Thirty five years ago Madonna arrived in Italy to wrap up her Who’s That Girl World Tour. The singer played two nights, a show in Turin on September 4th and nearby Florence on the 6th, the shows were recorded live and broadcast to the world.
The tour was only the second on Madonna’s career. Her previous Virgin Tour of 1985 had only played dates in Canada and the USA. This time Madonna was visiting much more of the globe, kicking off in Japan before heading to the USA, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, Netherlands, France and finally Italy.
Madonna’s shows in Paris broke the record for the largest concert audience for a female artist, 130,000 people attended.
The show’s staging stood out from standard concerts of the time, big video screens, featuring moving catwalks, a troupes of backing dancers, many costume changes and runways into the audience.
While the show looks mild in comparison to the shows Madonna does today – and those of Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift and Pink – this was the concert tour that broke the mold.
In 1987 Madonna was enjoying the success of her third album, True Blue which had featured a series of hits including the title track, Live to Tell, La Isla Bonita, Papa Don’t Preach and Open Your Heart.
Additionally while the tour was underway the singer’s new film Who’s That Girl was released. While the movie bombed at the box office, it continued Madonna’s run of hits and three songs from the film’s soundtrack, Who’s That Girl, Causing a Commotion and The Look of Love also featured in the concert’s set list.
The concert had many memorable moments including an energetic performance Into the Groove that saw the singer busting moves with her backing dancer that included 13-year-old Christoper Finch, choreographer Shabba Doo and dancer Angel Ferrerira.
During the performance of Dress You Up Madonna donned Dame Edna style glasses to poke fun at herself, while also working a Four Tops classic into the medley of songs, and the finale of Holiday saw the singer asking the crowd “If anyone had a comb?” before taking a moment to fix her hair.
The concert also featured backing singers Debra Parson, Donna De Lory and Niki Harris. Harris and De Lory would work with the singer on many of her subsequent albums and tours.
Several broadcasts of the concert were made. The opening shows in Japan were broadcast on television in Japan and later released on Laser Disc. The Turin show was broadcast live in Italy, Germany, France, Australia and Spain, plus it was later also broadcast across Australia. When it came time to put together the VHS release of the show, footage was used from a series of different concerts.
The tour has been seen as the peak of the first wave of Madonna’s career. A few months after the tour ended she put out You Can Dance – a remix album that comprised hits from her first three albums.
The following year, 1988, was one of the quietest of the entertainer’s long career. She spent most of the year in New York appearing in the Broadway production of Speed the Plow before heading back to the studio to work on her follow up record Like a Prayer.
OIP Staff
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