How Madonna proved she was up there with Springsteen and Prince at her '80s ASU debut

By the time Madonna arrived at the Paramount Theatre in Seattle for opening night of the Virgin Tour in 1985, she had already spent six weeks at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 with her first chart-topping single, “Like a Virgin.” She spent another three weeks atop Billboard’s album chart with her second full-length effort, also titled “Like a Virgin.”

The set Madonna did that night was packed with huge hits, from her mainstream breakthrough, “Holiday,” through “Borderline” and “Lucky Star” to “Like a Virgin,” “Material Girl” and a single making early strides toward giving her a second No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100, “Crazy For You.”

At 26, she had already started shaping the pop culture of a decade she would define as much as any global superstar this side of Prince or Michael Jackson.

See if you agree: The 35 best Madonna songs of all time, ranked

One thing Madonna hadn’t done is tour, although she had performed in clubs and delivered the first of many iconic performances at the MTV Video Music Awards in 1984, appearing on top of a three-layer cake in a wedding dress for “Like a Virgin.”

But that was all about to change with the opening of the Virgin Tour at the Paramount Theatre on April 10, 1985.

The Virgin Tour brought Madonna to Phoenix in April 1985

Twenty days later, the tour hit Tempe, Arizona, where Madonna played what was known at the time as the ASU Activity Center — currently Desert Financial Arena — for a sold-out crowd of 10,013.

The Arizona Republic’s Andrew Means wrote of the crowd at that performance, “Judging by the audience Tuesday, her appeal is not on just one track. Young women may have comprised a slight majority, but males were well-represented and there were even a few families and older couples in the audience.”

Means addressed what he referred to as “the media hostility” to which Madonna had become accustomed before brushing off the threat so many voices in the media appeared to feel Madonna’s brand of entertainment posed to the impressionable young minds of the fans who flocked to see her.

“On the other hand, there is something of the same freakish celebrity about her that makes Michael Jackson, Cyndi Lauper or Liberace essentially harmless playthings of the public,” Means wrote, pointing out that “Like a Virgin” is, in fact, “a rather innocent sentiment about feeling renewed by a fresh love” while the album as a whole “dwells on fairly traditional preoccupations —– boys who put on the style and how to attract them.”

He even invoked the name of another sexually provocative performer of the time to illustrate his point.

“No, female rock has not yet discovered its Dave Lee Roth,” he wrote. “But in Madonna, it comes close enough to touch a few nerves.”

Madonna's Celebration Tour 2024: Ultimate guide to her Footprint Center concert in Phoenix

'Madonna is calling her own shots'

The show that night in Tempe did have “a sensual side to it,” he wrote, but “Madonna was by no means overtly suggestive or crude,” although “her famous navel frequently protruded through her costumes, which ranged from close-fitting green and purple pants to a wedding outfit for her encore, ‘Like a Virgin.’”

He praised the choreography as both “striking and skilled,” going on to note, “she coordinated closely with two male dancers, and their routines did much to propel the songs and give them extra drama.”

Although the sound wasn’t all one might have hoped, Means wrote, “her singing was up to par and her band was polished.”

Means’ review also touched on the empowering nature of what the rise of Madonna meant for the pop culture of the ‘80s.

“Female emancipation in rock has been going on, gradually, since the ‘60s,” he wrote. “But in today’s female rock bands and singers, it seems to have finally shed its self-consciousness. No longer do they seem to be aiming for someone else’s idea of the noble female. Madonna is calling her own shots.”

'Madonna Louise Ciccone knows how to throw a party'

The Arizona Daily Star in Tucson also was there to document Madonna's first appearance on an Arizona stage.

The Star’s M. Scot Skinner made reference to “her belly button staring us down, as usual” in a performance he sized up as “likeable and harmless,” the singer “festively dressed in a paint-splattered jacket, purple lace knickers and pounds of dangling jewelry.”

He also addressed the naysayers.

“As you probably know, Madonna’s regarded with palpable distaste by those who feel the admitted boy toy’s sexuality might give youngsters the wrong idea about the role of women,” Skinner wrote.

“Feminists, I swear, have suggested that Madonna has singlehandedly set back the cause of women 15 years. She is called, among other things, America’s favorite social disease. People hate her.”

Skinner wasn’t buying into the idea of Madonna as a threat to community standards, though.

“I don’t believe the thousands of Madonna-wanna-be’s take the pop queen’s image any more seriously than heavy-metal fans take the devil-worship stuff,” he wrote.

“Have we all forgotten that sex is irrefutably linked to rock ‘n’ roll? It is one and the same thing and always has been. So the woman is comfortable with the notion of sex and is aware of her undeniable allure; does this mean the end of life as we know?”

To Skinner, the double standard was obvious.

“Men don’t seem to have this problem,” he wrote. “Prince, for example, is far more blatant about sexual matters but is admired for his freedom, his boldness. Madonna does the same thing and, because she is a woman, is labeled a dangerous slut.”

Then Skinner made it clear that he felt Madonna had nothing on Prince.

“Of course, Prince is a musical genius, while Madonna may not last another year,” he wrote. “Her bleating voice is nothing to rave about — although she proves she can sing in songs like ‘Crazy For You.’ Nothing about Tuesday night’s enormously energetic concert was truly spectacular or inspiring, but all of it was appealing. Madonna Louise Ciccone knows how to throw a party, and the sly spirit of fun was greatly refreshing.”

Madonna concert: The Queen of Pop brought 'the good, the bad, the sexy' to Phoenix

The Republic reviewer called Madonna 'a tease with a capital T'

Eight days after the concert, The Republic published a second review by Woody Wilson, who called her “a tease with a capital T” and began his review with “Watching Madonna on stage at ASU’s Activity Center last week, one couldn’t help but wonder what revelation she has in store for us when she finally appears on Dr. Ruth Westheimer’s ‘Good Sex’ show.”

Apparently, Cyndi Lauper had just appeared on Dr. Ruth and critics of the ‘80s often mentioned Lauper and Madonna in the same breath even though they’re obviously very different types of artists.

What little sex there was in Madonna’s live show, Wilson wrote, was “just enough to irritate the many fathers who brought their little girls to the show.”

He interviewed one dad, Lew Robinson, who said, “I brought my daughter because she bribed me. But, as far as I’m concerned, I can live without Madonna.”

Wilson seemed to like the show much more than Robinson did.

“Another pleasant surprise was the overall quality of the show,” Wilson wrote. “Contrary to what many believe, Madonna can sing, but she’s a better dancer. The remarkable Motown choreography, which included a pair of male dancers, was precision work that must have required months of rehearsal.”

After acknowledging that another few months of rehearsal wouldn’t be a bad thing, Wilson wrote, “Madonna is a performer, as evidenced by her tireless, although sometimes stilted, stage antics. The highly danceable beat throughout the concert had people up in their seats and spilling out into the aisles."

There were moments that struck him as too close to Vegas for comfort.

"But, hey," he concluded, "that's showbiz."

Fan attending his 1st concert says 'Madonna mania was in full swing'

Andrew Boyer was 16 and listening to KZZP on the way home from Mountain View High School in Mesa when the DJ announced that they had just released more tickets to the sold-out show.

“I just had to go to this one,” he recalls.

“Madonna mania was in full swing with the release of the ‘Like A Virgin’ album five months before and ‘Desperately Seeking Susan’ coming out the previous month prior to the concert. The wannabes were there that night in full force. It was a sea of teased hair in bows, lace, gloves, bright neon colors and ‘Madonna bracelets,’ crosses and bangles.”

Boyer and his 14-year-old sister scored tickets at the Dillards department store at Fiesta Mall in Mesa, and their mom dropped them off at the show.

It was Boyer’s first concert and he was thrilled to be there.

“She opened up with ‘Dress You Up’ wearing a colorful big-shoulder jacket with tights,” he recalls. “The piercing sound of the crowd fueled Madonna’s performance. So many costumes in such a short set.

"The best part was towards the end of the show when Madonna came out in her wedding gown performing ‘Like a Virgin,’ rolling all over the stage. Midsong she pays tribute to Michael Jackson and sings a mash-up of Billie Jean before finishing off with her song. Doing mashups before mashups were a thing. Always a trendsetter.”

Madonna 2024 setlist: Every song she played at Phoenix concert on her Celebration tour

Madonna on Beastie Boys: 'I couldn’t understand why everyone hated them'

In Randy J. Taraborrelli’s “Madonna: An Intimate Biography,” Madonna is quoted as saying she wanted the Virgin Tour concerts to be "loud and brazen, and a reflection of my street-style and DGAF attitude.”

She collaborated on the fashion for the tour with her designer friend Maripol, who ran a small boutique in New York City’s Greenwich Village and brought in Patrick Leonard, fresh from the Jackson 5 Victory Tour, as musical director.

The Beastie Boys were an unlikely choice for the opening slot, resulting in a lot of booing crowds and overwhelmingly negative press.

As Adam “Ad-Rock” Horowitz told Spin years later, “I don't know why she thought it would be a good idea (to open for her tour), though. It was a terrible idea. But it was great for her in a way because we were so awful that by the time she came onstage, the audience had to be happy."

That same article quoted Madonna saying, “They were very bad boys — they said ‘(expletive)’ all the time on stage. The audience always booed them and they always told everybody to (expletive) off. I just loved them for that. I couldn’t understand why everyone hated them — I thought they were so adorable.”

Despite the mixed reviews, the Virgin Tour was a huge success

Despite the mixed to negative reviews that followed nearly every stop, the Virgin Tour was a commercial success.

Concerts sold out quickly in most markets, with some shows moved to larger venues, drawing fans who did their best to replicate Madonna’s look, inspiring the media to coin the phrase Madonna wannabes.

The Macy’s department store in New York City created a special Madonna department, selling not only tour merch but clothing and accessories, from crucifix earrings and fingerless gloves to bangles and rosary beads, to help fans get their look together for the shows.

According to Billboard, the tour grossed $3.3 million.

In 1985.

It also led to the release of a concert film, “Madonna Live: The Virgin Tour,” on VHS, Beta and LaserDisc, which made its way to No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Music Videocassettes chart in early 1986, displacing “Prince & the Revolution: Live.”

It was the biggest-selling music videocassette of 1986, going on to be certified double-platinum.

In an interview with Rolling Stone in 2009, Madonna looked back on the Virgin Tour as a pivotal moment in her rise to global superstardom.

“That whole tour was crazy, because I went from playing CBGB and the Mudd Club to playing sporting arenas,” she said.

“I played a small theater in Seattle, and the girls had flap skirts on and the tights cut off below their knees and lace gloves and rosaries and bows in their hair and big hoop earrings. I was like, 'This is insane!' After Seattle, all of the shows were moved to arenas.”

The Virgin Tour makes Spin magazine's 10 Tours that Changed the World

In 2001, Spin magazine named the Virgin Tour to a list of 10 tours that changed the world with an entry written by a woman who was at the Phoenix concert.

Heidi Sherman begins her entry on the Virgin Tour with “In 1985, I was a skinny, underdeveloped sixth grader who’d been forcibly plucked from Brooklyn and replanted in the desert of Arizona."

For young outsiders like Sherman, she wrote, Madonna was more than a pop star. She was “the great equalizer,” allowing kids “from every preteen subset… to bond over mesh-lace gloves and black rubber bracelets.”

Reflecting on the concert, Sherman wrote, “The Virgin Tour was Madonna’s first, yet it put her in the same league with superstars like Prince and Springsteen. True, she’d already sold 16 million singles and albums, and she’d recently starred in ‘Desperately Seeking Susan.’

"Still, the Virgin Tour proved that Madonna was beyond real. And if her stage presence indicated that she was more showgirl than musician, at least she knew how to gussy up her act for the postfeminist MTV age. Boy toy? Not exactly. She was a bona fide pop star in the process of becoming a cultural icon.”

Madonna's Virgin Tour setlist: Every song she played in Tempe

Here's every song Madonna played when the Virgin Tour came to the ASU Activity Center in Tempe, Arizona, in 1985:

• "Dress You Up"

• "Holiday"

• "Into the Groove"

• "Everybody"

• "Angel"

• "Gambler"

• "Borderline"

• "Lucky Star"

• "Crazy for You"

• "Over and Over"

• "Burning Up"

• "Like a Virgin" (with snippets of "Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson)

• "Material Girl"

Madonna at Footprint Center in Phoenix

When: 8:30 p.m. Saturday, March 16.

Where: Footprint Center, 201 E. Jefferson St., Phoenix.

Admission: $300 and up.

Details: 602-379-7800, ticketmaster.com.

Reach the reporter at ed.masley@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-4495. Follow him on Twitter @EdMasley.

Support local journalism. Subscribe to azcentral.com today.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Madonna was an icon in the making when the Virgin Tour hit Phoenix