Remarks: The
crucifixion scene caused a lot of controversy, especially in Italy,
Germany, The Netherlands, Czech Republic and Russia, where religious
conservativists tried to ban the show. When the concert was broadcast
on NBC in November, Madonna was not shown during the performance
until she came down from the cross. In addition, the concert special
featured several other editing, including the omission of Drowned
World, Paradise &
Lucky Star.
The
concert in Moscow was originally planned at the Moscow University
on September 11th. Because this venue raised some security issues,
the show was moved to the Luzhniki Stadium on September 12th.
Months
before the tour, Madonna had promised that if she'd tour Japan,
she'd also tour Australia. As the tour got planned, Japan was included,
but Australia wasn't. For this, Madonna posted an official apology
on her website.
The
August 13th, 15th & 16th shows in London were recorded for the
tv special (directed by Jonas Akerlund), which was released on DVD
in January 2007. A live CD accompanied the release with 13 tracks.
In a true collaboration
between Madonna and Gaultier, the Equestrian costume mixes elements
of horseback riding gear with S&M bondage. Inspired by Romy
Schneider in Ludwig, Madonna appears in top hat, knee-high boots,
a see-through blouse underneath an asymmetric jacket, a pair of
jodhpurs and finished off with a riding crop. Although she sports
a long black pony tail at the back of her hat, she's clearly the
one riding the male-dancers-turned-horses. As the second song kicks
in, she takes off the jacket and hat, revealing her blond hair,
tied in a bun.
Gaultier continues
with a 'Biblical Chic' look, consisting of a transparent mousseline
blouse over red lycra body, burgundy velvet trousers and matching
boots. To complete her image of a martyr, she wears a crown of thorns
on her shoulder-long wavy hair. For the Sorry
performance, Madonna exchanges the blouse for a brown leather jacket.
As the segment comes to an end, she loses the jacket and shows off
her assets.
Influenced by the
looks of 70s icons Lou Reed, Bowie & T-Rex, Madonna sports a
glam punk outfit, consisting of tight black jeans and black leather
jacket, finished with feathers in the collar. For the rock tracks,
she plays the electric guitar, with a shoulder strap that reads
"I (heart) NY". For Let
It Will Be, the jacket comes off, and as she dances and spasms
on stage, her hair becomes wild and messy.
For the final part
of the show, Madonna pays tribute to several disco stars. In the
backdrop video for Music Inferno,
she doesn't only reflect back on her own disco hits, but also appears
as an acid queen with red Tina Turner dress. Madonna appears on
stage in a classy white suit, dancing like John Travolta in Saturday
Night Fever. On the tones of Erotica,
she strips off the suit, revealing an asymmetric lycra outfit, once
worn by Agnetha and Frida. ABBA gets another wink, when Nicki and
Donna cover Madonna with a cape that reads 'Dancing Queen'. As M
opens the cape, it shows twinkling disco balls on the inside. The
show finale is performed in the infamous purple leotard, topped
off with glittery jacket and sun glasses.
Opening Acts: Paul Oakenfold opened with a DJ set in the stadiums of Cardiff, Rome,
Düsseldorf, Hannover, Horsens & Amsterdam.
In
Paris, a different French DJ opened each of the four gigs in Bercy:
Bob Sinclar, David Guetta, Jean French, DJ Dimitri.
The
setlist was the same on every single show. Only some minor details
were changed: the dancers during Forbidden
Love got the Jewish and Muslim symbols after the first date
in London; Madonna started wearing a cowboy hat for Let
It Will Be and the Hung
Up leotard became glittery from late US shows; in Japan she
wore a "Japanese Do It Better" T-shirt and in Tokyo, she wore
a platinum blonde bob wig during the second half of the show.
In Moscow, Russia, Madonna performed the John Lennon classic 'Give
Peace A Chance' during her usual speech halfway through the show.
Designer
Jean-Paul Gaultier said he wasn't too fond of Madonna's idea to
use the white and violet ABBA leotard, because he rather wanted
to dress her in Las Vegas style. However, they did immediately agree
on the John Travolta suit. Gaultier suggested dressing the backup
singers and the band as Donna Summer, Cher and The Village People,
but Madonna disapproved.
Addie Yungmee Schilling George
Jason Young
Charmaine "Charm" Jordan
Daniel "Cloud" Campos
Leroy "Hypnosis " Barnes
Levi Meeuwemberg
Mihran Kirakosian
Reshma Gajjar
Sebastien Foucan
Sofia Boutella
Steve Nester
Tamara Levinson
Victor Lopez
Williams "Norman" Charlemoine
Angela Becker
Guy Oseary
Arthur Fogel
Liz Rosenberg
Jamie King
Chris Lamb
Manager
Manager
Tour Producer
Publicist
Creative Director
Tour Production Director
Jamie King
Richmond & Anthony Talauega
RJ Durell
Liz Imperio
Alison Faulk
Fred Tallaksen
April Corley
Ralph "Doctor Plik Plok" Montejo
Boppendre
Laurie Ann Gibson
Gabriel Castillo
Giovanni Bianco
Steven Klein
Annika Aschberg
Johann Renck
Jamie King
Christian Lamb
Dustin Robertson
Art Direction & Graphic Design
Photography tourbook and video projection
Photography
Director 'Hung Up', Video Stills
Director 'Sorry', Video Stills
Video Projection Director
Video Projection Director
Jean-Paul Gaultier
Arianne Phillips
Gina Brooke
Andy Lecompte
Costume designer
Costume designer/Tour Stylist
Make Up Artist
Hair Stylist
1 1/2 Tons weight of Madonna's disco ball rocket ship at start of show 2 weeks to use up wand of YSL #5 mascara 2 Million dollars worth of Swarovski crystals embellishes above disco ball 5000 Square Feet Size of Madonna's four stages (standard is 2600 square feet) 1000 Hours rehearsal over 12 weeks 27 Number of Performers including Madonna, Band, and 22 Dancers 253 Massages provided to dancers 0 foundation used on Madonna's skin 1 bottle of balancing cleansing oil (Shu Uemura Green Tea) every week 1 bottle of Yonka moisturizer used up every three weeks 106 Crew members in Madonna touring party 40 Foot turntable in center of main stage 16 Miles per hour when turntable revolves 1 "Discofied"Crucifix rises nightly from stage floor with surprise visitor attached 4 Feet away from the audience is distance between Madonna and fans on satellite stages 70 Tons of equipment on top of main stage 24 Semi Trucks used to move equipment from city to city 2 Private Planes to transport 18 Vans and Cars to transport 5 Buses to transport 280 Yards of Ace bandages used for dancers and Madonna 543 and counting heat wraps for dancers 200 Tons in weight of entire show (equivalent to a battle ship) 400,000 Watts of power used for run of show nightly 8 Broken bones of Madonna's displayed on video screens during "Like a Virgin" via x-rays and MRI's (she's all better now) 7 Costume changes for Madonna 30 Outfits were designed by Jean Paul Gaultier for Madonna and dancers 8 Pairs of shoes and boots used by Madonna each night (mostly Yves St. Laurent) 1 Piece of jewelry (only) worn by Madonna (diamond and amethyst necklace designed by Chopard) 600 Outfits in total for the entire show 25 Rack required to move wardrobe 1 Crown of thorns -50 thorns - from Cotters Church Supply in LA) 1 Bottle of vodka backstage to use for perspiration stains 24 Inch waist (Madonna) 4 People change Madonna's costumes during the show 1 Pair of Capezio professional fish net stockings used each night 10 Pounds is weight of Michael Schmidt designed belt Madonna wears during a segment in show 4000 Swarovski crystals imbedded in said belt 34 Clips used to set Madonna's hair 2 Smoothie brand hair elastics used during show (one blonde, one white) 4 Large hairpins used to secure chignon in opening sequence 3 Hairstyles revealed during the show (chignon, crown of thorns with baby Jesus curls and weeny/disco roll coiff) 2 Products used for hair (Kerestase oleo relax and Evian water mister to prevent electricity) 2 Changes of eyelashes (one mink, one mink with diamonds for disco section)