on I just lose it, this is such an amazing performance and Holiday just shakes up the whole stadium.

Very tired, but very pleased, I leave the stadium and try and find a cab. It takes about 90 minutes before I find one and can get back to my hotel. The rude thing was that the cab ride cost about 3 times more then it cost this morning!. But hey, I just take a shower and jump into my bed, what a night!

Turin – Amsterdam July 14th

After a good night’s sleep I am on my way back to Amsterdam, my next show is not until the 17th in Dortmund Germany. After a couple of switches on my train and an unexpected switch at Cologne I arrive in Amsterdam, where I was in a train full of backpackers, so no place to sit at all.

Amsterdam July 16th

I got up at noon and started to get things ready for my trip the next day to Germany. The company where I arranged the bus trip and ticket hadn’t been in touch at all, so decided to call them. After an hour of trying to get hold of them, I finally spoke to them and they confirmed that everything was still going ahead.

Venlo – Dortmund July 17th

Today was the day, I first went to Venlo as that was where the bus would be picking me and a friend up. I was walking around with my bag and tickets for London, because tomorrow I would be on the boat on my way to Harwich. Yeah the tour was now really going to be hectic, I was going to see five shows in one week! Tonight there was the show in Dortmund, I had heard that the venue would be very small, so my picture taking option would be great! After a bustrip of about 90 minutes we arrive in Dortmund, we still had to wait there to get our tickets. While the rest of the crowd is already gathering in front of the gates ‘hurry up goddammit, we wanna get inside!’ Finally there’s the person who has our tickets, he gives us the tickets and a tourposter of the show in Cologne that never was.

We ran to the entrance and there was already a lot of pushing going on. I tucked my camera away and without any problems I walk inside the venue. It’s incredibly hot inside the venue, so I am not walking up to the front row, so I just wait halfway. I get my camera and put it in a plastic bag. I then get into a fight with a German guy who doesn’t agree with the fact that I brought a camera. And he tells me he will do everything to obstruct my pictures, I just pretend I’m deaf and ignore him. The support act was the worst thus far and thank God it was over before I knew it. During the support act however the German guy kept on bumping into me, I was getting so pissed at him that I punched him back and hard! And it worked, as he walked away.

At 9 the light went off and I just start to scream my head off. We are all screaming, and I am going to experience my fourth concert. The first thing I notice when I see her, is that her hair is all messy and not as curly as it was before. But she again is giving her all and dancing her ass off. She makes several naughty and funny jokes, she’s hilarious! Then there are some guys yelling ‘TITS!’ at her, during ‘Cherish’ you can see that Madonna didn’t really appreciate it and so she answers ‘No I am not going to show you my tits, if you wanted to see my tits, you should’ve bought the Playboy! She’s got everyone in hysterics! After ‘Vogue’ almost everybody is starting to leave, they don’t know that there are still two songs to follow. So I have more space and walk up to the front, perfect opportunity to shoot some more great pics.

Back in the bus I am completely soaked, and so are all the others. Even though the show was in such an intimate venue, it was the least favourite show that I had seen so far. But that was more because of the irritating German guy. When we arrive at our hotel in Venlo we split the costs of the hotelroom and go to bed.

Hoek van Holland – London July 18th

It’s again an early day for me, I have to get to ‘Hoek van Holland’ to catch the boat to Harwich. When I leave the hotel the owner is so nice to give me something to eat to take with me. He just doesn’t get me, why see 8 shows of the same artist? They’re all the same aren’t they?. I get on the train to Hoek van Holland and arrive there at around 11, the weather is great and I check in at the Stena Line. The boattrip takes up about 8 hours and I spent my time by sitting in the sun. Around 6:30 we arrive in England and then have to take the train to London, which takes up one hour. But I enjoy every single moment. I take the tube at Liverpool Station to Tottenham Court Road and then after almost 15 hours I arrive at the hotel. I check in for today and tomorrow . Once in my room I just drop on my bed and close my eyes.

London July 19th

I wake up the next morning and take a shower and have breakfast. The weather is still fantastic and I am planning on visiting the Wembley Stadium immediately. Already Madonna is headlining the newspapers because of her so called bad attitude. When I finally arrive at Wembley Stadium there is absolutely no one there except for some crewmembers. I decide to go back to my hotel to pick up some things and spend the rest of the day on top of the stairs at Wembley Stadium.

In the hotelroom I grabbed some film rolls, my camera, my walkman and water and then head back to Wembley. When I get there I walk up the stairs and take up my spot. Tomorrow is a special day for me as I turn 21 years old and I just want to be in the front row on my birthday. The weather is still great and I am just relaxing in the sun, thinking several things through. Then suddenly Madonna starts her soundcheck and I hear ‘Express Yourself’ and go nuts! And I just think ‘Hans be yourself, whether you like boys or girls, who cares, just be yourself’. Madonna’s lyrics just only help me realize that more and more, after her soundcheck I scream ‘thank you Madonna!’ I just feel amazing, I hear some more of the soundcheck and then it’s silent again.

Later on four other people join me with sleepingbags and we start to talk. I tell them all about the shows I have already seen and we have a great evening.

London July 20th

The night’s a fact and they start to sing me ‘Happy Birthday’, I am now 21 years old! The later it gets, the more people that come to Wembley. In the morning I went to buy some breakfast at a fast food restaurant. I also speak to a security guard who congratulates me on my birthday and tells me that Madonna’s show of tomorrow night will be broadcast live on radio. I ask him to tape it on a cassette for me and give him my address in case I don’t run into him again.

Day passes by quickly, the sun is still shining, lots more people have ended up at Wembley and by now everyone knows that it is my birthday. I try to see if I can find my Dutch friend who is coming over for today’s show, I walk around but just can’t find him. Then suddenly the soundcheck starts and everybody is silent. We hear ‘Express Yourself’ and we just start to applaud, and then it’s quiet on stage, yes Madonna we are here already! The doors went open at around 5 and again we just ran! I had tucked away my camera but while running I feel it slowly slipping down my pants. But I made it, I am right at the front, still it would take almost 4 hours until the show will start.

Support act was a bit better (Technotronics) and this just sounds really nice, the best support act of the tour so far. I notice a dancer Oliver Crumes standing behind the barriers watching the performance. Then at 9 the time is there, the show starts!!. Wembley is just shaking in anticipation. There she is ‘Alright London, I just wanna know one thing, do you believe in love?!’ I dance and I sing and congratulate myself on my birthday, there is almost no pushing so I can easily take some excellent pictures, but still have to keep an eye on security. Madonna swears a lot during the show especially in Causing A Commotion (if you don’t have a fucking sense of humour, you can fucking go home). But the audience loves it, during Like A Virgin there was no curtain behind the bed. Her little conversation about Dick Tracy was hilarious as well (I have a Dick and he is very very hard!) Madonna’s in great spirits and extremely funny.

The show just goes by way too fast, and Wembley is just rocking and Madonna is the queen! Holiday gets sang along by 72000 people, which creates a fantastic atmosphere. Then the first London show is a fact and the 72000 people leave the stadium. I put my camera away and head to the hotel, hopefully I can find my Dutch friend soon because I really couldn’t wait to hear what his opinion on the show was. When I arrive at Tottenham court Road, I see that my Dutch friend walks out as well! We decide to grab a bite to eat and he tells me that he was amazed by the show, but that he couldn’t really make a judgement as it all went by so fast. This was truly the best show I had seen so far!

London July 21st

Today we go back to Wembley Stadium for the second show. The newspapers were filled with reviews on last night’s show, talking about Madonna’s supposed dirty mouth. The English press didn’t liked the fact that M said the F word so many times. It’s already very crowded at Wembley (it is now 1 in the afternoon). We now have to run a little further as we are on a different entrance. So when it’s time to run, we have to run just a little faster than yesterday. I lose my friend while running, but hey I will see him in the hotel. When I find my spot, I decide to photograph the thousands of people waiting. After that I can easily go back to my spot, nobody makes trouble out of it. The support act had some technical problems today, but they were still great.

At 9 it was Madonna time again, and no she wasn’t going to slow down today and we get the F word a LOT of times. But this time Madonna explains that Fuck is a good word, fuck is the reason I am here, fuck is the reason you are here, if your mom and dad did not fuck you would not be here today okay?! Audience loves it, and M continues doing her thing. Now during Like A Virgin the curtain behind the bed is down. But knowing that tonight’s show is being broadcast live, I know lots of homes won’t be very happy with the swearing. During Cherish Wembley seems like one big family, everybody sings along and just held on to each other. Vogue really brings the house down, it’s one giant party! After the show I make my way back to the hotel where I run into my friend again.

London July 22nd

Today we got up early to go to a record fair in London. I bought the shaped picture disc of ‘Angel’ but that was it, although I saw some amazing stuff but for equally amazing prices as well. Also the newspapers were sill talking about Madonna’s swearing, they reckoned she should be banned all over the world, because a million kids were listening to her. We went to Wembley at noon, but it was soooooo crowded, much more than before. There was obviously no chance of getting to the front with so many people in front of us. I found the security guard again and he had indeed recorded the show on cassette for me. But he said that he found her terrible, her swearing was the worst! I started a discussion with him and basically he just couldn’t deal with the fact that she wore because she was a woman!

When the gates opened we managed to get quite to the front, there are about 10 people in front of me. But the crowd is very restless and there is a lot of pushing. Also people are throwing with water bottles and boxes of yoghurt, and of course one of them lands on me. And luckily I was wearing a black shirt, so now I am completely covered in yoghurt (YES! NOT!) The security finds the guy who is throwing with yoghurt and takes him to the back of Wembley. When Madonna comes on, the pushing gets heavier and I get pushed more and more forward. There is quite a big lady in front of me and because I am standing on some steal from the gate, I keep slipping off of it due to the water and yoghurt. During Causing A Commotion Madonna keeps on glancing my way. But then suddenly Madonna stands there with her arms folded and looks me right into my eyes! Wooohooo I can’t believe it! However the lady in front of me keeps on pushing me, I ask her to stop but she doesn’t respond. Then suddenly during ‘Live To Tell’ I again slipped of the steel and felt a bit strange in my head, and could think of only 1 thing: FOOD!

Before I knew it I was standing on the side of the stage, I had been pulled out as I apparently had fainted! I then went to go and buy something to eat and drink and sat down on a seat. After I finished my food and drink I just burst into tears, my shoes and socks were just soaked with dirt and water, and I just started to shake terribly. It was not until ‘Vogue’ that I finally gained myself together and could enjoy the show again. After the show finished I found my friend and told him all that had happened. He told me that he never even noticed that I had fainted. We then went on to eat something and went to bed because we had an early day tomorrow.

London – Amsterdam July 23d

We bought some newspapers and caught our train, our trip went smoothly and we slept and ate some. My plan was to get back to Amsterdam, go to my house, get my stuff together and go to Rotterdam immediately. I arrived at home around 11 in the evening, I grabbed my things, said goodbye and left again. I had only forgotten one thing, there was no bus anymore, it was too late. So I went back home and decided to catch the very first train to Rotterdam.

Rotterdam July 24th

Of course I had forgotten to set the alarm, so I woke up at 10:00 in the morning! I was extremely angry with myself and made my way to the train. The trip in the train was going to take up to 90 minutes. Around noon I arrived in Rotterdam and made my way to ‘De Kuip’. When I got there it was very crowded already and knew I wouldn’t have a front row spot. This is not how I imagined my last show to be. Suddenly a friend of mine saw me and asked what had happened and why I was this late. So I told her and she invited me to join her and the others right at the front. So of course I am very grateful and I am at the front again.

Around 4 Madonna begins her now for us famous soundcheck with express Yourself! Around 6 the gates open and we run to get a good spot. We get a wristband because we’re in the first section, which means that we get to walk around freely and I of course immediately use this opportunity. It’s a bit windy and cloudy and I just hope that the rain will stay away. We get again a different support act, King Bee (who?), they apparently had some hits (Back By Dope Demand). I again see Oliver the dancer and Slam as well standing behind the barriers and enjoying the performance.

The time has arrived and Madonna makes her grand entrance. She has some nice things to say again ‘For those of you who thought I was a lesbian, you’re wrong, I hate girls!’ She isn’t too happy about the weather either ‘So why is it so fucking cold in here, and why isn’t it fucking dark yet?!’ It’s a great feeling thought to see Madonna perform in your own country. But I agree with her, it’s very cold here compared to London!. People around me don’t like the fact that M mimes to ‘Now I’m Following You’ and start to boo her. Thank god they stop when she starts ‘Material Girl’. Then she goes and talks some more nice things about wearing fur coats. ‘Do you know how many animals I had to fuck to get this coat?!’ A funny thing happens during ‘Holiday’, she gets a girl on stage! The girl gets to sing and dance along with Madonna. During ‘Keep it together’ I am already making my way to the exit as I need to catch the train.

When I am in the train, I am already homesick to the tour, can’t believe that it’s over for me. I had had the best holiday ever. There were so many highlights, London and Turin, the great weather, Rotterdam. Downsides: the ever changing tour schedule, the little fight in Germany and my alarmclock. The perfect holiday that I hope to repeat!

Hans Schaft

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Madonna ‘weak and very tired’ as tour hangs in balance: report

Madonna is reportedly not recovering as quickly as expected after being hospitalized for a bacterial infection last week.

The 64-year-old “Express Yourself” singer is still “weak and very tired” and spending lots of time in bed, sources close to Madonna claimed to TMZ on Wednesday.

This comes as the originally scheduled start date for her “Celebration” tour looms closer.

Madonna’s longtime manager, Guy Oseary, announced the tour would be paused due to her health scare, but added that the “Like a Prayer” icon was expected to make a “full recovery.”

But with 10 days until Madonna was originally supposed to kick off the tour in Vancouver on July 15, a new start date or official health update has yet to be released.

A check of the Ticketmaster site by The Post Wednesday evening showed the first available tour ticket was now for Tuesday, July 18, in Seattle.

The Material Girl hasn’t spoken about the tour with anyone around her since she’s been recovering, according to TMZ’s sources.

The Post has contacted representatives for Madonna for comment.

Over the weekend, her longtime friend Rosie O’Donnell assured fans that the pop star is “good” as fans bombarded her with questions  on Instagram .

“She is recovering at home — she is very strong in general,” O’Donnell replied to one follower.

“God bless her hope she’s ok, I don’t care about the tour,” another Instagram user wrote, to which the former talk show host responded, “She’s good.”

It was previously reported that Madonna was  still severely ill and bedridden  since being released from an unidentified hospital.

Madge reportedly had a monthlong fever leading up to her being found unresponsive at her NYC home and intubated in an intensive care unit last week.

The singer’s oldest daughter , Lordes Leon, 26, was reportedly by Madonna’s side bedside throughout the ordeal.

Madonna allegedly insisted on rehearsing for 12-plus hours a day and “burnt herself out” to compete with younger acts like Taylor Swift.

She was also working alongside dancers who were “a fraction of her age.”

Madonna has not personally addressed her health situation, and it’s still unknown what kind of bacterial infection she experienced.

Nevertheless, Madonna’s sons,  Rocco Ritchie, 22, and David Banda , 17, have been rallying around their ailing mom, as they’ve both been spotted coming and going from her NYC apartment.

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Madonna x JPG Blond Ambition Tee

Presenting an exclusive T-shirt crafted through a collaborative effort between Jean Paul Gaultier and Madonna's Studio. This design pays homage to the iconic corset created by Mr. Gaultier for Madonna's legendary Blond Ambition Tour in 1990.

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