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Rebel Heart Tour diary - Europe
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Madonna forced to sing Holiday unplugged after curfew
Glasgow - 20 Dec. 2015Last night, Madonna wrapped up her European tour in Glasgow, Scotland.
She skipped the Dress you Up medley, but gave the crowd Who's That Girl and Ghosttown instead.
The Unapologetic Bitch was Scottish fan Jimmy, wearing a kilt. Of course, Madonna couldn't resist looking underneath. Later on, she said "Ladies and gentlemen, I looked underneath and he's been very blessed by the Lord!"
After Unapologetic Bitch, Madonna said she would return, probably a she realized she was approaching curfew. But the venue decided to cut off sound and screens anyway. But Madonna did come back to do Holiday Unplugged, wearing the Scottish flag and a white Christmas bonnet.
Later, Madonna reacted on Instagram:
We don't stop till its over Glasgow! 🎉💃Don't try to silence the Queen👑 ❤️#rebelheartour
So that was it folks, the tours is over for us European fans... We enjoyed to the fullest but will miss her dearly.
Madonna will resume the tour in the new year in Mexico City.
Madonna sports new haircut in Birmingham
Birmingham - 16 Dec. 2015Fortunately no technical problems in Birmingham. Madonna started the show at 9.25, with a fresh new hair style, sporting straight blond hair.
The Dress you Up medley was performed and Like A Prayer was the request song.
Alan, the fan who caught the bouquet surprised Madonna by actually giving her an engagement ring. She cheekily countered it by saying she wouldn't get married a third time. "But I mentioned your name on stage and I got a ring, so it's a win-win situation really".
The very young Unapologetic Bitch was Jamie, a friend of her son Rocco. Madonna tried her best British accent while chatting with him.
Madonna issues statement about Manchester problems
Manchester - 14 Dec. 2015Today, the UK tabloid press jumped on the story of Madonna arriving late for her show in Manchester and the resulting booing in the crowd.
Madonna issued the following statement on her Instagram:
FACTS: it's good to have them before you jump to conclusions!
The Entire video for my show crashed as I arrived for sound check. The back up file was corrupt. We had no choice but to reboot and pray for a good outcome. The video lights 75 % of my show. We cant play in the dark. We were rebooted and ready by 9:30 even though we planned to go on earlier.
I had to make cuts in show before show started. Dress you Up was one of them and my 3rd guitar song. This still brought us past the 11:00 curfew! But we went on and the venue was kind enough to extend till 11:39!! It was their choice not mine to end the show!! always want to finish.
So we all missed the last 3 songs! And I'm sorry about that. And i thank all my Rebel Heart fans for understanding! We did our best! And we still had to pay a fine! That life. 😂. PS you still got to see an amazing show. And only missed 12 minutes!! The ❤️ #rebelhearttour goes on
Open Your Heart to compensate for shorter show
Manchester - 14 Dec. 2015Last night's show in Manchester was rather problematic. When Madonna didn't appear on stage by 10pm, the crowd started booing. She later explained that there was a technical problem with the screens, which was the reason for the delay.
"The video crashed. We had no video and we had to wait until we could reboot. No selfish diva bitch reason. If you diva bitches want to keep complaining about it don't come to my show.".
The show was cut short: the Dress You Up medley was not performed, and neither were La Vie en Rose, Unapologetic Bitch and Holiday. The show ended with Material Girl.
However, the Manchester fans did get a new request song: Open Your Heart! Madonna first started playing Secret but then said she couldn't concentrate so she decided to play a different song instead.
Madonna shares an apple with model Stephen James
Zurich - 12 Dec. 2015While the tour might be over for us, Madonna continued to Zurich to share her Rebel Heart with the Swiss fans.
The special performance at Place de la République might have given her the taste again to perform Ghosttown, because it ended up as the request song of the night - first time since the show in Denmark.
The Unapologetic Bitch was tattood model hunk Stephen James, who got to share an apple with Madonna.
Christine and the Queens: "Now I can date you, right?"
Paris - 10 Dec. 2015You can imagine we were all still in quite a rush after what had happened the night before at Place de la République. The adrenaline rushed through our veins all nights, not allowing us to sleep much. No matter how the second show in Paris would go, nothing could get us down anymore.
While we had seats for yesterday's show, which had given us a great overview right in front of the heart, we now had standing tickets. Specially for our final Rebel Heart show, we went for Early Entrance. Joining other die hard fans in the queue at 1pm I got the number 235 written on my hand. Fairly reasonable for that hour.
Despite horrible queueing experiences in Paris during previous tours, we were now pleasantly surprised how smoothly the queueing happened. Around 3pm we got organised according to number and went through registration to collect our wristband, VIP pass and of course the wonderful tour booklet.
At 6pm, after some cold moments outside, we were allowed to go inside. Strangely, our entrance let us through the corridor with the dressing rooms of the dancers, and sure enough Marvin passed by right next to us!
We ended up second row at the catwalk, left side of the cross. A perfect spot for our last show. We shook hands with Guy Oseary and the wonderful Tony Villanueva. And boy, what a view we were about to get!
It was incredible to see the many details in the costumes from where we were standing. The catwalk choreography happened right in front of our nose:
During Burning Up, she kneeled down right in front of us and bit the finger of Israel, our new friend from New Zealand, who stood right in front of us.
Madonna was in a great mood. "Vous êtes prêts Paris? On va tout niquer!!" she shouted. She also mentioned that almost half the people she works with are French. "Vive la France!"
She refrained from giving another long speech this night, but shortly referred to the recent events in Paris. "We live in a world filled with darkness. But it's our duty to fill it with light
Nothing can stop us. We won't bow down to fear, we will only bow down to love."
Who's That Girl was again ignored. Instead she brought David again on stage and they performed Like A Prayer together. For us, it was extra special, as we had witnessed mother and son singing that very song at Place de la République less than 24h before. This time we sang it together with 20,000 other fans, in a venue filled with little lights. Heart warming.
"It's no coincidence that the word 'Art' is part of the word 'Heart'. Because it's an art to love."
"Everyone here had to fight for something they believe in. But we fight with dignity, compassion and respect. Love always wins!"
La Marseillaise was again performed as part of the Music performance.
Another celebrity made it as Unapologetic Bitch in Paris. Christine, the singer from Christine and the Queens, was brought on stage and she danced and played along very well. She cheekily put the bana in her pants and asked Madonna: "Now I can date you, right?". To which Madonna joked: "Yeah, now you can fuck me over, like anyone else!"
It was the perfect show with the perfect view to have as final show of our tour experience. We met up with old friends and made many new ones. Only fans can understand the special feeling of doing this show multiple times, together with friends. Madonna makes the people come together indeed.
Madonna sings intimate after-show at Place de la République
Paris - 9 Dec. 2015So this just happened! On our way back from Madonna's show in Bercy, we received a message from another fan, claiming Madonna planned to do a surprise performance at Place de la République. The square has become a symbol for the city, where people have come together in mourning after the Charlie Hebdo attacks earlier this year, and again after the terrorist attacks in November.
Quite in disbelief, I checked Madonna's Instagram, where she had posted only minutes ago:
Im singing some songs in place de la republique. Meet me there now #Paris. #rightnow #aftershow❤️ #rebelhearttour.
Being only minutes away from République, we asked our taxi driver to bring us there. On the square, we saw no commotion, no stage, no security guards. Only a small gathering of 20 people in front of the statue, which still held many flower bouquets.
We recognized Monte, then David, and in between them was Madonna! Wrapped in a warm coat, singing Ghosttown softly, to remain incognito and to keep everything as serene and intimate as possible.
The small crowd slowly grew to 40 people, but remained calm and respectful. And especially grateful to be part of this unique experience, where we could softly sing together with Madonna, who was just standing in front of us, as if we were having a private conversation.
"OK let's do Imagine" she said, after saying a few words to honour the victims of the recent attacks. Monte strummed his guitar, Madonna started off, and David and all of us sang along.
She followed up with Like A Prayer which turned into a wonderful singalong. Temperatures outside were near freezing point, but our hearts filled up with warmth.
The two security guards, who had been standing by discretely, advised her to go, so we escorted her to her car. Nathan Rissman, director of the Sticky & Sweet Tour DVD, and the Malawi documentary 'I Am Because We Are' had filmed the entire performance and interviewed us afterwards. Monte stayed to talk with fans and to get pictures together.
Completely in awe and disbelief of what had just happened, we walked/danced/flew back home. It's incredible to see that Madonna can do this. It made her so human, so compassionate, so devoted.
"We are all one heart"
Paris - 9 Dec. 2015"Bonjour Paris! It feels so good to be back in the City of Light!"
It's always good to see Madonna on tour in Paris. It's always our best tour experience. The crowd is always a wonderful mixture of nationalities and cultures. It means we always get to meet many interesting people and other die hard fans. Which of course has a positive effect on the ambiance.
We knew this time around, it would be extra special, with the show being only 4 weeks after the tragic events that struck the city. During her Stockholm show, Madonna gave a heart-warming speech to react to the etrrosit attack, and the expectations were high for her performance in Paris itself.
She skipped Who's That Girl and instead gave a long speech about the many French people and artists that had inspired and influenced her. She then made reference to the attacks and honoured the victims, linking it to her usual speech.
"The heart of Paris was violently torn apart. But I want you to know that the heart of Paris beats with the heart of every city. We are all one heart!"
For the request song she brought her son David on stage. Together with Monte, he played the guitar and sang Redemption Song by Bob Marley, as a tribute to the Paris victims. The peace symbol for Paris lit up on the screens.
It was sweet to see mother and son singing together on stage, but it was another moment that stole the night. During the break in Music, the band started the first tones of La Marseillaise, the national anthem of France. This got the entire arena on their feet, every French fan devotedly singing along.
We had predicted the Unapologetic Bitch of the evening. Who else could it be than Jean-Paul Gaultier, who always attends Madonna's first show in Paris. Madonna and Jean-Paul have been good friends for almost 30 years and have worked together on numerous tours. Of course, he played along and gladly accepted (and ate) the banana. Madonna even dressed the banana with a small Gaultier outfit!
Madonna to critic: "What are you doing at my show motherfucker?"
Amsterdam - 6 Dec. 2015On her second night in The Netherlands, Madonna seemed more talkative. After Body Shop she said she "dated a few Dutch guys" but that she wouldn't name any names. She had her dancers show off their sixpacks again.
However, she did seem annoyed about some negative comments in the Dutch press about her coming late. She explained she needed time to prepare for a perfect show.
She also commented on a critic who wanted her to stand still and sing instead of dancing:
"If you wanna come to a show where someone just stands there and sings songs, what are you doing at my show? Motherfucker!"
She did cut the show short. The Dress You Up medley was out, and so was the flamenco dress. She did sing Who's That Girl.
The Unapologetic Bitch was Dutch guy Johan.
Secret and Don't Tell Me as double request
Amsterdam - 5 Dec. 2015Very tame crowd in Amsterdam tonight. We were the only ones singing and dancing in our section, while the boring people behind us kept asking us to sit down.
Madonna seemed to notice as she didn't talk much with the crowd. Only in the beginning did she say she appreciated the city because people are so eco-friendly, driving their bikes... to the local coffee shop! She said she came to the city for the first time about 25 years ago and had some "funny cake" back then.
"I can remember I came but I can't remember I went"
The Dress You Up medley was in, but Who's That Girl was out. To compensate she did not one but two request songs: first Secret, then Don't Tell Me.
One of the dancers dropped the maracas so she spanked him 28 times.
The Unapologetic Bitch was again a latino muscle queen: Bruno from Brazil.
Madonna surprises with Drowned World
London - 2 Dec. 2015Madonna surprised her London fans with a new request song tonight, one she hadn't performed since 2006: Drowned World.
The Unapologetic Bitch was fashion designer and Madonna's close friend Stella McCartney. Rather embarassed with her gift, Stella threw the banana in teh audience before disappearing off stage.
Like A Prayer as a thank-you for the many AIDS workers
London - 1 Dec. 2015It was a bit like coming home for Madonna at the London O2 last night.
Due to the strict curfew, she started as early as 8.52pm. She then performed the full show including the Dress You Up medley and Who's That Girl.
In her speech, she expressed her love for London. She also talked about World AIDS Day, remembering the many who lost their battle against this disease and thanking the many people who work on a cure. As a thank-you, she sang Like A Prayer.
The Unapologetic Bitch was the wonderfully funny Graham Norton.
"Whatever you do... don't go to Belgium"
Antwerp - 28 Nov. 2015Third time is a charm. After her Sticky & Sweet and MDNA shows got lukewarm reactions in Belgium, Madonna proved to be a top live act last night in the Antwerp Sportpaleis.
The sold out venue was on fire. Madonna played out sides 1 and 2 perfectly. In the beginning she had to ask people to get up and dance: "This is an audience participation show, you're not watching a movie!" (especialy side 1 needed some warming up; side 2 was on their feet very quickly).
"We live in dark times," Madonna speeched, "And a lot of people said, whatever you do... don't go to Belgium! It's too dangerous!" The crowd of course roared at those words. "But did I listen to them? No! Coz I don't always listen to what other people say. Don't tell me what to do..." This was of course the perfect bridge to do Don't Tell Me as the request song.
For the first time in Europe she managed to start the show before 10pm. The show lasted from 9.45pm until just past midnight. The full show was performed, including the Dress You Up medley and Who's That Girl.
We're not sure if dancer Justin really dropped Madonna's maracas, but it being his birthday was reason enough for Madonna to give him a good spanky. While the audience counted out loud, she gave him 26 (!) spankies on his sexy butt.
Unfortunately, there were some technical difficulties. Especially the S.E.X. interlude suffered a lot: the stage which carries the 4 beds didn't tilt, the spotlights didn't go up and blocked the view, and the round stage on the cross didn't go down completely (at the end of Like A Virgin, dancers had to help Madonna get off that stage).
She 'married' a guy named David, and she asked him to come to front row to talk. She asked if he had a job (yes), if he can drive a car (yes) and if he has a lot of cash (he nodded no). Then she disappointedly walked away "We can still be friends David".
Before Unapologetic Bitch, one of the two dancers gave her a diamond bracelet, which prompted her to sing a few lines from 'Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend'. How very fitting in Antwerp, the city of diamonds!
Another highlight was La Vie en Rose. For the first time Madonna got herself an audience with many French-speaking fans, who could sing along with the Edith Piaff classic.
The Unapologetic Bitch was Alan, a Nicaraguan fan in a skimpy see-through Erotica outfit.
"I need a man with a big, enormous, gigantic... heart!"
Barcelona - 25 Nov. 2015On our second night in Barcelona, we had more luck and managed to secure a good spot close to the catwalk. And the crowd was definitely in better shape than the first night. Madonna must've noticed coz in the beginning of the show she asked for "more fuego tonight, ok?".
The Holy Water performance didn't go as planned. While standing on top of the nun, Madonna slipped and ended up sitting on the female dancer.
While second nights in Europe often got shortened, we were lucky to get the full show, including the flamenco medley. And the few Spanish words in Who's That Girl might've done the trick to get it included on both nights as well.
The request song was the wonderful Like A Prayer, which had the Palau San Jordi light up with smartphone lights.
But there was another surprise this night. Fans queueing in the afternoon could overhear Madonna rehearsing a song she hadn't yet performed on this tour, but it made sense for this city: Spanish Lesson. It didn't end up in the request section, but M sang a few lines of it in the break during Music.
Spanish Lessons (Palau Sant Jordi, Barcelona, 25 November 2015)
Posted by Madonna Minute on Thursday, 26 November 2015
When looking for her "amor" to marry her during Material Girl, she asked for a man with a "big, enormous, gigantic... heart!". Later, before Unapologetic Bitch, she asked the male dancers if they had something big to offer her. Like a big heart, or a big diamond.
The Unapologetic Bitch was Oscar, a fan who didn't understand much of what Madonna said to him. When she asked him if her had a "big heart", he replied "not yet" as he thought she asked for his "big hard...on"! Madonna and the crowd loved the confusion and it perfectly matched the ambiguity with the banana, which he peeled and ate on stage.
Among the celebrities at the show were Shakira and her husband Pique, who joined Madonna backstage before the show.
Barcelona, estás lista?
Barcelona - 24 Nov. 2015After almost 3 months of writing about it, Yours Truly got to see the show for himself. It was difficult to do the updates without watching too many Youtube videos but I managed to keep many elements of the show as a surprise. And boy, was it worth the wait.
As usual, the queueing comes with some stress and issues. Because of some misunderstanding my friends and I didn't end up as close to the catwalk as we had planned or hoped. But that disappointment vanished quickly once the show had started.
After Lunice had disappeared, the crowd had to wait until 22.13 before the lights went out.
Throughout the show Madonna gave many shout-outs to Barcelona. In Dress You Up (yes, we got the medley tonight), the changed lyrics "All your suits are custom made in Barcelona." finally became applicable.
She continued that she wanted to sing a bit in Spanish, which she did in Who's That Girl.
"I still don't know who that girl is. I'm still figuring it out. But that's what life is about, figuring things out. That's what Rebel Hearts do"
She fooled around a lot with the crowd: "No I won't take my skirt off. That would be predictable, and that's a sin. Don't tell me to sin!" That was of course a reference to tonight's request song: Don't Tell Me. While she explained "Don't Tell Me what to do!" someone should tell her to check the lyrics again because she fucked most of them up. ;-)
She often asked the audience if they were ready (estás lista?) or if they were hot (ay caliente!). After Material Girl she asked "Donde esta mi esposo?". When a guy caught the bouquet: "Oh I married you and you have a boyfriend. Then I can have a boyfriend too." A straight guy offered her a ring but she asked "Is it a real diamand? And why do you give me your girlfriend's ring?? What's wrong with Spanish men?!"
For Living For Love, she wore the black cape. The many Spanish-inspired performances in the Latin Segment were of course very popular with the crowd, though at times the crowd reacted a bit tame.
The Unapologetic Bitch of tonight was model Jon Kortajarena, who we know from the Girl Gone Wild and Bitch I'm Madonna music videos. Surprisingly, he didn't get a banana but an apple. As Madonna explained "Let's play Adam and Eve and recreate the original sin!" then they both took a bite together.
Finally, for Holiday Madonna wisely opted for the flag of FC Barcelona, thereby avoiding the choice between a Spanish or Catalan flag, which would have looked too much as a political statement.
M performs Don't Tell Me in new Gucci outfit
Turin - 19/21/22 Nov. 2015Big surprise for the Italian fans! During her first of 3 shows in Turin, Madonna performed Don't Tell Me in the request section. For the song, she dressed in a new Gucci outfit.
It's the first time Madonna has performed the song on tour since her 2004 Re-Invention Tour, and as you can see below, she doesn't remember all of the lyrics. ;-)
She also performed Who's That Girl, which was only the second time in Europe, after the opening night in Cologne.
The Unapologetic Bitch was a Brazilian fan dressed as a nun who wanted to be called Madonniño.
On the second night, it was Andrei from Slovenia.
That night, Madonna played Secret:
On the final night, Madonna invited her costume designer Fausto Puglisi, who designed the Living For Love cape, on stage as the Unapologetic Bitch. Here's what he said on Instagram afterwards:
Madonna in Denmark: 'I think about Paris but also Lebanon and other tragedies'
Henning - 16 Nov. 2015Last night, Madonna said a few more words about the Paris attacks during her show in Henning. She kept it shorter than in Stockholm, but stressed that she not only cared about what happened in Paris but also the tragic events in other countries such as Syria, Lebanon, etc.
After the speech she continued with Ghosttown. There was no Dress You Up medley, and no flamenco dress.
Madonna gives emotional speech after Paris attacks
Stockholm - 14 Nov. 2015Performing in Stockholm less than 24h after the vicious attacks in Paris, Madonna gave an emotional speech. As she asked the crowd to start with yourself and treat others with dignity and respect, her eyes welled up with tears.
She admitted that she considered cancelling the show in Stockholm, but then she didn't want to give the terrorists the power to take away that freedom. The freedom we have to enjoy the things we love.
"Only love will change the world" she chanted, as the crowd cheered loudly. But probably the most powerful moment was when Madonna got an entire stadium with 40,000 people into complete silence out of respect for the victims.
"Now let's all sing this prayer together", urged Madonna as she lead into a beautiful Like A Prayer. A crowd full of little lights, as sparks of hope, joined in a fantastic singalong.
Guy Oseary posted professionally filmed footage of the speech.
Rita Ora ends shorter 2nd show in Berlin
Berlin - 11 Nov. 2015It seems Europe is getting several shorter shows for some strange reason. Much like the 2nd night in Prague, yesterday's 2nd show in Berlin was cut short. No Dress You Up, no Who's That Girl, no Ghosttown. Instead Like A Prayer and Rebel Heart.
There was another celebrity Unapologetic Bitch: this time former Material Girl model Rita Ora, who grabbed Madonna's mic to ask the crowd "Make some noice for the Queen of the World!!".
Edris Elba is opening act & Unapologetic Bitch in Berlin
Berlin - 10 Nov. 2015The first night in Berlin, Madonna performed the full show, including the Dress You Up medley and Secret.
There was a technical problem with Madonna's microphone during La Isla Bonita, which she handled like the professional she is. Later during Candy Shop, she dropped her mic too.
Technical problem, during La Isla Bonita, with Madonna's micro...A technical problem, during #LaIslaBonita, with #Madonna's microphone turned out being a funny moment with a technician, a real pro like M! Watch and share. Madonna #rebelhearttour #Berlinvideo by MeKKano12
Posted by DrownedMadonna.com on Wednesday, 11 November 2015
Actor and DJ Edris Elba opened the show with a DJ set and was later brought on stage as the Unapologetic Bitch of the evening.
Ghosttown makes European debut in Prague
Prague - 7/8 Nov. 2015For the weekend, the Rebel Heart Tour moved to its only stop in Eastern Europe: Prague.
It seems the reason that Dress You Up was dropped in Cologne was because of the curfew. In Prague, Madonna apologized for starting her show so late, but explained that she wants the show to be perfect and that takesa lot of preparation time.
She asked the crowd whether they wanted her to hurry up and cut out some songs so everybody could go home on time, or if she should do the full show. The enthusiastic crowd cheered for option 2, to which (after consulting with Guy O) she obliged: she performed the Dress You Up medley in its matching flamenco outfit, followed by Secret and Ghosttown.
The Unapologetic Bitch was American actress Jessica Chastain.
However, on the second show, there was the same problem with the time limit. So again, she cut out Dress You Up and Who's That Girl, and performed Like A Prayer and Rebel Heart without costume change.
Gypsy segment cut short on 2nd Cologne show
Cologne - 5 Nov. 2015Whether Madonna wasn't feeling well or was experiencing some technical difficulties, was unclear. Either way, on her second night in Cologne she cut out the Dress You Up medley, and didn't perform Who's That Girl nor Ghosttown either.
She didn't do the costume change and instead performed Secret, a few acapella bars of Fever and Rebel Heart in her Matador outfit.
Let's hope she gets some good rest and everything will be back on track for her shows in Prague.
Secret & Fever - Rebel Heart Cologne - Nov. 5Secret and Fever during last night's show in Cologne. Video by our dear friend Josh Brandão
Posted by Mad-Eyes on Friday, 6 November 2015
Original setlist for European opening night
Cologne - 4 Nov. 2015Last night Madonna kicked off her European tour in a sold out Lanxess Arena in Cologne, Germany.
Opening act was DJ Mary Mac. Madonna herself only came on stage at 10.20 pm.
She reverted back to the original setlist, with Who's That Girl, followed by Rebel Heart. No changes were made to the show compared to America.
Madonna made Unapologetic Bitch Alexander strip off his 'Bitch are you in my gang' shirt to the music. He got to choose between a banana and a sausage as prize.
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