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Who's That Girl World Tour

The Who's That Girl World Tour (billed as Who's That Girl World Tour 1987) was the second concert tour by American singer and songwriter Madonna. The tour supported her 1986 third studio album True Blue, as well as the 1987 soundtrack Who's That Girl. It was Madonna's first world tour and marked her first visits to Japan and Europe. Musically and technically superior to her previous Virgin Tour, Who's That Girl incorporated multimedia components to make the show more appealing.

Who's That Girl World Tour
Tour by Madonna
Promotional poster for the tour
Location
  • Asia
  • North America
  • Europe
Associated album
Start dateJune 14, 1987 (1987-06-14)
End dateSeptember 6, 1987 (1987-09-06)
Legs3
No. of shows38
Box officeUS$25 million[a]
Madonna concert chronology

Madonna trained physically doing aerobics, jogging and weight-lifting, to cope with the choreography and the dance routines. For the costumes, she collaborated with designer Marlene Stewart, expanding on the idea of bringing her popular video characters to life onstage, reworking scenes from her music videos. The stage had four video screens, multimedia projectors and a flight of stairs in the middle. Patrick Leonard, who was the music director, encouraged Madonna to go with the idea of remixing and presenting her older songs for the show.

The show consisted of seven costume changes, with song-and-dance routines, theatrics and addressing social causes. The tour was critically appreciated, with reviewers commending the extravagant nature of the concert and Madonna as a performer. It was a commercial success, grossing in total of US$25 million[a] by playing in front of 1.5 million audience. According to Pollstar, it was the second highest-grossing female concert tour of 1987, behind Tina Turner's Break Every Rule Tour.

Who's That Girl was broadcast in a number of international television channels and was released on VHS titled Ciao Italia: Live from Italy. Biographer J. Randy Taraborrelli commented that "Many female artists behave like a diva for a period when they reach superstar status, and the 'Who's That Girl?' tour marked the beginning of Madonna's."[2] It is also noted for giving rise to the term "new Madonna", a stronger and more intelligent sexual image of her former self which had given rise to the term Madonna wannabe. It was proposed to build a statue of the Madonna in the city of her paternal grandparents in Pacentro, Italy, but the idea was rejected by the local city hall.

Background edit

Madonna's 1987 film Who's That Girl was a box office failure,[3] however the soundtrack of the film proved to be a big success. The album consisted of four Madonna songs, along with tracks by Warner Bros. Records' acts including Club Nouveau, Scritti Politti and Michael Davidson.[4] Three of Madonna's songs were released as singles, namely: "Who's That Girl", "Causing a Commotion" and "The Look of Love"; all of them were critically and commercially successful.[5]

The album sold a million copies in the United States, and five million worldwide.[5] Taraborrelli felt that at that moment, riding on Madonna's coattails proved profitable for everyone involved, including Warner Bros. Records, which notched up big sales with a compilation soundtrack album that was basically a showcase for its marginal artists.[5] But still they wanted to "milk-in" the success of Madonna, a view shared by Peter Guber and Jon Peters, executive producers of the film. Hence they felt a worldwide concert tour was the appropriate thing to do, since it would promote both the soundtrack and the film, as well as Madonna's successful third studio album True Blue, released the year before.[5] As Madonna's first world tour, Who's That Girl ended up being a resounding success, although by its end, Madonna declared that she did not want to hear any of her songs again and she did not know whether she would ever write another one. "I returned feeling so burned out and I was convinced that I wouldn't go near music for quite a while", she said.[6]

Development edit

 
British funk band Level 42 joined Madonna as the supporting opening act for the tour.

The Who's That Girl World Tour was musically and technically superior to Madonna's Virgin Tour, because she incorporated multimedia components to make the show more compelling.[5] As the tour was confirmed, Madonna and her team started planning for it. Madonna wanted a show which consisted of theatrics, drama, dance and choreography in "full-force".[7] Her publicist Liz Rosenberg commented, "She wants a visual impact that would knock people out. She was very determined about this. And she's the type that makes decisions quickly; If something doesn't work, she starts over. You'll see a different look this year, but it's still Madonna, still bigger than life."[8] In order to engage herself completely and handle the grueling dance routines, she started attending aerobics classes at Hollywood health centre The Sports Connection.[9] By the time the tour drew nearer, she hired a personal trainer, and her daily routine involved jogging, weight-lifting, dancing, gymnastics, trampoline, swimming and cycling. She started eating vegetarian food with plenty of protein and carbohydrate and avoided the sun.[9] British funk band Level 42 was the supporting act of the tour.[9] Madonna's image was that of a blond girl with soft curls, making a striking contrast with the firm, almost hard lines of her eye make-up and lipstick; the idea of her friend actress Debi Mazar.[9]

For the costumes, Madonna collaborated with designers Marlene Stewart and Leslie Hamel. She expanded on the idea of bringing her popular video characters to life onstage, reworking scenes from "True Blue", "Open Your Heart", "Papa Don't Preach" and "La Isla Bonita". For "Open Your Heart", Madonna reused the Stewart designed with Trashy Lingerie black bustier worn by her in the video, complete with tassels, golden tips and ribbing with fishnets on leg.[9] Leslie Hamel's designs included the Flamenco style dress for "La Isla Bonita" and Spanish inspired pants for Holiday and a gold lamé jacket and pants for the "White Heat" sequence. The True Blue performance dress and the male dancers outfits.For the medley sequence, Madonna used a dress that was visually amusing and, according to Madonna, was for "anyone that takes me too seriously, or imagined and I take myself too seriously."[9] Inspired by Dame Edna Everage, the Leslie Hamel designed dress consisted of a hat strewn with fake fruits, flowers and feathers, jeweled batwing spectacles with heavy, black frames, a ruffled skirt and a bodice covered with objects such as watches and dolls and fishnets. The knickers were inscribed with the word "Kiss". Continuing her tradition of message clothes, she spelt out the phrase "You Can Dance" on her Leslie Hamel jacket, using the letter U, a can of soup and the word "dance" at the back.

Calling the show a "theatrical multimedia spectacular", Madonna wanted a huge stage with a central platform from which a flight of stairs descended.[10] The central platform was flanked by two lower platforms, which housed the band and the musicians. A large video screen was suspended above the stairs, which descended during the show.[10] Two projectors were situated at the front of the stage, which projected images of The Pope and President Ronald Reagan during the show.[11] Patrick Leonard, who had produced True Blue, joined as the musical director for the shows.[8] Instead of following every note on the records, Leonard encouraged the musicians to come up with new ideas for the songs. Hence a number of the old songs were rearranged, including introducing a medley of "Dress You Up", "Material Girl" and "Like a Virgin"—which contained a sample from the Four Tops song "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)".[8] American choreographer Shabba Doo was signed to choreograph the show.[12] 13-year-old Christopher Finch was signed to play the part of the small boy from the "Open Your Heart" video, since Felix Howard, who played the original part, did not get a working license, and hence could not join the tour.[13][14] Madonna wanted three backup singers, a team of male dancers and a succession of costume changes.[9] She took inputs from her then husband, actor Sean Penn saying, "I really respect Sean's opinion. He has great taste and is a very brilliant man. When I was putting my tour together, it was always in the back of my mind: 'I wonder what Sean will think of this?' He's extremely opinionated and has really high standards, and that sometimes pushed me into making decisions I wouldn't have otherwise made."[3] Madonna explained that the title of the tour came from her playing many characters, commenting:

"That's why I call the tour 'Who's That Girl?'; because I play a lot of characters, and every time I do a video or a song, people go, 'Oh, that's what she's like.' And I'm not like any of them. I'm all of them. I'm none of them. You know what I mean.?"[15]

Concert synopsis edit

 
 
Madonna opening the concert with a performance of "Open Your Heart" wearing a black Trashy Lingerie bustier (left). For "Papa Don't Preach", she wore a leather jacket over a silk blue dress (right).

The show started with a performance by Level 42. As their performance ended, the lights started blinking all around the stadium and Finch appears on stage, looking for Madonna.[16] He is followed by two other dancers, who jump around the stage and disappear. Then Madonna's silhouette is visible behind a screen which has paintings by Tamara de Lempicka on it.[16] She performs dance moves behind the screen, which starts going up slowly. She wore a custom-made black pointy corset by Trashy Lingerie[17] and fishnets like the costume in the music video of "Open Your Heart".[16] After dancing on the stairs, using a chair as a prop, Madonna descends and starts singing the song. Later Finch joins her again and they dance together till the song ends.[16] This was followed by the performance of "Lucky Star" during which a disco ball spun above the stage; as Madonna and her dancers moved around it, the light from the ball flickered on them like a star.[18] For "True Blue", Madonna came up on the stage wearing a blue, silk taffeta dress over her corset and a blue scarf hidden in her bosom.[19] The stage had a similar blue setting like the original music video. Madonna is backed up by her singers who play her girlfriends. At the end of the song Madonna is asked to dance again by the dancer playing her man in the performance.[20] During "Papa Don't Preach" Madonna wore a black leather jacket over her dress and walked around the stage while singing.[9] The screen in the background showed portraits of Pope John Paul II and then-President of the U.S. Ronald Reagan,[21] along with scenes of John Perry III's short film, The Nightmare,[22] ending with the words "Safe Sex", as Madonna finished the song.[23] She dedicated the song to the Pope, marking her first conflict with the Vatican, as Pope John Paul II urged Italian fans to boycott her concerts.[24][25]

During "White Heat"—which featured dialogues from the 1949 James Cagney film of the same name—a video screen displayed a scene from the film, with Cagney saying the dialogue: "A copper ... a copper fellas".[26] The video screen moves up and Madonna appears, wearing a lamé jacket and holding a plastic gun in her right hand. A large cut out of Cagney appears in the middle and Madonna finishes singing the song, while pointing the revolver towards her dancers and pretending to fire at them, as sounds of gunshots are heard.[26] She followed it with "Causing a Commotion" which ended with Madonna pointing to her dancers and musicians across stage and uttering the line "He/She's got the moves baby" numerous times.[26] For "The Look of Love" the spotlight was focused on her. The introductory music of the song started and Madonna roamed around the stage, pretending that she was lost. She wanted to portray her Who's That Girl film character Nikki, when she was lost in a similar sequence in the film. After she finished singing the song, Madonna pretended to walk forward by pushing through the air, as the conveyor belt took her backwards, ultimately taking her away from the stage.[27] Then a red phone booth appears on the stage, in which Madonna's silhouette appears to be changing costume. She emerges from the booth wearing the Edna Everage inspired costume and starts singing "Dress You Up".[9] Then she sang "Material Girl", while stretching her legs on stage and showing her underwear and followed by "Like a Virgin", during which she took off her outfit piece by piece, until she was standing in the same outfit from the beginning of the show, and ended the performance while flirting with a young male dancer who played her bridegroom.[8][28]

A backdrop then started showing the newspaper reports on Madonna's 1985 Playboy nude picture release. The backdrop moves up as Madonna appears, wearing a loose-fitted black pant and top, with bejeweled glasses, for singing "Where's the Party".[29] For "Into the Groove" Finch joins her on stage to dance alongside. Madonna then wore a pink bolero jacket which had the can of soup and the words "U" and "DANCE" flanking it. At the end she is joined by her backup singers and dancers. Together they take a bow to the audience and finish the performance.[30] Next Madonna sang "La Isla Bonita" as a part of the encore, wearing the same red flamenco dress she had worn in the video.[9] For "Who's That Girl", Madonna—flanked by Finch and a male dancer—strutted around the stage, asking the audience to join her on the chorus.[10] Lastly, Madonna performed an energetic version of "Holiday", signaling the celebratory and wholesome nature of the song's theme. The song featured a new arrangement, with a guitar solo in the intermediate portion added by Leonard. She sang the final chorus twice, then asked the audience for a comb so that she could fix her hair and finished the performance, after taking a bow with her dancers to the audience.[31]

Critical reception edit

 
 
For the medley of "Material Girl" and "Dress You Up", Madonna wore an Edna Everage inspired costume (left), while "Like a Virgin" saw her being joined by 13-year-old dancer Christopher Finch (right).

The tour received rave reviews.[32][33] Biographer Taraborrelli commented, "Madonna had more confidence in her stage presence, her music was showing a deeper maturity, her voice was fuller, and the show was expertly choreographed with complex numbers.[5] J. D. Considine from The Baltimore Sun commented, "I've seen the Springsteen stadium tour, I've seen Dylan and the [Grateful] Dead, and I was at Live Aid. Out of all those shows, Madonna's is the only one I want to see again. You need a larger-than-life show if you want to come off in a stadium, and Madonna does. She's not that large physically, but she holds your attention."[8] Ann Ayers, assistant entertainment editor of USA Today felt that the show was high on glitz and low on emotional quotient. "Madonna's going for a certain kind of show: a Broadway, show-biz, song-and-dance spectacle. In that context it's hard to make a connection with the audience, and I'd have to say that she didn't."[34] Peter Goddard from Toronto Star reviewed the concert in CNE Stadium and said, "Madonna proved that she may be a lost girl in the roads of life, like her film, but she ain't lost when she is singing. Especially during songs like 'Papa Don't Preach', her vocal prowess was substantially notable."[35] Scott A Zamost and Elizabeth Snead, writing for Chicago Tribune, felt that "For the most part, the premiere concert on Madonna's Who's That Girl tour was a success, an extravaganza of multiple videos, flashing lights and precision dancing. If the high-tech accoutrements and inferior sound system made it difficult to hear the singer, one hopes that will be refined as the tour continues across the United States. [...] As a dancer, Madonna is supreme on stage. Her trademark skip to a funky beat highlighted the constant acrobatics. One minute she was stage left, another minute stage right. She ran up a wide staircase center stage to party with her three back-up singers, then scooted down to the stage floor, swinging her hips, accompanied by other dancers."[36]

Deborah Wilker from The Day commented that "Madonna's got an almost rabid energy about her, which she maintains for the duration of 90 minutes. In fact she rarely leaves the stage—preferring to change costumes in a phone booth instead. Boy can she change. One minute she's a 50's teenager in a party dress, next she's playing a speak-easy chanteuse. It's almost difficult to believe that a career as young as Madonna's could contain so much popular material that on stage the star can barely get to half of it."[37] Don McCLeese from Chicago Sun-Times reviewed the performance at Soldier Field stadium said that "'Shine' seems like a dim possibility for her Soldier Field performance this month, because Madonna invariably takes the stage after dusk has turned to dark and brings back the sun again for the two hours that she played."[38] In another review, McCleese commented: "[Madonna] proceeded to show Soldier Field a few moves that would gain Walter Payton some yardage, while putting a whole new twist on the term 'backfield in motion'. The girl really knows how to cause a commotion."[39] Richard Harrington from The Washington Post felt that the tour "would have played better to a full house at the Capital Centre or Merriweather Post Pavilion. But to her credit, Madonna performed last night as if the house was full, and the show is splendid pop theater. Madonna has described it as 'Broadway in a stadium', and with her nonstop dancing, costume changes, mini-dramas and dynamic pacing, it is sort of a 'Liza With an M.'"[19] Jon Pareles from The New York Times reviewed the concert at Madison Square Garden in New York and felt that "For all its effort and professionalism, the concert wasn't exactly moving; Madonna had to ask the audience to get up and dance twice. But as shallow, kitschy, pop entertainment—no big messages, no revelations, familiar sounds and images, plenty of catchy tunes—the show was easy to enjoy. [...] The tunes stick to her limited vocal range and usually use short phrases—the better to keep her from running out of breath as she dances across the stage. And her band knocked the songs out with solid precision, recreating the gleaming sound of her records.[40] On their rankings of Madonna's tours, VH1's Christopher Rosa and The Odyssey's Rocco Papa both placed Who's That Girl in the fourth position; according to the former, it includes "some of M’s most effervescent performing" and a "setlist that rivals any Madonna tour to date", while the latter deemed it "much more simple compared to what we're used to seeing from Madonna" and pointed out "a certain spark and joy captured during this show which has never been duplicated" and how the singer "proved her ability to command an audience".[41][42] From The Advocate, Gina Vivinetto placed it on the eight position of her ranking.[43]

Commercial response edit

 
Tickets for one of the concerts at Wembley Stadium. Over 144,000 tickets sold out in 18 hours and 9 minutes.

After the tour was announced, the first two shows at Wembley Stadium in London sold-out at a then record-breaking time of 18 hours and 9 minutes for 144,000 tickets.[5] However around 10,000 concert tickets were still left unsold for her Leeds concert. Madonna's concert in Paris in front of 130,000 fans remains to this date, her biggest concert audience ever and largest crowd of any concert in French history.[44][45] A concert was also planned in Basel, Switzerland for August 31, 1987, but negotiations between Madonna's management and local organizers failed due to the high fee of one million ($2.68 million in 2023 dollars[1]) that Madonna's camp demanded.[30] As a result, Nice, France was booked in the itinerary. But when a local mayor threatened to cancel the concert, citing crowd problems, Jacques Chirac, then Mayor of Paris, stepped in to overrule him.[30] Her first-ever Italian concert in Turin, was presented by the Italian state broadcaster RaiUno and broadcast around the world. Just in Italy, the show was watched by around 14 million households. The show at Turin was watched by 65,000 fans and was a record there.[30]

In Japan, a thousand troops had to restrain a crowd of 25,000 fans seeking to greet Madonna at the airport.[30] When severe storms forced the cancellation of her first shows, despondent fans nearly rioted, and Madonna was confronted with out-of-control teenagers soaking themselves in the rain outside the stadium.[30] Promoters had no choice but to refund U.S. $7 million to ticket-buyers.[30] Madonna's Madison Square Garden show in New York City was an AIDS benefit with all the proceeds from the show going to American Foundation for AIDS Research (AmFAR).[40] She dedicated her performance of "Live to Tell" to her late friend Martin Burgoyne, the designer of her 1983 "Burning Up" single cover sleeve.[40] Upon completion, the tour was the second top female concert tour of 1987, behind Tina Turner's Break Every Rule Tour, earning in total of US$25 million[a] according to Pollstar and playing in front of 1.5 million audience all over the world.[5][46]

Broadcasts and recordings edit

 
The stage as visible during the tour.

The concert at Korakuen Stadium, Tokyo was broadcast on June 22, 1987, in Japan only. It was later released on VHS and LaserDisc as Who's That Girl: Live In Japan.[47] It was the first television broadcast using Dolby Surround Sound and was promoted by Mitsubishi, as Madonna had previously starred in television commercials for their video recorders.[47] On September 4, 1987, Madonna's concert special, Madonna in Concerto, filmed at the Comunale Stadium in Turin, Italy was broadcast live on TV in Italy (RAI), France (TF1), Germany (SAT1), Austria (ORF) and Spain (TVE). Other countries including Australia and The Netherlands broadcast this show in 1987.[48] The concert was released commercially in 1988 as Ciao Italia: Live from Italy and was later available on LaserDisc and DVD.[49]

The video contains the full Who's That Girl show, produced using footage from three different shows: Tokyo on June 22, 1987, Turin on September 4, 1987, and Florence on September 6, 1987.[50] Heather Phares from Allmusic said: "A much simpler, less choreographed performance than her later extravaganzas like The Girlie Show World Tour, Ciao Italia is still entertaining in its own right, and will definitely please fans nostalgic for some old-school Madonna hits."[51] Mark Knopher from the Los Angeles Daily News commented that "Ciao Italia shows the glitz and the glamor that made this tour so remarkable."[52] It charted at the top of the Billboard music DVD chart on for six weeks and ranked at two on the "1988 Year-end Top Ranked Tapes".[53][54] Ciao Italia also charted at number three on the Finnish DVD chart in 2009.[55]

Legacy edit

 
 
The encore of the concert found Madonna performing "La Isla Bonita" (left) and "Who's That Girl" (right).

According to Taraborrelli, "Many female artists behave like a diva for a period when they reach superstar status, and the 'Who's That Girl?' tour marked the beginning of Madonna's."[2] For instance, she would not allow crew members to talk directly to her; they had to talk to her representatives, lest they distract her from the business at hand. She also forbade her dancers from speaking to her and her musicians were not permitted to even look at her unless they were onstage with her.[2] Moreover, when coming on and off the stage, Madonna demanded that road managers hold sheets around her in order to shield her from the eyes of "those who couldn't help but stare".[2] DeMann commented: "She has a way of demanding that compels you to give her your undivided attention", to which Taraborrelli felt that such behavior actually was an indication of how successful and strong Madonna was. "You don't behave like a bitch until you are that successful. The tour sure helped cement her star status", he commented.[2]

There had never before been a more imaginative or forceful showcase for the feminine sensibility in pop. Madonna is simply the first female entertainer who has ever starred in a show of this scope

Mikal Gilmore on the tour.[56]

The tour was also notable for giving rise to the term "new Madonna", a stronger and more intelligent sexual image of her former self which had given rise to the term Madonna wannabe.[8] Considine felt that "the important thing Madonna did on the tour was to demonstrate how female sexuality can be a source of strength. Traditionally in pop culture, there are two roles that a woman can play—the good girl and the bad girl, and the bad girl is never taken seriously. But Madonna shows up the trappings of a bad girl, and demanded to be taken up seriously because she just doesn't roll over. I got more sense of the strength and power that was under her image all along."[8] Another important fact noted in the tour by scholars is the extensive use of multimedia technique to its maximum potential. Says Mark Bego, author of Madonna: Blonde Ambition, that "Madonna transformed the concept of a concert tour being focused on the songs. She turned her Who's That Girl? tour into a ubiquitous multimedia blitz technique by including songs, dancing, choreography, videos, big screens, backdrops—not to mention the subtle preaching and messages—that made singing a secondary quality for concert goers. Evident from the people that thronged to see the tour, they were there for the spectacle—and not see Madonna standing in front of the microphone and singing.[57]

Publications also noted the fanaticism Madonna suscited in various of the countries she visited, especially Japan and the United Kingdom which prompted South China Morning Post to say it "demonstrates the unique position that she commands in the world of pop music". The merchandise also "enjoyed rocketing sales".[58] While in Italy, Madonna met some of her relatives from Pacentro, the village in which her grandfather and grandmother, Gaetano and Michelina Ciccone had been married.[30] However, it was not the glorious home coming that she had expected; some of her relatives made it very clear that they were scandalized by her appearance and behavior.[30] One good thing came from the visit, there were talks of making her an honorary citizen of the town. Ultimately, a statue of Madonna, wearing conical bra was erected in her name, at the center of the town.[30]

Set list edit

Set list and samples per Madonna's official website and the notes and track listing of Ciao Italia: Live from Italy.[59][50]

  1. "Open Your Heart"
  2. "Lucky Star"
  3. "True Blue"
  4. "Papa Don't Preach"
  5. "White Heat"
  6. "Causing a Commotion"
  7. "The Look of Love"
  8. Medley: "Dress You Up" / "Material Girl" / "Like a Virgin" (Contains an excerpt from "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)")
  9. "Where's the Party"
  10. "Live to Tell"
  11. "Into the Groove"
  12. "La Isla Bonita"
  13. "Who's That Girl"
  14. "Holiday"

Shows edit

List of Asian concerts[60]
Date (1987) City Country Venue Opening act Attendance Revenue
June 14 Osaka Japan Osaka Stadium Level 42 89,996 / 89,996 $888,773
June 15
June 20 Tokyo Korakuen Stadium 65,000 / 65,000 $780,123
June 21
June 22
List of North American concerts[61]
Date (1987) City Country Venue Opening act Attendance Revenue
June 27 Miami United States Miami Orange Bowl Level 42 55,600 / 56,000 $1,005,260
June 29 Atlanta Omni Coliseum 12,526 / 12,526 $250,520
July 2 Washington, D.C. Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium 32,378 / 38,594 $602,780
July 4 Toronto Canada CNE Stadium 45,184 / 50,000 $829,184
July 6 Montreal Montreal Forum 32,985 / 32,985 $430,735
July 7
July 9 Foxborough United States Sullivan Stadium 48,384 / 48,384 $1,068,975
July 11 Philadelphia Veterans Stadium 46,182 / 51,500 $969,815
July 13 New York City Madison Square Garden 16,993 / 16,993 $688,225
July 15 Seattle Kingdome
July 18 Anaheim Anaheim Stadium 62,986 / 62,986 $1,417,185
July 20 Mountain View Shoreline Amphitheatre
July 21
July 24 Houston Astrodome 39,472 / 40,000 $789,440
July 26 Irving Texas Stadium 40,601 / 41,000 $812,020
July 29 Saint Paul St. Paul Civic Center N/A N/A
July 31 Chicago Soldier Field 47,407 / 47,407 $1,066,658
August 2 East Troy Alpine Valley Music Theatre 21,988 / 21,988 $455,605
August 4 Richfield Richfield Coliseum 34,228 / 34,228 $497,250
August 5
August 7 Pontiac Pontiac Silverdome 41,017 / 44,556 $881,866
August 9 East Rutherford Giants Stadium 51,000 / 51,000 $1,832,780
List of European concerts[62]
Date (1987) City Country Venue Opening act Attendance Revenue
August 15 Leeds England Roundhay Park Level 42 73,000 / 80,000 $490,210
August 18 London Wembley Stadium 216,000 / 216,000 $4,984,956
August 19
August 20
August 22 Frankfurt West Germany Waldstadion 51,981 / 51,981 $2,177,515
August 25 Rotterdam Netherlands Feijenoord Stadion
August 26
August 29 Paris France Parc de Sceaux 131,100 / 131,100 $1,989,234
August 31 Nice Stade Charles-Ehrmann
September 4 Turin Italy Stadio Comunale 63,127 / 63,127 $1,294,050
September 6 Florence Stadio Artemio Franchi
Total 1,317,663 / 1,346,595 $26,795,382

Personnel edit

Adapted from the Who's That Girl World Tour 1987 program.[63]

Band edit

Dancers and choreographers edit

  • Shabba Doo – choreographer, dancer
  • Angel Ferreira – dancer
  • Chris Finch – dancer

Wardrobe and crew edit

  • Marlene Stewart – designer
  • Eric Barnett – tour manager
  • Patrick Leonard - musical director
  • Jeffrey Hornaday – tour director, staging
  • Liz Rosenberg - publicity
  • Melissa Crow - assistant to Madonna
  • Michelle Johnson - assistant to Jeffrey Hornaday
  • Christopher Ciccone - wardrobe
  • Rob Saduski – wardrobe
  • Debi Mazar – make-up, stylist
  • Julie Chertow - masseuse
  • Robert Parr - trainer
  • Peter Chaplin - cook
  • Mario Ciccone - props, ambiance
  • Peter Morse – lights, strobe direction
  • John Perry III - producer and director of "Papa Don't Preach" video segment
  • John Coulter - tour book design

See also edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ a b c US$67.05 million in 2023 dollars.[1]

References edit

  1. ^ a b 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e Taraborrelli 2002, p. 127
  3. ^ a b McKenna, Kristine (February 1988). "Madonna: Goodbye Norma Jean, The Material Girl Is Growing Up Just Fine". Spin. 3 (9): 46–70. ISSN 0886-3032. Retrieved July 8, 2010.
  4. ^ Taraborrelli 2002, p. 125
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Taraborrelli 2002, p. 126
  6. ^ Morton 2002, p. 201
  7. ^ Morton 2002, p. 98
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Metz & Benson 1999, pp. 9–12
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Clerk 2002, p. 66
  10. ^ a b c Morton 2002, p. 199
  11. ^ Voller 1999, p. 89
  12. ^ Farley, Chris (August 5, 1987). "Madonna's Moves Are The Stuff Of Shabba-Doo". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved July 8, 2010.
  13. ^ Britt, Bruce (September 8, 1987). "Madonna's dance partner hits head, gets stitches". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved July 8, 2010.
  14. ^ Clerk 2002, p. 45
  15. ^ Layton 2004, p. 110
  16. ^ a b c d Voller 1999, p. 29
  17. ^ "Madonna's Iconic Sale". British Vogue. October 26, 2011. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
  18. ^ Taraborrelli 2002, p. 272
  19. ^ a b Harrington, Richard (July 3, 1987). "Madonna's Star Turn at RFK". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 14, 2010.
  20. ^ Parish & Pitts 2003, p. 529
  21. ^ Kogan, Rick (August 2, 1987). . Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on March 17, 2013. Retrieved March 3, 2009.
  22. ^ Goldstein, Patrick (July 26, 1987). . Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on March 17, 2013. Retrieved March 3, 2009.
  23. ^ Kellner 1995, p. 276
  24. ^ Farber, Jim (October 22, 2008). "When it comes to controversy on tour, Madonna's been down this road". Daily News. Retrieved March 8, 2009.
  25. ^ "Madge through the years". USA Today. October 15, 2008. Retrieved March 8, 2009.
  26. ^ a b c Guilbert 2002, p. 78
  27. ^ Bordo & Heywood 2004, p. 287
  28. ^ Clerk 2002, p. 67
  29. ^ Rooksby 2004, p. 19
  30. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Morton 2002, p. 200
  31. ^ Kellner 1995, p. 43
  32. ^ Bakker, Machgiel (July 18, 1987). "Madonna Heads For 15th Triumph" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 4, no. 28. p. 10. Retrieved April 21, 2022.
  33. ^ "Rock booms in the land of the rising yen". The Sydney Morning Herald. April 4, 1987. p. 8. Retrieved September 24, 2023.
  34. ^ Ayers, Ann (July 3, 1987). . USA Today. Archived from the original on June 19, 2012. Retrieved July 14, 2010.
  35. ^ Goddard, Peter (July 3, 1987). "Who's That Girl? Madonna-mia!". Toronto Star. Retrieved July 12, 2010.
  36. ^ Zamost, Scott A; Snead, Elizabeth (July 2, 1987). "New Madonna Tour Sets Racy Tone". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved July 12, 2010.
  37. ^ Wilker, Deborah (July 2, 1987). "Madonna Is Best In Close-up". The Day. Retrieved July 12, 2010.
  38. ^ McCleese, Don (July 12, 1987). "Who Is This Girl". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved July 12, 2010.
  39. ^ McCleese, Don (July 12, 1987). "Madonna sure can gyrate". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved August 2, 2010.
  40. ^ a b c Pareles, Jon (July 15, 1987). "Madonna Benefit For AIDS at the Garden". The New York Times. Retrieved July 14, 2010.
  41. ^ Rosa, Christopher (September 4, 2015). "Ranking 30 years of Madonna's tours: Which one is the greatest?". VH1. from the original on March 6, 2021. Retrieved August 28, 2021.
  42. ^ Papa, Roco (June 29, 2021). "Every Madonna tour, ranked". The Odyssey. Retrieved August 28, 2021.
  43. ^ Vivinetto, Gina (September 9, 2015). . The Advocate. Archived from the original on May 1, 2017. Retrieved August 28, 2021.
  44. ^ Bassets, Luis (August 31, 1987). "Madonna convocó en París a 130.000 personas". El País (in French). Madrid: Jesús de Polanco. Retrieved May 4, 2009.
  45. ^ Greenhouse, Stephen (August 29, 1987). "Chirac Says 'Oui' to Madonna And Angers a Local Mayor". The New York Times. Retrieved March 23, 2013.
  46. ^ Bego 2000, p. 190
  47. ^ a b "Madonna: Who's That Girl – Live in Japan (1987) (V)". Internet Movie Database. May 1, 2009. Retrieved July 15, 2010.
  48. ^ Metz & Benson 1999, p. 321
  49. ^ Martin & Porter 2003, p. 423
  50. ^ a b Ciao, Italia! – Live from Italy (VHS, DVD). Madonna. New York: Warner Home Media. 1988.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  51. ^ Phares, Heather (September 9, 2001). "allmusic ((( Ciao Italia: Live From Italy [Video] > Overview )))". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved July 15, 2010.
  52. ^ Knopher, Mark (June 24, 1988). "Summer Gets Even Hotter With New Video Releases". Los Angeles Daily News. Retrieved July 20, 2010.
  53. ^ "Billboard Top Music Videos". Billboard. Vol. 98, no. 21. July 2, 1988. ISSN 0006-2510.
  54. ^ Beatrix, Luna (December 30, 1988). "The top-ranked tapes of 1988". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved July 20, 2010.
  55. ^ "Tilastot – Suomen virallinen lista – Ciao Italia". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved July 15, 2010.
  56. ^ Gnojewski, Carol (2007). Poison Penns. Enslow Publishing. p. 91. ISBN 9780766024427. Retrieved April 21, 2022. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  57. ^ Bego 2000, p. 210
  58. ^ Wong, Joanna. . South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on February 18, 2016. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
  59. ^ . Icon: Official Madonna website. Archived from the original on December 27, 2014. Retrieved September 18, 2019.
  60. ^ "Billboard Boxscore" (PDF). Billboard. New York City. July 4, 1987. p. 25. ISSN 0006-2510.
  61. ^ North American box score data:
    • Takiff, Jonathan (July 9, 1987). "Is Overkill Messing Up Madonna? Surprises Promised For Her Saturday Concert". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved March 23, 2013.
    • "Billboard Boxscore" (PDF). Billboard. New York City. July 18, 1987. p. 25. ISSN 0006-2510.
    • "Billboard Boxscore" (PDF). Billboard. New York City. July 25, 1987. p. 25. ISSN 0006-2510.
    • "Billboard Boxscore" (PDF). Billboard. New York City. August 1, 1987. p. 25. ISSN 0006-2510.
    • "Billboard Boxscore" (PDF). Billboard. New York City. August 15, 1987. p. 25. ISSN 0006-2510.
    • "Billboard Boxscore" (PDF). Billboard. New York City. August 22, 1987. p. 25. ISSN 0006-2510.
    • "Billboard Boxscore" (PDF). Billboard. New York City. August 29, 1987. p. 25. ISSN 0006-2510.
    • "Billboard Boxscore" (PDF). Billboard. New York City. September 5, 1987. p. 25. ISSN 0006-2510.
    • Siskel, Gene (August 10, 1987). "A Day In The Life Of Madonna A 2-hour Workout And Mango Sorbet". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved March 23, 2013.
    • Siskel, Gene (August 2, 1987). "Madonna: The Show Goes On Without Sean". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved March 23, 2013.
    • "Billboard Boxscore" (PDF). Billboard. New York City. September 26, 1987. p. 25. ISSN 0006-2510.
  62. ^ European box score data:
    • "Slideshow: Madonna at Roundhay Park 1987". Yorkshire Evening Post. Johnston Press. January 28, 1987. Retrieved March 23, 2013.
    • "Billboard Boxscore" (PDF). Billboard. New York City. October 3, 1987. p. 29. ISSN 0006-2510.
    • "Billboard Boxscore" (PDF). Billboard. New York City. October 31, 1987. p. 28. ISSN 0006-2510.
    • "Italian TV to Broadcast A Concert by Madonna". The New York Times. September 3, 1987. Retrieved March 23, 2013.
  63. ^ Coulter, John (1987). Madonna: Who's That Girl World Tour 1987. Boy Toy, Inc., Sire Records Merchandise.

Bibliography edit

External links edit

    that, girl, world, tour, billed, 1987, second, concert, tour, american, singer, songwriter, madonna, tour, supported, 1986, third, studio, album, true, blue, well, 1987, soundtrack, that, girl, madonna, first, world, tour, marked, first, visits, japan, europe,. The Who s That Girl World Tour billed as Who s That Girl World Tour 1987 was the second concert tour by American singer and songwriter Madonna The tour supported her 1986 third studio album True Blue as well as the 1987 soundtrack Who s That Girl It was Madonna s first world tour and marked her first visits to Japan and Europe Musically and technically superior to her previous Virgin Tour Who s That Girl incorporated multimedia components to make the show more appealing Who s That Girl World TourTour by MadonnaPromotional poster for the tourLocationAsia North America EuropeAssociated albumTrue Blue Who s That GirlStart dateJune 14 1987 1987 06 14 End dateSeptember 6 1987 1987 09 06 Legs3No of shows38Box officeUS 25 million a Madonna concert chronologyThe Virgin Tour 1985 Who s That Girl World Tour 1987 Blond Ambition World Tour 1990 Madonna trained physically doing aerobics jogging and weight lifting to cope with the choreography and the dance routines For the costumes she collaborated with designer Marlene Stewart expanding on the idea of bringing her popular video characters to life onstage reworking scenes from her music videos The stage had four video screens multimedia projectors and a flight of stairs in the middle Patrick Leonard who was the music director encouraged Madonna to go with the idea of remixing and presenting her older songs for the show The show consisted of seven costume changes with song and dance routines theatrics and addressing social causes The tour was critically appreciated with reviewers commending the extravagant nature of the concert and Madonna as a performer It was a commercial success grossing in total of US 25 million a by playing in front of 1 5 million audience According to Pollstar it was the second highest grossing female concert tour of 1987 behind Tina Turner s Break Every Rule Tour Who s That Girl was broadcast in a number of international television channels and was released on VHS titled Ciao Italia Live from Italy Biographer J Randy Taraborrelli commented that Many female artists behave like a diva for a period when they reach superstar status and the Who s That Girl tour marked the beginning of Madonna s 2 It is also noted for giving rise to the term new Madonna a stronger and more intelligent sexual image of her former self which had given rise to the term Madonna wannabe It was proposed to build a statue of the Madonna in the city of her paternal grandparents in Pacentro Italy but the idea was rejected by the local city hall Contents 1 Background 2 Development 3 Concert synopsis 4 Critical reception 5 Commercial response 6 Broadcasts and recordings 7 Legacy 8 Set list 9 Shows 10 Personnel 10 1 Band 10 2 Dancers and choreographers 10 3 Wardrobe and crew 11 See also 12 Notes 13 References 14 Bibliography 15 External linksBackground editMadonna s 1987 film Who s That Girl was a box office failure 3 however the soundtrack of the film proved to be a big success The album consisted of four Madonna songs along with tracks by Warner Bros Records acts including Club Nouveau Scritti Politti and Michael Davidson 4 Three of Madonna s songs were released as singles namely Who s That Girl Causing a Commotion and The Look of Love all of them were critically and commercially successful 5 The album sold a million copies in the United States and five million worldwide 5 Taraborrelli felt that at that moment riding on Madonna s coattails proved profitable for everyone involved including Warner Bros Records which notched up big sales with a compilation soundtrack album that was basically a showcase for its marginal artists 5 But still they wanted to milk in the success of Madonna a view shared by Peter Guber and Jon Peters executive producers of the film Hence they felt a worldwide concert tour was the appropriate thing to do since it would promote both the soundtrack and the film as well as Madonna s successful third studio album True Blue released the year before 5 As Madonna s first world tour Who s That Girl ended up being a resounding success although by its end Madonna declared that she did not want to hear any of her songs again and she did not know whether she would ever write another one I returned feeling so burned out and I was convinced that I wouldn t go near music for quite a while she said 6 Development edit nbsp British funk band Level 42 joined Madonna as the supporting opening act for the tour The Who s That Girl World Tour was musically and technically superior to Madonna s Virgin Tour because she incorporated multimedia components to make the show more compelling 5 As the tour was confirmed Madonna and her team started planning for it Madonna wanted a show which consisted of theatrics drama dance and choreography in full force 7 Her publicist Liz Rosenberg commented She wants a visual impact that would knock people out She was very determined about this And she s the type that makes decisions quickly If something doesn t work she starts over You ll see a different look this year but it s still Madonna still bigger than life 8 In order to engage herself completely and handle the grueling dance routines she started attending aerobics classes at Hollywood health centre The Sports Connection 9 By the time the tour drew nearer she hired a personal trainer and her daily routine involved jogging weight lifting dancing gymnastics trampoline swimming and cycling She started eating vegetarian food with plenty of protein and carbohydrate and avoided the sun 9 British funk band Level 42 was the supporting act of the tour 9 Madonna s image was that of a blond girl with soft curls making a striking contrast with the firm almost hard lines of her eye make up and lipstick the idea of her friend actress Debi Mazar 9 For the costumes Madonna collaborated with designers Marlene Stewart and Leslie Hamel She expanded on the idea of bringing her popular video characters to life onstage reworking scenes from True Blue Open Your Heart Papa Don t Preach and La Isla Bonita For Open Your Heart Madonna reused the Stewart designed with Trashy Lingerie black bustier worn by her in the video complete with tassels golden tips and ribbing with fishnets on leg 9 Leslie Hamel s designs included the Flamenco style dress for La Isla Bonita and Spanish inspired pants for Holiday and a gold lame jacket and pants for the White Heat sequence The True Blue performance dress and the male dancers outfits For the medley sequence Madonna used a dress that was visually amusing and according to Madonna was for anyone that takes me too seriously or imagined and I take myself too seriously 9 Inspired by Dame Edna Everage the Leslie Hamel designed dress consisted of a hat strewn with fake fruits flowers and feathers jeweled batwing spectacles with heavy black frames a ruffled skirt and a bodice covered with objects such as watches and dolls and fishnets The knickers were inscribed with the word Kiss Continuing her tradition of message clothes she spelt out the phrase You Can Dance on her Leslie Hamel jacket using the letter U a can of soup and the word dance at the back Calling the show a theatrical multimedia spectacular Madonna wanted a huge stage with a central platform from which a flight of stairs descended 10 The central platform was flanked by two lower platforms which housed the band and the musicians A large video screen was suspended above the stairs which descended during the show 10 Two projectors were situated at the front of the stage which projected images of The Pope and President Ronald Reagan during the show 11 Patrick Leonard who had produced True Blue joined as the musical director for the shows 8 Instead of following every note on the records Leonard encouraged the musicians to come up with new ideas for the songs Hence a number of the old songs were rearranged including introducing a medley of Dress You Up Material Girl and Like a Virgin which contained a sample from the Four Tops song I Can t Help Myself Sugar Pie Honey Bunch 8 American choreographer Shabba Doo was signed to choreograph the show 12 13 year old Christopher Finch was signed to play the part of the small boy from the Open Your Heart video since Felix Howard who played the original part did not get a working license and hence could not join the tour 13 14 Madonna wanted three backup singers a team of male dancers and a succession of costume changes 9 She took inputs from her then husband actor Sean Penn saying I really respect Sean s opinion He has great taste and is a very brilliant man When I was putting my tour together it was always in the back of my mind I wonder what Sean will think of this He s extremely opinionated and has really high standards and that sometimes pushed me into making decisions I wouldn t have otherwise made 3 Madonna explained that the title of the tour came from her playing many characters commenting That s why I call the tour Who s That Girl because I play a lot of characters and every time I do a video or a song people go Oh that s what she s like And I m not like any of them I m all of them I m none of them You know what I mean 15 Concert synopsis edit nbsp nbsp Madonna opening the concert with a performance of Open Your Heart wearing a black Trashy Lingerie bustier left For Papa Don t Preach she wore a leather jacket over a silk blue dress right The show started with a performance by Level 42 As their performance ended the lights started blinking all around the stadium and Finch appears on stage looking for Madonna 16 He is followed by two other dancers who jump around the stage and disappear Then Madonna s silhouette is visible behind a screen which has paintings by Tamara de Lempicka on it 16 She performs dance moves behind the screen which starts going up slowly She wore a custom made black pointy corset by Trashy Lingerie 17 and fishnets like the costume in the music video of Open Your Heart 16 After dancing on the stairs using a chair as a prop Madonna descends and starts singing the song Later Finch joins her again and they dance together till the song ends 16 This was followed by the performance of Lucky Star during which a disco ball spun above the stage as Madonna and her dancers moved around it the light from the ball flickered on them like a star 18 For True Blue Madonna came up on the stage wearing a blue silk taffeta dress over her corset and a blue scarf hidden in her bosom 19 The stage had a similar blue setting like the original music video Madonna is backed up by her singers who play her girlfriends At the end of the song Madonna is asked to dance again by the dancer playing her man in the performance 20 During Papa Don t Preach Madonna wore a black leather jacket over her dress and walked around the stage while singing 9 The screen in the background showed portraits of Pope John Paul II and then President of the U S Ronald Reagan 21 along with scenes of John Perry III s short film The Nightmare 22 ending with the words Safe Sex as Madonna finished the song 23 She dedicated the song to the Pope marking her first conflict with the Vatican as Pope John Paul II urged Italian fans to boycott her concerts 24 25 During White Heat which featured dialogues from the 1949 James Cagney film of the same name a video screen displayed a scene from the film with Cagney saying the dialogue A copper a copper fellas 26 The video screen moves up and Madonna appears wearing a lame jacket and holding a plastic gun in her right hand A large cut out of Cagney appears in the middle and Madonna finishes singing the song while pointing the revolver towards her dancers and pretending to fire at them as sounds of gunshots are heard 26 She followed it with Causing a Commotion which ended with Madonna pointing to her dancers and musicians across stage and uttering the line He She s got the moves baby numerous times 26 For The Look of Love the spotlight was focused on her The introductory music of the song started and Madonna roamed around the stage pretending that she was lost She wanted to portray her Who s That Girl film character Nikki when she was lost in a similar sequence in the film After she finished singing the song Madonna pretended to walk forward by pushing through the air as the conveyor belt took her backwards ultimately taking her away from the stage 27 Then a red phone booth appears on the stage in which Madonna s silhouette appears to be changing costume She emerges from the booth wearing the Edna Everage inspired costume and starts singing Dress You Up 9 Then she sang Material Girl while stretching her legs on stage and showing her underwear and followed by Like a Virgin during which she took off her outfit piece by piece until she was standing in the same outfit from the beginning of the show and ended the performance while flirting with a young male dancer who played her bridegroom 8 28 A backdrop then started showing the newspaper reports on Madonna s 1985 Playboy nude picture release The backdrop moves up as Madonna appears wearing a loose fitted black pant and top with bejeweled glasses for singing Where s the Party 29 For Into the Groove Finch joins her on stage to dance alongside Madonna then wore a pink bolero jacket which had the can of soup and the words U and DANCE flanking it At the end she is joined by her backup singers and dancers Together they take a bow to the audience and finish the performance 30 Next Madonna sang La Isla Bonita as a part of the encore wearing the same red flamenco dress she had worn in the video 9 For Who s That Girl Madonna flanked by Finch and a male dancer strutted around the stage asking the audience to join her on the chorus 10 Lastly Madonna performed an energetic version of Holiday signaling the celebratory and wholesome nature of the song s theme The song featured a new arrangement with a guitar solo in the intermediate portion added by Leonard She sang the final chorus twice then asked the audience for a comb so that she could fix her hair and finished the performance after taking a bow with her dancers to the audience 31 Critical reception edit nbsp nbsp For the medley of Material Girl and Dress You Up Madonna wore an Edna Everage inspired costume left while Like a Virgin saw her being joined by 13 year old dancer Christopher Finch right The tour received rave reviews 32 33 Biographer Taraborrelli commented Madonna had more confidence in her stage presence her music was showing a deeper maturity her voice was fuller and the show was expertly choreographed with complex numbers 5 J D Considine from The Baltimore Sun commented I ve seen the Springsteen stadium tour I ve seen Dylan and the Grateful Dead and I was at Live Aid Out of all those shows Madonna s is the only one I want to see again You need a larger than life show if you want to come off in a stadium and Madonna does She s not that large physically but she holds your attention 8 Ann Ayers assistant entertainment editor of USA Today felt that the show was high on glitz and low on emotional quotient Madonna s going for a certain kind of show a Broadway show biz song and dance spectacle In that context it s hard to make a connection with the audience and I d have to say that she didn t 34 Peter Goddard from Toronto Star reviewed the concert in CNE Stadium and said Madonna proved that she may be a lost girl in the roads of life like her film but she ain t lost when she is singing Especially during songs like Papa Don t Preach her vocal prowess was substantially notable 35 Scott A Zamost and Elizabeth Snead writing for Chicago Tribune felt that For the most part the premiere concert on Madonna s Who s That Girl tour was a success an extravaganza of multiple videos flashing lights and precision dancing If the high tech accoutrements and inferior sound system made it difficult to hear the singer one hopes that will be refined as the tour continues across the United States As a dancer Madonna is supreme on stage Her trademark skip to a funky beat highlighted the constant acrobatics One minute she was stage left another minute stage right She ran up a wide staircase center stage to party with her three back up singers then scooted down to the stage floor swinging her hips accompanied by other dancers 36 Deborah Wilker from The Day commented that Madonna s got an almost rabid energy about her which she maintains for the duration of 90 minutes In fact she rarely leaves the stage preferring to change costumes in a phone booth instead Boy can she change One minute she s a 50 s teenager in a party dress next she s playing a speak easy chanteuse It s almost difficult to believe that a career as young as Madonna s could contain so much popular material that on stage the star can barely get to half of it 37 Don McCLeese from Chicago Sun Times reviewed the performance at Soldier Field stadium said that Shine seems like a dim possibility for her Soldier Field performance this month because Madonna invariably takes the stage after dusk has turned to dark and brings back the sun again for the two hours that she played 38 In another review McCleese commented Madonna proceeded to show Soldier Field a few moves that would gain Walter Payton some yardage while putting a whole new twist on the term backfield in motion The girl really knows how to cause a commotion 39 Richard Harrington from The Washington Post felt that the tour would have played better to a full house at the Capital Centre or Merriweather Post Pavilion But to her credit Madonna performed last night as if the house was full and the show is splendid pop theater Madonna has described it as Broadway in a stadium and with her nonstop dancing costume changes mini dramas and dynamic pacing it is sort of a Liza With an M 19 Jon Pareles from The New York Times reviewed the concert at Madison Square Garden in New York and felt that For all its effort and professionalism the concert wasn t exactly moving Madonna had to ask the audience to get up and dance twice But as shallow kitschy pop entertainment no big messages no revelations familiar sounds and images plenty of catchy tunes the show was easy to enjoy The tunes stick to her limited vocal range and usually use short phrases the better to keep her from running out of breath as she dances across the stage And her band knocked the songs out with solid precision recreating the gleaming sound of her records 40 On their rankings of Madonna s tours VH1 s Christopher Rosa and The Odyssey s Rocco Papa both placed Who s That Girl in the fourth position according to the former it includes some of M s most effervescent performing and a setlist that rivals any Madonna tour to date while the latter deemed it much more simple compared to what we re used to seeing from Madonna and pointed out a certain spark and joy captured during this show which has never been duplicated and how the singer proved her ability to command an audience 41 42 From The Advocate Gina Vivinetto placed it on the eight position of her ranking 43 Commercial response edit nbsp Tickets for one of the concerts at Wembley Stadium Over 144 000 tickets sold out in 18 hours and 9 minutes After the tour was announced the first two shows at Wembley Stadium in London sold out at a then record breaking time of 18 hours and 9 minutes for 144 000 tickets 5 However around 10 000 concert tickets were still left unsold for her Leeds concert Madonna s concert in Paris in front of 130 000 fans remains to this date her biggest concert audience ever and largest crowd of any concert in French history 44 45 A concert was also planned in Basel Switzerland for August 31 1987 but negotiations between Madonna s management and local organizers failed due to the high fee of one million 2 68 million in 2023 dollars 1 that Madonna s camp demanded 30 As a result Nice France was booked in the itinerary But when a local mayor threatened to cancel the concert citing crowd problems Jacques Chirac then Mayor of Paris stepped in to overrule him 30 Her first ever Italian concert in Turin was presented by the Italian state broadcaster RaiUno and broadcast around the world Just in Italy the show was watched by around 14 million households The show at Turin was watched by 65 000 fans and was a record there 30 In Japan a thousand troops had to restrain a crowd of 25 000 fans seeking to greet Madonna at the airport 30 When severe storms forced the cancellation of her first shows despondent fans nearly rioted and Madonna was confronted with out of control teenagers soaking themselves in the rain outside the stadium 30 Promoters had no choice but to refund U S 7 million to ticket buyers 30 Madonna s Madison Square Garden show in New York City was an AIDS benefit with all the proceeds from the show going to American Foundation for AIDS Research AmFAR 40 She dedicated her performance of Live to Tell to her late friend Martin Burgoyne the designer of her 1983 Burning Up single cover sleeve 40 Upon completion the tour was the second top female concert tour of 1987 behind Tina Turner s Break Every Rule Tour earning in total of US 25 million a according to Pollstar and playing in front of 1 5 million audience all over the world 5 46 Broadcasts and recordings editMain article Ciao Italia Live from Italy nbsp The stage as visible during the tour The concert at Korakuen Stadium Tokyo was broadcast on June 22 1987 in Japan only It was later released on VHS and LaserDisc as Who s That Girl Live In Japan 47 It was the first television broadcast using Dolby Surround Sound and was promoted by Mitsubishi as Madonna had previously starred in television commercials for their video recorders 47 On September 4 1987 Madonna s concert special Madonna in Concerto filmed at the Comunale Stadium in Turin Italy was broadcast live on TV in Italy RAI France TF1 Germany SAT1 Austria ORF and Spain TVE Other countries including Australia and The Netherlands broadcast this show in 1987 48 The concert was released commercially in 1988 as Ciao Italia Live from Italy and was later available on LaserDisc and DVD 49 The video contains the full Who s That Girl show produced using footage from three different shows Tokyo on June 22 1987 Turin on September 4 1987 and Florence on September 6 1987 50 Heather Phares from Allmusic said A much simpler less choreographed performance than her later extravaganzas like The Girlie Show World Tour Ciao Italia is still entertaining in its own right and will definitely please fans nostalgic for some old school Madonna hits 51 Mark Knopher from the Los Angeles Daily News commented that Ciao Italia shows the glitz and the glamor that made this tour so remarkable 52 It charted at the top of the Billboard music DVD chart on for six weeks and ranked at two on the 1988 Year end Top Ranked Tapes 53 54 Ciao Italia also charted at number three on the Finnish DVD chart in 2009 55 Legacy edit nbsp nbsp The encore of the concert found Madonna performing La Isla Bonita left and Who s That Girl right According to Taraborrelli Many female artists behave like a diva for a period when they reach superstar status and the Who s That Girl tour marked the beginning of Madonna s 2 For instance she would not allow crew members to talk directly to her they had to talk to her representatives lest they distract her from the business at hand She also forbade her dancers from speaking to her and her musicians were not permitted to even look at her unless they were onstage with her 2 Moreover when coming on and off the stage Madonna demanded that road managers hold sheets around her in order to shield her from the eyes of those who couldn t help but stare 2 DeMann commented She has a way of demanding that compels you to give her your undivided attention to which Taraborrelli felt that such behavior actually was an indication of how successful and strong Madonna was You don t behave like a bitch until you are that successful The tour sure helped cement her star status he commented 2 There had never before been a more imaginative or forceful showcase for the feminine sensibility in pop Madonna is simply the first female entertainer who has ever starred in a show of this scope Mikal Gilmore on the tour 56 The tour was also notable for giving rise to the term new Madonna a stronger and more intelligent sexual image of her former self which had given rise to the term Madonna wannabe 8 Considine felt that the important thing Madonna did on the tour was to demonstrate how female sexuality can be a source of strength Traditionally in pop culture there are two roles that a woman can play the good girl and the bad girl and the bad girl is never taken seriously But Madonna shows up the trappings of a bad girl and demanded to be taken up seriously because she just doesn t roll over I got more sense of the strength and power that was under her image all along 8 Another important fact noted in the tour by scholars is the extensive use of multimedia technique to its maximum potential Says Mark Bego author of Madonna Blonde Ambition that Madonna transformed the concept of a concert tour being focused on the songs She turned her Who s That Girl tour into a ubiquitous multimedia blitz technique by including songs dancing choreography videos big screens backdrops not to mention the subtle preaching and messages that made singing a secondary quality for concert goers Evident from the people that thronged to see the tour they were there for the spectacle and not see Madonna standing in front of the microphone and singing 57 Publications also noted the fanaticism Madonna suscited in various of the countries she visited especially Japan and the United Kingdom which prompted South China Morning Post to say it demonstrates the unique position that she commands in the world of pop music The merchandise also enjoyed rocketing sales 58 While in Italy Madonna met some of her relatives from Pacentro the village in which her grandfather and grandmother Gaetano and Michelina Ciccone had been married 30 However it was not the glorious home coming that she had expected some of her relatives made it very clear that they were scandalized by her appearance and behavior 30 One good thing came from the visit there were talks of making her an honorary citizen of the town Ultimately a statue of Madonna wearing conical bra was erected in her name at the center of the town 30 Set list editSet list and samples per Madonna s official website and the notes and track listing of Ciao Italia Live from Italy 59 50 Open Your Heart Lucky Star True Blue Papa Don t Preach White Heat Causing a Commotion The Look of Love Medley Dress You Up Material Girl Like a Virgin Contains an excerpt from I Can t Help Myself Sugar Pie Honey Bunch Where s the Party Live to Tell Into the Groove La Isla Bonita Who s That Girl Holiday Shows editList of Asian concerts 60 Date 1987 City Country Venue Opening act Attendance Revenue June 14 Osaka Japan Osaka Stadium Level 42 89 996 89 996 888 773 June 15 June 20 Tokyo Korakuen Stadium 65 000 65 000 780 123 June 21 June 22 List of North American concerts 61 Date 1987 City Country Venue Opening act Attendance Revenue June 27 Miami United States Miami Orange Bowl Level 42 55 600 56 000 1 005 260 June 29 Atlanta Omni Coliseum 12 526 12 526 250 520 July 2 Washington D C Robert F Kennedy Memorial Stadium 32 378 38 594 602 780 July 4 Toronto Canada CNE Stadium 45 184 50 000 829 184 July 6 Montreal Montreal Forum 32 985 32 985 430 735 July 7 July 9 Foxborough United States Sullivan Stadium 48 384 48 384 1 068 975 July 11 Philadelphia Veterans Stadium 46 182 51 500 969 815 July 13 New York City Madison Square Garden 16 993 16 993 688 225 July 15 Seattle Kingdome July 18 Anaheim Anaheim Stadium 62 986 62 986 1 417 185 July 20 Mountain View Shoreline Amphitheatre July 21 July 24 Houston Astrodome 39 472 40 000 789 440 July 26 Irving Texas Stadium 40 601 41 000 812 020 July 29 Saint Paul St Paul Civic Center N A N A July 31 Chicago Soldier Field 47 407 47 407 1 066 658 August 2 East Troy Alpine Valley Music Theatre 21 988 21 988 455 605 August 4 Richfield Richfield Coliseum 34 228 34 228 497 250 August 5 August 7 Pontiac Pontiac Silverdome 41 017 44 556 881 866 August 9 East Rutherford Giants Stadium 51 000 51 000 1 832 780 List of European concerts 62 Date 1987 City Country Venue Opening act Attendance Revenue August 15 Leeds England Roundhay Park Level 42 73 000 80 000 490 210 August 18 London Wembley Stadium 216 000 216 000 4 984 956 August 19 August 20 August 22 Frankfurt West Germany Waldstadion 51 981 51 981 2 177 515 August 25 Rotterdam Netherlands Feijenoord Stadion August 26 August 29 Paris France Parc de Sceaux 131 100 131 100 1 989 234 August 31 Nice Stade Charles Ehrmann September 4 Turin Italy Stadio Comunale 63 127 63 127 1 294 050 September 6 Florence Stadio Artemio Franchi Total 1 317 663 1 346 595 26 795 382Personnel editAdapted from the Who s That Girl World Tour 1987 program 63 Band edit Madonna creator vocals Niki Haris vocals Donna De Lory vocals Debra Parson vocals Patrick Leonard keyboards Jai Winding keyboards Jonathan Moffett drums David Williams guitar James Harrah guitar bass guitar Kerry Hatch synth bass Luis Conte percussion Dancers and choreographers edit Shabba Doo choreographer dancer Angel Ferreira dancer Chris Finch dancer Wardrobe and crew edit Marlene Stewart designer Eric Barnett tour manager Patrick Leonard musical director Jeffrey Hornaday tour director staging Liz Rosenberg publicity Melissa Crow assistant to Madonna Michelle Johnson assistant to Jeffrey Hornaday Christopher Ciccone wardrobe Rob Saduski wardrobe Debi Mazar make up stylist Julie Chertow masseuse Robert Parr trainer Peter Chaplin cook Mario Ciccone props ambiance Peter Morse lights strobe direction John Perry III producer and director of Papa Don t Preach video segment John Coulter tour book designSee also editList of highest attended concerts List of highest grossing concert tours by womenNotes edit a b c US 67 05 million in 2023 dollars 1 References edit a b 1634 1699 McCusker J J 1997 How Much Is That in Real Money A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States Addenda et Corrigenda PDF American Antiquarian Society 1700 1799 McCusker J J 1992 How Much Is That in Real Money A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States PDF American Antiquarian Society 1800 present Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Consumer Price Index estimate 1800 Retrieved February 29 2024 a b c d e Taraborrelli 2002 p 127 a b McKenna Kristine February 1988 Madonna Goodbye Norma Jean The Material Girl Is Growing Up Just Fine Spin 3 9 46 70 ISSN 0886 3032 Retrieved July 8 2010 Taraborrelli 2002 p 125 a b c d e f g h Taraborrelli 2002 p 126 Morton 2002 p 201 Morton 2002 p 98 a b c d e f g Metz amp Benson 1999 pp 9 12 a b c d e f g h i j Clerk 2002 p 66 a b c Morton 2002 p 199 Voller 1999 p 89 Farley Chris August 5 1987 Madonna s Moves Are The Stuff Of Shabba Doo Chicago Tribune Retrieved July 8 2010 Britt Bruce September 8 1987 Madonna s dance partner hits head gets stitches The Spokesman Review Retrieved July 8 2010 Clerk 2002 p 45 Layton 2004 p 110 a b c d Voller 1999 p 29 Madonna s Iconic Sale British Vogue October 26 2011 Retrieved September 27 2022 Taraborrelli 2002 p 272 a b Harrington Richard July 3 1987 Madonna s Star Turn at RFK The Washington Post Retrieved July 14 2010 Parish amp Pitts 2003 p 529 Kogan Rick August 2 1987 Bombshell Madonna Certainly Can Wow Em Chicago Tribune Archived from the original on March 17 2013 Retrieved March 3 2009 Goldstein Patrick July 26 1987 Pop Eye on Madonna Chicago Tribune Archived from the original on March 17 2013 Retrieved March 3 2009 Kellner 1995 p 276 Farber Jim October 22 2008 When it comes to controversy on tour Madonna s been down this road Daily News Retrieved March 8 2009 Madge through the years USA Today October 15 2008 Retrieved March 8 2009 a b c Guilbert 2002 p 78 Bordo amp Heywood 2004 p 287 Clerk 2002 p 67 Rooksby 2004 p 19 a b c d e f g h i j Morton 2002 p 200 Kellner 1995 p 43 Bakker Machgiel July 18 1987 Madonna Heads For 15th Triumph PDF Music amp Media Vol 4 no 28 p 10 Retrieved April 21 2022 Rock booms in the land of the rising yen The Sydney Morning Herald April 4 1987 p 8 Retrieved September 24 2023 Ayers Ann July 3 1987 Dressing Up A Material Girl USA Today Archived from the original on June 19 2012 Retrieved July 14 2010 Goddard Peter July 3 1987 Who s That Girl Madonna mia Toronto Star Retrieved July 12 2010 Zamost Scott A Snead Elizabeth July 2 1987 New Madonna Tour Sets Racy Tone Chicago Tribune Retrieved July 12 2010 Wilker Deborah July 2 1987 Madonna Is Best In Close up The Day Retrieved July 12 2010 McCleese Don July 12 1987 Who Is This Girl Chicago Sun Times Retrieved July 12 2010 McCleese Don July 12 1987 Madonna sure can gyrate Chicago Sun Times Retrieved August 2 2010 a b c Pareles Jon July 15 1987 Madonna Benefit For AIDS at the Garden The New York Times Retrieved July 14 2010 Rosa Christopher September 4 2015 Ranking 30 years of Madonna s tours Which one is the greatest VH1 Archived from the original on March 6 2021 Retrieved August 28 2021 Papa Roco June 29 2021 Every Madonna tour ranked The Odyssey Retrieved August 28 2021 Vivinetto Gina September 9 2015 Madonna s 9 tours Ranked The Advocate Archived from the original on May 1 2017 Retrieved August 28 2021 Bassets Luis August 31 1987 Madonna convoco en Paris a 130 000 personas El Pais in French Madrid Jesus de Polanco Retrieved May 4 2009 Greenhouse Stephen August 29 1987 Chirac Says Oui to Madonna And Angers a Local Mayor The New York Times Retrieved March 23 2013 Bego 2000 p 190 a b Madonna Who s That Girl Live in Japan 1987 V Internet Movie Database May 1 2009 Retrieved July 15 2010 Metz amp Benson 1999 p 321 Martin amp Porter 2003 p 423 a b Ciao Italia Live from Italy VHS DVD Madonna New York Warner Home Media 1988 a href Template Cite AV media notes html title Template Cite AV media notes cite AV media notes a CS1 maint others in cite AV media notes link Phares Heather September 9 2001 allmusic Ciao Italia Live From Italy Video gt Overview Allmusic Rovi Corporation Retrieved July 15 2010 Knopher Mark June 24 1988 Summer Gets Even Hotter With New Video Releases Los Angeles Daily News Retrieved July 20 2010 Billboard Top Music Videos Billboard Vol 98 no 21 July 2 1988 ISSN 0006 2510 Beatrix Luna December 30 1988 The top ranked tapes of 1988 Chicago Tribune Retrieved July 20 2010 Tilastot Suomen virallinen lista Ciao Italia International Federation of the Phonographic Industry Retrieved July 15 2010 Gnojewski Carol 2007 Poison Penns Enslow Publishing p 91 ISBN 9780766024427 Retrieved April 21 2022 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a work ignored help Bego 2000 p 210 Wong Joanna Hong Kong s 30 year relationship with Madonna it s complicated South China Morning Post Archived from the original on February 18 2016 Retrieved February 17 2016 Madonna com gt Tours gt Who s That Girl World Tour Icon Official Madonna website Archived from the original on December 27 2014 Retrieved September 18 2019 Billboard Boxscore PDF Billboard New York City July 4 1987 p 25 ISSN 0006 2510 North American box score data Takiff Jonathan July 9 1987 Is Overkill Messing Up Madonna Surprises Promised For Her Saturday Concert The Philadelphia Inquirer Retrieved March 23 2013 Billboard Boxscore PDF Billboard New York City July 18 1987 p 25 ISSN 0006 2510 Billboard Boxscore PDF Billboard New York City July 25 1987 p 25 ISSN 0006 2510 Billboard Boxscore PDF Billboard New York City August 1 1987 p 25 ISSN 0006 2510 Billboard Boxscore PDF Billboard New York City August 15 1987 p 25 ISSN 0006 2510 Billboard Boxscore PDF Billboard New York City August 22 1987 p 25 ISSN 0006 2510 Billboard Boxscore PDF Billboard New York City August 29 1987 p 25 ISSN 0006 2510 Billboard Boxscore PDF Billboard New York City September 5 1987 p 25 ISSN 0006 2510 Siskel Gene August 10 1987 A Day In The Life Of Madonna A 2 hour Workout And Mango Sorbet The Philadelphia Inquirer Retrieved March 23 2013 Siskel Gene August 2 1987 Madonna The Show Goes On Without Sean Chicago Tribune Retrieved March 23 2013 Billboard Boxscore PDF Billboard New York City September 26 1987 p 25 ISSN 0006 2510 European box score data Slideshow Madonna at Roundhay Park 1987 Yorkshire Evening Post Johnston Press January 28 1987 Retrieved March 23 2013 Billboard Boxscore PDF Billboard New York City October 3 1987 p 29 ISSN 0006 2510 Billboard Boxscore PDF Billboard New York City October 31 1987 p 28 ISSN 0006 2510 Italian TV to Broadcast A Concert by Madonna The New York Times September 3 1987 Retrieved March 23 2013 Coulter John 1987 Madonna Who s That Girl World Tour 1987 Boy Toy Inc Sire Records Merchandise Bibliography editBego Mark 2000 Madonna Blonde Ambition Cooper Square Press ISBN 0 8154 1051 4 Bordo Susan R Heywood Leslie 2004 Unbearable weight feminism Western culture and the body University of California Press ISBN 0 520 24054 5 Clerk Carol 2002 Madonnastyle Omnibus Press ISBN 0 7119 8874 9 Guilbert Georges Claude 2002 Madonna as postmodern myth McFarland ISBN 0 7864 1408 1 Kellner Douglas 1995 Media Culture Cultural Studies Identity and Politics Between the Modern and the Postmodern Routledge ISBN 0 415 10570 6 Layton Lynne 2004 Who s That Girl Who s That Boy Clinical Practice Meets Postmodern Gender Theory Routledge ISBN 0 88163 422 0 Martin Mick Porter Marsha 2003 DVD and Video Guide 2004 Ballantine Books ISBN 0345449940 Metz Allen Benson Carol 1999 The Madonna Companion Two Decades of Commentary Music Sales Group ISBN 0 8256 7194 9 Morton Andrew 2002 Madonna Macmillan Publishers ISBN 0 312 98310 7 Parish James Robert Pitts Michael R 2003 Hollywood Songsters Garland to O Connor Taylor amp Francis ISBN 0 415 94333 7 Rooksby Rikky 2004 The Complete Guide to the Music of Madonna Omnibus Press ISBN 0 7119 9883 3 Taraborrelli Randy J 2002 Madonna An Intimate Biography Simon amp Schuster ISBN 978 1 4165 8346 2 Voller Debbi 1999 Madonna The Style Book Omnibus Press ISBN 0 7119 7511 6 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Who s That Girl World Tour Madonna com gt Tours gt Who s That Girl World Tour Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Who 27s That Girl World Tour amp oldid 1219143552, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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