The Girlie Show World Tour

The Girlie Show World Tour
Tour by Madonna

Promotional poster for the tour
Associated album Erotica
Start date September 25, 1993 (1993-09-25)
End date December 19, 1993 (1993-12-19)
Legs 6
Number of shows
  • 6 in Europe
  • 12 in North America
  • 4 in South America
  • 9 in Asia
  • 8 in Australia
  • 39 Total
Box office US$70 million ($114.67 million in 2016 dollars)[1]
Madonna concert chronology

The Girlie Show World Tour (also referred to as simply The Girlie Show) was the fourth concert tour by American singer and songwriter Madonna, in support of her fifth studio album, Erotica. The tour visited the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Australia for the first time, selling 360,000 tickets in this leg only.[2] Madonna's inspiration for the name of the tour was a painting called "Girlie Show" by Edward Hopper.[3] The tour is estimated to have grossed over US$70 million.[2][4] Two separate television specials were broadcast during the tour, one made during the Japanese leg of the tour and shown only on Japanese television; Madonna Live in Japan 1993 – The Girlie Show and an HBO special Madonna Live Down Under – The Girlie Show which was later released in 1994 by Warner Music Vision on home video.[5]

Background

Proclaiming after her 1990 Blond Ambition World Tour that she would "never go on tour again", it only took her three years until she hit the road again. After that, she said that if "you ever hear me say again 'I'm never going on tour again', don't believe me."[6]

The Girlie Show was launched in support of Madonna's 1992 album, Erotica. The show had the central visual theme of a "sex circus". Described as "a mixture of a rock concert, a fashion show, a carnival performance, a cabaret act and a burlesque show", the show had a more complex stage than those from Madonna's previous tours: it had a runway that led from the center of the main stage to a minor stage, a revolving elevated platform in the middle of the main stage, balconies in the rear of the stage, and a giant illuminated "Girlie Show" sign above stage, among other features. The tour was directed by Madonna's brother, Christopher Ciccone; costumes for the tour were designed by Italian fashion house Dolce & Gabbana.

Madonna played an unusually few five dates in the U.S. It was speculated that this was related to the Erotica album's particularly low sales in that country and the extreme negative backlash surrounding Madonna's book Sex and film Body of Evidence. The tour was chronicled by the photo book The Girlie Show, which included a CD with three live tracks: "Like a Virgin", "In This Life", and "Why's It So Hard."

Photography for promotional material, posters and publicity for the show was by Herb Ritts. The same imagery was used on the "Bye Bye Baby" single cover, which was released during the Australian leg of the tour and also on a Brazilian promotional EP, The Girlie Show which included the tracks "Erotica", "Deeper and Deeper", "Bad Girl", "Fever", "Rain" and "Bye Bye Baby".[7] Other images from the same shoot were also included in The Girlie Show book released in 1994 and also on the 1993 single release, "Rain".

Some venues forbade nudity, so dancer Carrie Ann Inaba wore a halter top at those shows. Uproar developed in Puerto Rico after Madonna rubbed the Puerto Rican flag between her legs on stage.[8] Trouble in Israel occurred when Orthodox Jews staged protests to force the cancellation of the singer's first-ever show in that country. The rallies were unsuccessful as the show was sold out and went on as scheduled.[8]

Concert synopsis

For the performance of "Vogue", Madonna wore a bead incrusted outfit designed by Italian fashion house Dolce & Gabbana.

The show was divided into four sections: Dominatrix, Studio 54, Weimar Cabaret, and Encore. It began with calliope fanfare as a pierrot – who makes several cameos later – appears from the red curtain near a tall go-go pole on which a topless dancer Carrie Ann Inaba performed. Madonna then makes her entrance striking poses and swinging her whip in dominatrix gear from a spotlit platform to sing "Erotica". Next came "Fever" where she takes her jacket, mask and glove off and dances suggestively with two shirtless male dancers before disappearing among flames. "Vogue" is performed in a beaded headdress with a Hindu flavor; she serenaded the audience with a Motown-influenced "Rain", complete with a "Singin' in the Rain" dance interlude which features the pierrot. Afterwards, she descends from the ceiling on a giant glitter ball, wearing a blond afro wig (inspired by the 1932 film Blonde Venus which stars Marlene Dietrich) to perform a disco-styled "Express Yourself" and "Deeper and Deeper". Following a simulated orgy, she sings "Why's It So Hard" and "In This Life"; the pierrot watches Madonna during the latter song.

Another interlude, "The Beast Within", features an apocalyptic dance with sexual overtones. This leads to "Like a Virgin", where Madonna performed in a classic tuxedo with a Marlene Dietrich vocal accent; while doing a comedic act with the pierrot. She then acts as a sideshow barker, singing "Bye Bye Baby" during a chair routine with her dancing girls; this was done in the same manner as her performance at the 1993 MTV Video Music Awards. After the Hispanic "I'm Going Bananas", she staged a rendition of "La Isla Bonita" before donning military trench coats for a marching, funked-up version of "Holiday"; the circus theme is heard before and after this song. For encores, she appeared in Victorian-themed costumes for "Justify My Love", and finally brought the house down with a minimal "Everybody". As the red curtain fell and carnival music played, the pierrot emerged yet again, only to reveal its identity as Madonna herself: she closed the show by singing the phrase "Everybody is a Star" as the curtain falls.

Broadcasts and recordings

Madonna and her back up singers and dancers Donna De Lory and Niki Haris wore disco-inspired clothing for the performance of "Deeper and Deeper".

The broadcast was produced in association with HBO and was titled Madonna Live Down Under: The Girlie Show. Initially, the November 20 show, the second of two dates at the Sydney Cricket Ground, was to be filmed and aired. However, a massive storm forced the cancellation of the show, so the November 19 show, which had been filmed as a "safety show", was aired instead in USA (HBO) and Germany (Premiere). A month later an edited version of this original broadcast was shown on UK TV (Sky). A re-edited version of this concert was released worldwide on VHS and Laserdisc on April 26, 1994 as The Girlie Show: Live Down Under. It was nominated for the Grammy Award of Best Long Form Music Video in 1995.

Additional video recordings were made during the Japanese leg of the tour and shown only on Japanese television, Madonna Live in Japan 1993 – The Girlie Show and the October 7 show at the Inonu Stadium in Istanbul was aired on ATV in Turkey. UK radio station, BBC Radio 1, broadcast the entire second show at Wembley Stadium on December 26 and Brazilian radio broadcast the show at Maracanã stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil with live commentary.

Setlist

  1. "The Girlie Show Theme" (Fanfare Introduction)
  2. "Erotica"
  3. "Fever" (Edit One mix)
  4. "Vogue"
  5. "Rain" (contains excerpts from "Just My Imagination" along with elements of "Singin' in the Rain")
  6. "Express Yourself"
  7. "Deeper and Deeper" (contains excerpts from "It Takes Two" and "Love to Love You Baby")
  8. "Why's It So Hard"
  9. "In This Life"
  10. "The Beast Within" (Dancers' Interlude)
  11. "Like a Virgin" (contains excerpts from "Falling In Love Again")
  12. "Bye Bye Baby"
  13. "I'm Going Bananas"
  14. "La Isla Bonita"
  15. "Holiday" (contains excerpts from "Holiday for Calliope")
  16. "Justify My Love"
  17. "Everybody Is a Star" / "Everybody" (contains elements of "Dance to the Music", and "After the Dance")

Set list per official DVD track listing.[9][10][11]

Shows

List of concerts, showing date, city, country, venue, tickets sold, and gross revenue
Date City Country Venue Attendance Revenue
Europe[11]
    September 25, 1993 London England Wembley Stadium 144,000 N/A
    September 26, 1993
    September 28, 1993 Paris France Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy N/A N/A
    September 29, 1993
    October 1, 1993
    Asia[11]
    October 4, 1993 Tel Aviv Israel Hayarkon Park 80,000 N/A
    Europe[11]
    October 7, 1993 Istanbul Turkey İnönü Stadium 54,000 N/A
    North America[11]
    October 11, 1993 Toronto Canada SkyDome 50,880 $1,495,000
    October 12, 1993
    October 14, 1993 New York City United States Madison Square Garden 43,353 $2,020,000
    October 15, 1993
    October 17, 1993
    October 19, 1993 Philadelphia The Spectrum 13,810 $500,280
    October 21, 1993 Auburn Hills The Palace of Auburn Hills 15,705 $600,355
    October 23, 1993 Montreal Canada Olympic Stadium 51,900 $1,650,353
    October 26, 1993 Bayamón Puerto Rico Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium N/A N/A
    South America[11][14][15][16]
    October 30, 1993 Buenos Aires Argentina River Plate Stadium 120,000 N/A
    October 31, 1993
    November 3, 1993 São Paulo Brazil Estádio do Morumbi 86,000 N/A
    November 6, 1993 Rio de Janeiro Estádio do Maracanã 120,000 N/A
    North America[11]
    November 10, 1993 Mexico City Mexico Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez 137,234 $8,927,703
    November 12, 1993
    November 13, 1993
    Australia[11][17]
    November 19, 1993 Sydney Australia Sydney Cricket Ground 45,000[18] N/A
    November 24, 1993 Brisbane ANZ Stadium N/A N/A
    November 26, 1993 Melbourne Melbourne Cricket Ground 147,241[19] N/A
    November 27, 1993
    November 29, 1993
    December 1, 1993 Adelaide Adelaide Oval 40,000 N/A
    December 3, 1993 Sydney Sydney Cricket Ground 90,000 N/A
    December 4, 1993
    Asia[11]
    December 7, 1993 Fukuoka Japan Fukuoka Dome N/A N/A
    December 8, 1993
    December 9, 1993
    December 13, 1993 Tokyo Tokyo Dome N/A N/A
    December 14, 1993
    December 16, 1993
    December 17, 1993
    December 19, 1993
    Total 1,240,223 $13,543,338

    Opening act

    Source:[20]

    Canceled shows

    Date City Country Venue Reason
    October 2, 1993 Frankfurt Germany Festhalle Frankfurt Technical difficulties[21]

    Personnel

    Main

    Band

    References

    1. ↑ "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
    2. 1 2 "Stones set to play Australia since '73". Billboard (New York City) 107 (1): 37. 1995-01-07. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 2014-04-21.
    3. ↑ http://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/music/two-decades-on-the-road-with-madonna
    4. ↑ Lenig 2010, p. 145
    5. ↑ Pavlides, Dan (2006-03-23). "Madonna: The Girlie Show – Live Down Under > Overview". Allmovie. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2009-12-11.
    6. ↑ "The Girlie Show". Reocities. Yahoo!. Retrieved 2012-08-28.
    7. ↑ The Girlie Show (Media notes). Madonna. Warner Music Brazil. 1993. CDP0893.
    8. 1 2 Smith, Neil (2004-05-24). "Show-stealer Madonna on tour". BBC Music. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 2012-07-06.
    9. ↑ "The Girlie Show". Mad-Eyes (fansite). Retrieved 2008-07-13.
    10. ↑ "Madonna: The Girlie Show – Live Down Under". Play.com (UK). 1998–2008. Retrieved 2008-07-13.
    11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "> Tours > The Girlie Show". Madonna.com. Retrieved 2011-09-18.
    12. ↑ Cocaro, Gabriel Martín. "Madonna en Argentina: sus dos visitas". Rolling Stone (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 August 2015.
    13. ↑ "Revista Quem: Saiba mais sobre Madonna" (in Portuguese). Retrieved February 6, 2008.
    14. ↑ http://audienciamundotv.wordpress.com/2012/12/05/assistir-show-da-madonna-em-sao-paulo-morumbi-ao-vivo-online-gratis-05122012/
    15. ↑ "Reading Eagle – Nov 7, 1993".
    16. ↑ http://www.rioguides.com/en/information/rio-s-attractions/the-obvious/152-maracana-stadium-uk
    17. ↑ McDonald, Patrick (November 10, 2006). "U2 to lead the charge". AdelaideNow... Retrieved 2009-05-04.
    18. ↑ Cashmere, Paul (June 22, 2015). "Madonna Australian And New Zealand Tour Announced". Noise11.com. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
    19. ↑ "MCG Attendance Records" (PDF). Melbourne Cricket Ground official website. Retrieved 2014-04-18.
    20. ↑ http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/get_out/article_09a20c0d-ea49-5ae8-a6e7-ed56bba0ab12.html?mode=jqm
    21. ↑ "Madonna Cancels German Stop For Girlie Show". Philly.com. October 1, 1993. Retrieved January 22, 2016.
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