In April 1990, Madonna, still riding high off the success of Like A Prayer and the smash single "Vogue" embarked on her biggest and arguably her most controversial tour yet. While her previous tours-- 1987's Who's That Girl World Tour and 1985's The Virgin Tour--had placed most of the emphasis on song and dance, The Blond Ambition Tour was a different type of concert spectacle .
Presenting each song as an individual piece of musical theater, the show explored themes of sexuality, androgny, religion, rebellion and patriarchy, including songs from each of Madonna's albums up until that point, according to ultimatemadonna.com. Vincent Patterson, choreographer for the tour, said Madonna 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 Sacred and The Profane
Beginning the show with her dance hit "Express Yourself," Madonna appeared at the top of a staircase, decked out in the cone bras designed by French fashion designer Jean Paul Gaultier, and a pinstripe suit, the set behind her a recreation of the Metropolis-inspired music video. Male dancers, acting as workers, danced submissively behind the star and her background singers, who danced suggestively by grabbing their crotches and grinding against the dancers, pushing and pulling them away at their whim.
The sexuality reached a fever pitch when Madonna, clad in a gold corset, lay on a satin bed and sang a Middle Eastern-inspired version of "Like A Virgin" accompanied by two of her dancers wearing large conical bras. As the song progressed, Madonna caressed her crotch and humped the bed aggressively in what appeared to be simulated masturbation.
The singer explained the scene in a 1990 interview that aired on BBC Omnibus. "I was exorcising myself of the guilt of the Catholic Church...sex is considered sinful unless you're married, and masturbation is certainly considered sinful."
"I placed myself in a sexually dominate situation with men waiting on me," the singer explained in the BBC interview. "Then the voice of God appeared and the crucifx came down out of the ceiling and then I was in a church...I was now going to have be punished or go to confession and deal with the male authority figures, whether that's a priest or my father."
Madonna, now dressed in black robes, performed more somber songs from her catalogue such as "Like A Prayer," "Oh Father," "Live To Tell' and "Papa Don't Preach." The songs, as well as the dancers, also dressed in black robes, represented male authority figures to which Madonna rebels against.
A cabaret and "old Hollywood" section followed, with the singer performing "Hanky Panky," her tribute to sexual spanking, in a showgirl outfit inspired by her turn as Breathless Mahoney in Dick Tracy, and "Vogue," with paintings by artist Tamara de Lempicka. The show ended with the pro-family anthem "Keep It Together," its intricate choreogrpahy inspired by the film A Clockwork Orange.
Protests, Police and the Pope
The combination of religious and sexual imagery led to some controversy, specifically when the show came to Toronto. Canadian police threatened to arrest Madonna on charges of obscenity if she performed the masturbation scene during "Like A Virgin." The singer refused to alter the show however, and no arrests were made. The incident was captured in the pop star's 1991 documentary Truth or Dare.
The Material Girl's run-in with the Catholic Church proved to be less successful however. Famiglia Domani, a Roman Catholic organization, called for a boycott of the concerts scheduled in Italy, leading to the cancellation of one of three dates. While the Pope himself did not call for a boycott, the Vatican newspaper called the show "a complete disgrace," according ultimatemadonna.com.
Madonna defended herself against such charges in a press conference, also shown in Truth or Dare, explaining her show, like theater, "asks questions, provokes thoughts, and takes you on an emotional journey, portraying good and bad, light and dark, joy and sorrow, redemption and salvation." The singer said she wanted the audience the see the show as "a celebration of love, life and humanity."
Blond Ambition's Legacy
The Blond Ambition Tour was one of the first tours by a mainstream artist to combine pop music and theatrical techniques such as multiple costume changes, elaborate choreography and staging, and an overall story arc. It also marked one of the first collaborations between a pop star and an avant garde fashion designer.
Current artists such as Britney Spears, Lady Gaga and Pink have incorporated theatrical elements into their shows, while performers such as Beyonce collaborate with fashion designers such as Thierry Mugler to create tour costumes. In addition elements from the tour, like the cone bra and the ponytail extension, have become iconic images in their own right, inspiring photoshoots by other celebrities.
In the two decades since the tour, Madonna herself has gone through a multitude of personas, and her live shows have gotten bigger and more technologically sophisticated. However, the singer striking a pose in a cone bra, lacy girdle and pin-striped suit, may be her most enduring and iconic image.
Kevin Neil - Kevin Neil is a freelance writer and a graduate of Northwestern State University, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in ...
