Tour

Madonna Forum

MADONNA PLANNING SPRING TOUR?

Pop superstar Madonna is reportedly planning to hit the road again this spring, three years after wowing fans with her blockbuster Drowned world tour.

According to news site MSNBC.com, the singer's production team have begun auditioning dancers to accompany the Material Girl's stage performances.

The audition call reads, "Looking for individuals, strong & versatile dancers. Choreography will be unpredictable. Anything goes!

"Dancers should be prepared with everything from knee pads to different shoes, costume changes optional! Looking to see anything from acrobatics, breaking, popping, locking to ballet, reeling, river dancing & tango. Dancers must be willing to cut or change hair drastically."

MADONNA'S TOUR TROUBLE

Queen of Pop Madonna is finding rehearsals for her upcoming world tour hard going -- she keeps making mistakes.

The Material Girl has spent the last few weeks recruiting dancers for the musical extravaganza, and is now perfecting her own moves.

But Madonna, 45 -- who is rehearsing at Los Angeles' Culver City Studios -- is called upon to play guitar and sing acoustically on the song "Crazy for You," and she can't seem to remember which strings to pluck.

Sources say the star has turned the air blue while trying to get the solo right.

MADONNA'S HITS TOUR HEADS FOR ISRAEL

Pop superstar Madonna has confirmed a summer greatest hits tour, which will include a planned stop in Israel.

The singer will kickstart the "Re-Invention" tour on May 24 in Los Angeles and perform throughout America and Europe until the beginning of September, when she'll play her final date in Paris, France. She'll be in San Jose, Calif., June 8.

It has yet to be confirmed when Madonna -- who now follows the Jewish-based faith Kabbalah -- will perform in Israel.

Her manager Caresse Henry says, "Madonna has already started rehearsals and she can't wait to get back on stage to recreate her songs from the earliest days of her career up until the present.

"There is no doubt that this tour will be the pinnacle of her long-standing and well-deserved reputation as one of the most exciting live performers of our time."

MADONNA TO MAKE TRUTH OR DARE SEQUEL ON TOUR?

Pop veteran Madonna will reportedly use her upcoming tour as an opportunity to make a sequel to her controversial documentary film "Truth or Dare."

According to pals of the 45-year-old singer, she's not only preparing for her upcoming three-month world tour this summer, but she's also going to make a follow-up documentary to the 1991 film, which chronicled her every movie -- both on and off stage -- during her Blonde Ambition tour.

Madonna has reportedly approached film studio Miramax to make the documentary of this summer's tour because she liked what the film company did with "Truth or Dare."

Sources tell Star magazine the singer she wants her Kabbalah faith to be featured prominently in the film -- a far cry from the raunchy antics she got up to in the last movie -- which included flashing her breasts and simulating oral sex on a mineral water bottle.

A source says, "Madonna has urged many of her tour staff to get interested in the Kabbalah. She feels it will bring good karma to the show.

"Many of the rehearsals have been attended by her husband, her two kids and some of the rabbis from the Kabbalah center in Los Angeles."

AUSTRALIAN PETITION FOR MADONNA GIG

Madonna's Australian fans are petitioning for their idol to visit their homeland as part of her forthcoming world tour.

The singer, 45, hasn't performed in Australia since her Girlie Show tour 11 years ago, and Madonna fans are so eager to see her Re-Invention extravaganza on their own soil, they've posted desperate pleas on the Internet.

The online petition reads, "Madonna made her mark on the world of entertainment back in '83 and it had taken her 10 years for her to visit Australia, and that was her Girlie Show Tour back in '93. Ten years on and Madonna has still yet to return to our shores.

"We missed out on seeing her in '01 with her magnificent Drowned World tour and as she is currently planning her '04 world tour, us Australians DO NOT want to miss out once again.

"We want to show Madonna how much we want to see her back on stage and back in Australia with one of her spectacular concerts events. Thank you."

Over 700 people have signed the petition so far.

MADONNA EXHAUSTED BEFORE TOUR EVEN BEGINS

Superstar Madonna has exhausted herself rehearsing for her upcoming Reinvention world tour.

The singer, 45, has been practicing her stage sequences for several months, but still finding time to attend all-night Kabbalah meetings in Los Angeles.

Madonna and husband Guy Ritchie were photographed leaving a Kabbalah center in the early hours of the morning, with the singer's gaunt and tired appearance shocking onlookers.

One onlooker says, "I've never seen her looking so tired. She looks like she's pushing herself very hard and could do with a good meal."

A member of Madonna's tour team disputes the star's health is suffering and her appearrance is simply due to working hard.

The pal says, "The truth is Madonna is putting in a huge amount of work to prepare for her Reinvention tour. She is a perfectionist and doesn't want to disappoint her fans. She looks knackered because she is knackered.

"Mentally and physically preparing for a huge world tour isn't a walk in the park. It drains the hell out of you. She's maybe been pushing it a little bit hard but she knows her limits."

Madonna is rehearsing 12 hours a day to get in shape for the 48-date tour, which starts at Los Angeles Forum on May 24.

I don't mean to offend anyone in their 40's, but 45 is getting on a bit and Madonna should realise she is not as young and fit as she once was and maybe take a slower approach to touring. I mean if Britney is exhausted touring as a fit young 23 year old, then at 45, Madonna should expect to be twice as exhausted.

Delighting yet more fans who have failed to get a ticket for her Re-Invention Tour Madonna has announced an extra date... this time in the North.

The 45-year-old pop queen is playing Manchester's MEN Arena on August 15 and it will be the first time she has ever performed in the city. The gig kicks off her tour and is followed by seven London dates.

The last time mum-of-two Madge played in the North was in Leeds' Roundhay Park in 1987 as part of her Who's That Girl European tour.

Tickets are priced from £75-£150 and go on sale Friday at 9am through www.ticketmaster.co.uk, www.whatsonwembleyticket.com or CC Hotline - 0870 4000 880 - and MEN Arena Box Office - 0870 190 8000.

MADONNA is planning her most shocking stage performance yet – by being ”executed” live on stage.

Backstage insiders have lifted the lid on the Queen of Pop’s explicit new Re-Invention tour, which hits the UK this summer.

And I can reveal Madonna pushes the boundaries to new limits — even by her outrageous standards.

Fans at the shows will see:

Her being “frazzled” in an electric chair.

Images of corpses of people slaughtered in Iraq beamed on to a huge video screen.

Simulated steamy lesbian sex as Madonna tangos with a female dancer.

A parade of scantily-clad pregnant women while she sings Papa Don’t Preach.

One source reveals: “This show will make people’s hair stand on end. Madonna has pulled out all the stops to make it her most controversial yet. The electric chair scene is breathtaking.

“The concerts are really going to cause a stir on the same level as her controversial Sex book and the Erotica album.

“But tempers have frayed and she has been swearing every five minutes at the team putting the show together. The atmosphere is really fraught.”

Madonna has been putting the finishing touches to the massive production, which is costing more than £1million.

Preparations have been shrouded in secrecy. But the set alone has cost a fortune, including thousands of pounds on pyrotechnics for the execution scene.

After her performance of Lament, from the musical Evita, the stage will be plunged into darkness. There will be a thunderous flash of fireworks to reveal her strapped in the electric chair.

Her stage version of single American Life will be a big anti-war statement.

The sound of bombs dropping will be linked with onstage video footage of troops fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.

During her cover of John Lennon’s Imagine, she will break down in tears in front of pictures of starving children.

While singing Bedtime Story, influenced by her Kabbalah faith, Madonna will be seen “rising from the dead”.

But fans needn’t worry about the show being all death and destruction.

Madonna will model a series of provocative outfits and there will be a big finale combining her hits Holiday and Music.

The tour opens in California next Monday.

Report: Madonna cancels Israel concerts after threat to her kids

Pop superstar Madonna recently canceled concerts scheduled in Israel as a result of death threats by unknown Palestinian militants, the British tabloid The Sun reported yesterday.

The singer had scheduled three concerts to be held in Tel Aviv in September, but canceled the performances earlier in the month.

According to the report, Madonna initially "freaked out" when she learned of the threat, but decided to go ahead with the performances. She changed her mind, the paper said, when she received letters containing details about her two children, aged 7 and 3.

The report quotes a associate of the singer as saying that Madonna is "not ready to take chances with her kids."

The threats were apparently delivered to Madonna's office in Los Angeles. According to The Sun, they also "displayed in-depth knowledge" about the singer's aides.

Militants are threatening Madonna? Yeah .... O ..... K......

WTF? Killing Madonna and taking her children is not going to help your cause in any way at all. At least do something productive and threaten to kill the Bush adminstration or something

MADONNA SCRAPS SECOND SHOW

Stomach flu has upset Madonna's Re-Invention tour in Los Angeles.

The pop superstar, who kicked off the world trek at the Forum in Inglewood on Monday night, scrapped her second date Tuesday night because she felt ill.

Madonna, 45, complained of sore knees and a stiff back after Monday night's show, but it's a stomach disorder that has halted her tour.

A post on her official Web site explained Madonna will be back at 100 percent Wednesday, when she hoped to reschedule the postponed show.

MADONNA looked a tad worse for wear as she left a posh LA restaurant on the arm of hubby GUY RITCHIE.

The superstar couple had been celebrating the start of Madge’s Re-Invention world tour with a glass (or several) of bubbly.

Guy, wearing a baseball cap and sporting a scruffy beard, did the protective bloke thing by guiding his missus out of the trendy Dolce restaurant and safely into their waiting car.

The couple were out with fellow Kabbalah devotees DEMI MOORE and ASHTON KUTCHER and various other pals from the Beverly Hills branch of the mystic church.

An onlooker said: “Madonna looked very happy when she left the restaurant. She was OK about walking out of the front door with Guy, knowing photographers were there.

“Demi and Ashton sneaked out the back because they didn’t want to be snapped.”

Madonna is on a gruelling tour, with 50 dates around the world.

She is thrilling sell-out crowds by mixing many of her old hits, including Vogue, Into The Groove and Holiday, in with newer material.

There’s no doubt she is still the Queen Of Pop.

MADONNA BANS SWEARING

Pop queen Madonna has imposed a "cursing fine" on everyone in her Re-Invention world tour including dancers and roadies.

The singer has shocked her entourage by demanding $5 each time they swear, but was recently caught out after shrieking at her dancers, "Get it right or get the [bleep] out!"

The 45-year-old's representative told Page Six, "That is correct -- and by the way, she has paid plenty herself. It's $5 a curse word."

Ironically the diva recently released a fake MP3 of herself swearing for five minutes to prevent hackers from downloading her album American Life.

http://images.thesun.co.uk/picture/0,,2004270138,00.jpg

I’M getting seriously worried about the state of MADONNA’s health.

I hear the Queen Of Pop has been stricken down for a SECOND time after one of her gruelling live shows.

The exhausted star collapsed into a heap and had to be tended by aides after performing for two hours.

Her personal doctor has now been ordered to shadow the star wherever she goes.

Staff within Madge’s camp fear she is pushing herself too hard and must slow down for the good of her health.

Her slump happened after an intense performance last week in Anaheim, California. She cut short the final part of the concert to thank the crowd but barely made it off the stage.

Fans with a view of the wings watched in horror as Madonna’s legs gave way and she tumbled to the ground.

Her cave-in is the latest in a long series of severe dizzy spells and has led to her private doctor being called to accompany her on the rest of her Re-invention tour.

A backstage worker told me: “She had just said ‘thank you’ to the crowd and was coming off stage when she took a dive. She stayed on the ground for a moment before her helpers got her back on her feet.

“She claims she is OK but there are real fears she is over-working. She is very thin and is pushing herself really hard — and she’s not been sleeping well.

“She’s very fit but she’s not as young as she used to be.”

After the scare, her nutritionist revised Madonna’s strict diet to ensure she was eating properly-balanced meals.

Madonna first fell ill when her tour kicked off two weeks ago in Los Angeles.

After her first night she suffered a sharp stomachache that left her with chronic diarrhoea and unable to perform the following night.

A few weeks before, the singer was pictured with huge bags under her eyes and looking frail.

Many fans think she is devoting too much time to her new spiritual obsession Kabbalah and training for shows.

Madonna’s US spokeswoman admitted last night the singer IS exhausted.

She said: “Madonna didn’t faint but she was certainly suffering from exhaustion.”

Poor Madge, She does a look a bit under the weather. Hope she's OK.

MADONNA'S HIRES BACK EXPERT FOR TOUR

Madonna has hired a chiropractor to help her straighten her posture following the nightly strenuous dance moves on her current Reinvention tour.

The singer, 45, has splashed out $252,000 for the Los Angeles back expert to ensure her spine remains in perfect condition.

A source says, "Madonna's back is causing her serious problems.

"After performances, the chiropractor will crack her bones and straighten her spine."

MADONNA'S GUINNESS FAD

Pop queen Madonna's latest fad is downing pints of Guinness before her live Re-Invention concerts.

The Material Girl has embraced many aspects of British and Irish culture since moving to England with husband Guy Ritchie and has developed a penchant for the dark stout.

A close source says, "She finds it perks her up for a live performance and gives her an extra edge.

"She has to have it in a proper pint glass and at exactly the right temperature before she will drink it.

"She's even got some of her crew on the same ritual. They all swear by it."

The Kabbalah-loving megastar also insists on praying for 30 minutes to aid her performance.

Madonna wants backstage ‘peace room’

Madonna has reportedly demanded that a special “peace room” be built backstage at her UK gigs. She is said to want a soundproof zone where she can meditate into a trance for an hour before going on stage. The Sun says she wants the walls draped in green sheeting, with soft cushions on the floor to squat on.

Organisers have been ordered to prepare the special room at the Manchester Evening News Arena where the singer plays two gigs this weekend. She has six other dates on her British tour.

An insider in her camp said: “She doesn’t want to hear a pin drop outside and it needs to be green, the colour most conducive to meditation. She calls it her peace room.” ananova

Madonna tickets not in vogue

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/pics/17madonna.JPG

As Madonna begins her latest British tour, her fans, who last time offered four-figure sums for a pair of seats, are proving less enthusiastic.

The pop diva kicked off her previous British tour at the peak of her powers, but years on, she seems to have lost some of her sparkle.

Tickets were failing to meet even their face value as sellers cut their losses to take what they could as they traded on the online auction site eBay.

A pair of seats for her London shows on the Reinvention Tour later this month, which had originally cost more than £300 ($831), raised just £140 at the close of bidding, and some tickets for the show failed to attract a single bid.

Some sellers had posted messages on the website to say they were resigned to making a loss on someone who was once one of the world's biggest box-office draws.

Tickets were still available at the box office for some of her shows. However, a spokeswoman for Madonna said that was due to extra capacity becoming available as the venues finalised their staging requirements.

Sales for the pop queen's shows got off to a good start, although it is thought many buyers simply may have been snapping up tickets for re-sale following the clamour to see her Drowned World tour in 2001 for which tickets were changing hands for £600 each.

The shows - like all Madonna performances, more of a visual spectacular than a gig - were her first major dates for eight years and followed two acclaimed albums, Ray of Light and Music, which once again made her one of the coolest stars on the planet. Her latest dates are on the back of a flop, the critically panned American Life album.

Shows outside Manchester and London were expected to get far less than the actual cost of £75 to £160 for seats.

Radio 2 presenter Paul Gambaccini believed the poor reception for last year's album was the root cause of the lack of interest.

"In popular music no one is as dead as someone who is recently dead, and Madonna has just had her first stiff album. It might have had a high chart entry but it disappeared quickly.

"There will come a time when she will sell out quickly again but that is because people will be viewing her in the context of her historic career achievements. They are currently viewing her in the light of the album's failure.

"I'm not bothering to see her. I saw her on the Vogue tour. I know I've seen her at her peak so why see her flogging a dead horse?"

- INDEPENDENT

In RED with MADONNA

http://images.thesun.co.uk/picture/0,,2004381103,00.jpg
Booty-ful choice ... Madonna loved the matching footwear

IT’S not often I’m genuinely star struck but when I was granted an audience with the Queen Of Pop it was a different matter.

I got backstage on the first night of MADONNA’s London concerts — and met my childhood hero.

http://images.thesun.co.uk/picture/0,,2004381115,00.jpg
It's my gig moment ... I hand over Bizarre award to Madonna

And I’m thrilled to reveal that she didn’t disappoint me.

She was funny, charming and, of course, a little bit bossy. Her mere presence dominated the room.

http://images.thesun.co.uk/picture/0,,2004381127,00.jpg
Having a ball ... me with the show's fantastic dancers

I presented the Queen Of Pop with a special Bizarre gong for Gig Of The Year for the sensational opening night in Los Angeles of her Re-Invention world tour.

And just before she leapt on stage to the opening chords of Vogue, she ordered me to “strike a pose” as my snapper took pictures of us.

Madonna told me: “I feel a little bit nervous about this — but thank you so much for the award.

http://images.thesun.co.uk/picture/0,,2004381124,00.jpg
Dressed to frill ... dancer limbers up

“I hope you like the show as much as the first one. And, hey, I’m glad you wore matching boots to mine — now we’re best friends.”

Madonna celebrated her 46th birthday on Monday night with hubby GUY RITCHIE and some of the tour crew at over-priced posh London restaurant Sketch.

But when I asked what she thought of the food, she replied: “Oh, I didn’t eat it.

“I don’t really eat food in restaurants — you can never be quite sure what’s in it, can you?”

Madge, who follows a strict macrobiotic diet, looked sensational in her Christian Lacroix basque and fishnet tights as we chatted backstage.

http://images.thesun.co.uk/picture/0,,2004381130,00.jpg
Spectacular ... Madonna gives her fans another thriller

Guy was happily talking to all the dancers in their amazing costumes as they limbered up.

There were also several stars backstage who had turned up to see the singer in all her glory.

http://images.thesun.co.uk/picture/0,,2004381135,00.jpg
Family affair ... Kylie, left, Matthew Williamson and Dannii
Picture: GOFFINF.COM

Her best pal STELLA McCARTNEY was in the audience and got a dedication from Madge at the start of Crazy For You.

KYLIE MINOGUE caused a huge commotion in the camped-up crowd as she took her seat at Earls Court Arena with her little sister DANNII.

SET LIST
1. Vogue
2. Nobody Knows Me
3. Frozen
4. American Life
5. Express Yourself
6. Burning Up
7. Material Girl
8. Hollywood
9. Hanky Panky
10. Deeper And Deeper
11. Die Another Day
12. Lament
13. Bedtime Story
14. Nothing Fails
15. Don’t Tell Me
16. Like A Prayer
17. Mother And Father
18. Imagine

ENCORE
19. Into The Groove
20. Papa Don’t Preach
21. Crazy For You
22. Music
23. Holiday

Other stars boozing backstage afterwards included U2, SUGABABES, LEAH WOOD and fashion designer MATTHEW WILLIAMSON.

Madonna — the biggest-selling female solo artist EVER — thrilled fans with an amazing set list of songs spanning her two decades at the top.

There was everything from Hanky Panky to Holiday to Hollywood — proving that unlike most of today’s wannabe pop muppets, Madge is a real hit machine.

My personal highlight was towards the end of the show when, dressed in a kilt, Madonna tore around the stage for a medley of Into The Groove and Papa Don’t Preach.

It was impossible to sit down and, in fact, most fans danced throughout the entire show.

At the end Madonna, who now lives in the UK with Guy, told the sell-out crowd: “It’s good to be home.”

It’s good to have you here, Madge.

- The Sun UK

Sounds amazing. *sigh* but she's not coming here. No one ever does!

Disabled fans 'ignored' at Madonna concerts

Organisers of Madonna's first Irish concert have attacked reports that they were ignoring disabled fans.

Former Taoiseach John Bruton had claimed his officials were told there would be no discounts for helpers bringing wheelchair-bound fans to Sunday's show.

Justin Green, of promoters MCD, said: "We take our commitment to inclusiveness seriously and take issue with any suggestion to the contrary.

"The approach taken by MCD in its allocation of tickets is standard practice across the industry, including such organisations as the GAA, Croke Park and Punchestown.

"Mr Bruton's intervention on this matter is rather puzzling given that MCD received correspondence from Meath Accessible Transport on June 29th. MCD replied on July 5th offering a number of free tickets and direct contact numbers for our safety officer."

Around 80,000 fans are expected to gather at the Co Meath venue, Slane Castle, this Sunday as Madonna headlines the one day festival. The Fine Gael TD had said he contacted the promoters on behalf of Meath Accessible Transport to raise awareness of the problem.

The Co Meath representative said he was told there would be no concessions for workers accompanying paid ticket holders as they had made a donation to the Irish Wheelchair Association.

Mr Green said they allocated nine tickets to Meath Accessible Transport, which represents several disabled campaign groups, after correspondence in July.

In a statement the promoters said: "We would have hoped that a public representative of such long standing would have made a more thoughtful, and less opportunistic, intervention."

At next weekend's event there will be a dedicated spectator area for people with special needs, assistants, parking areas, specially constructed pathways and toilet facilities.

Gardai co-ordinating the security for the event advised disabled fans to contact the promoters before the event to find out about special car parking facilities.