It’s almost impossible to believe that any Madonna tour since 1990’s Blond Ambition could be anything but a greatest hits, such is the body of her work, but the aptly-named Celebration – which kicked off in London this month – is actually her first. More than ‘just’ a greatest hits 78-date tour, this is a musical journey through her life, her art, even her family, with most of her children joining the icon on stage as an integral part of the polished production.
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As such, it’s also more than just The Immaculate Collection – people on a boozy night out, please remember that she’s had another 33 years of music since then. Whether you’ve paid attention to it or not doesn’t matter, you should be paying attention now. While it would be the envy of any artist to have a catalogue such as hers to choose from, you have to admire Madonna for not only curating an incredible set list, but also for having the balls to make notable omissions. After all, there aren’t many musicians who can sideline seven UK number one singles (out of 13, fact fans, from her 12 UK number one albums).
Yes, you’ll hear that more than 30 numbers are included – but they’re not all in their entirety or perhaps the versions you might expect. There’s a roar throughout The O2 Arena when the opening strings for Papa Don’t Preach begin, for example, only for it to play out as an introduction, a nod to something so great that alas simply isn’t great enough to sit alongside everything else in a show as incredible as Celebration.
If you’re a fully-fledged Madonna devotee – and if not, why not? – then you’ll pick up on so many nods, references and Easter eggs. That is, if you can catch them over the screams. It seems that the time Madonna spent researching her currently on-hold biopic has not been wasted – her life is quite literally flashing before your eyes here. There’s so much going on you almost wish there was time to fully assimilate the staging of each number or video screen littered with nostalgic throwbacks.
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The musical stings, the audio references, the visual hits, the direct recreation of various moments from previous record-breaking tours – Celebration is a relentless barrage of brilliance with thousands of people screaming for Madonna to hit them harder. But she’s not wallowing in past glory – she’s way too busy soaking up the adulation now while tearing up the stage, spread as it is across multiple catwalks representing areas of New York, a rising cube with imagery projected around it and a square ‘portal’ that lifts her into the ceiling and around the venue.