Like A Virgin – Touched for the very first time
Madonna‘s most popular song for many is considered by music critics as one of the best pop tunes ever that changed the world of music when released in 1984 (it ranks number 4 in the list of 100 greatest pop songs by MTV). It is indeed the song that made her a huge star all over the world and it’s definitely a title that quickly comes to mind when thinking of Madonna the singer. The song was written by Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly (who also wrote some songs for other artists like Cyndi Lauper) and it has been said to be first conceived as a ballad. It was Madonna’s first number one single in the US, staying at the top of the list for six consecutive weeks. Madonna became famous worldwide and madonnamania took the US by storm selling 75.000 copies of the Like a virgin album a day.
For the video, Madonna flew to Italy and shared the camera with a lion in the streets of beautiful Venice. Apparently, at one point during the shooting, the animal tried to attack her. She was reported to be so scared that promised herself not to work with animals again (she would shoot Who’s that girl only a few years later…). She then quoted: “The lion didn’t do anything he was supposed to do, and I ended up leaning against a pillar with his head in my crotch.” It is a gorgeous video, where Madonna looks very fresh and poppy. There is also a misterious man in it wearing a lion’s mask who seems to be following Madonna around. The video also shows Madonna dancing on a gondola and walking around in a wedding dress.
She first performed the song live during the MTV awards in 1984, appearing on the top of a wedding cake wearing a wedding dress. A few years later she would recall her days when “she thought rolling on the floor was dancing”.
One year later, she would name her first tour after the song and album title- The Virgin Tour. Once again she appeared on the top of the stage dressed as a sexy bride and screaming to the audience: Will you marry me?! For this version of like a virgin she included an excerpt of Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean (both have a very similar bassline).
For her 1987 world tour, she also sang the chorus from the song “Sugar pye honey bunch (I can’t help myself)” by The Four Tops, which was sampled for Like A Virgin. Here she dances around with her back-up singers and band, flirting with her young dancer who was dressed as her groom.
Only two years later, she would shock the world again with Like A Virgin, this time with its performance during the Blond Ambition Tour – a complete knock-out and a feast for the eyes and ears. The song was turned into a stunning ballad. Madonna appears on top of a red velvet bed, escorted by two dancers wearing tits. She moves to a vogueing coreography, touching herself here and there in a breathtaking performance of the song with an amazing new Eastern bassline. Madonna’s conception of Like A Virgin here was a complete masterpiece, which almost got her arrested in Toronto and did make her cancel a few shows during the Italian leg of the tour.
In 1993, she completely changed the song again, this time turning it into a parody where she emulates actress Marlene Dietrich by wearing a tuxedo and singing with a strong fake German accent. The song sounds so different that it really takes a while to recognize it.
Lastly, she brought Like A Virgin back to life during her last tour. She hadn’t performed it for 13 years, so it was a real surprise for all of us to hear it live again. For the Confessions version she dances on a mechanical saddle while horse accidents and x-ray of broken bones images are shown on the screen in what seemed to be a wink to Madonna‘s fall from a horse the year before.
