Get into the groove
Pop stars don’t come much bigger than the Queen of Pop, Madonna, whose world tour hits the Manchester Evening News Arena on Saturday and Sunday.
Despite threats to steal her crown from young pretenders Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, Madonna‘s enduring appeal lies in her ability to mould her image and music to fit the times.
Sadly, it doesn’t come cheap with tickets beginning at £75.
Madonna hit the headlines in the sexually permissive early 1990s for her raunchy dance show and confessions of bisexuality, while the ‘Earth Mother’ image of the Ray Of Light era won her a new army of fans into the chill-out albums of the Ibizan superclubs.
The dance influence was more marked in her follow up album Music, which was as likely to be heard on the dancefloors of Britain as on the radio. Blending dirty beats with her traditional pop melodies, the title track encapsulated Madonna’s ability to appeal to the here and now, despite age and, some would say, ability.
Now married to the English film director, Guy Ritchie, the 45-year-old mother-of-two has settled in Britain and is looking to regain some momentum after a disappointing last album.
Her current world tour showcases tracks from her recent greatest hits album, and is already her most spectacular yet. Featuring 12 dancers, a skateboarder, a bagpiper, five costume changes and a 50 ton turntable stage, the reInvention tour promises to blow the roof off the venue.
Madonna gave her first UK performance in Manchester at the legendary Hacienda nightclub in the 1980s. Now, after a long absence, she returns to play to thousands of fans at Europe’s largest indoor arena over two nights.
The Manchester date will kick-start the UK leg of the reInvention tour and will be the first time she has performed in the North since she played Round-hay Park in Leeds as part of the 1987 Who’s That Girl European tour.
Sharon McKoy-Beckett, sales and marketing director at the MEN Arena said: ‘We are extremely delighted that Madonna has chosen the MEN Arena as her only UK date outside London, which is great news for all her fans in the North.’
Source: Crewe Chronicle