The Blond Ambition World Tour 1990

The Band:

• Jai Winding, Kevin Kendricks - Keyboards
• Carlos Rios, David Williams - Guitar
• Darryl Jones - Bass
• Jonathan Moffett - Drums
• Luis Conte - Percussion
• Donna De Lory, Niki Haris - Background Vocals
• Luis Camacho, Oliver Crumes, Slam, Jose Gutierez, Kevin Stea, Gabriel Trupin, CarltonWilborn - Dancers

Opening Act: Technotronic
Tour Opened: April 13 at Marine Stadium, Makuhari [Japan]
Tour Ended: August 5 in Nice, France
Costumes: Jean-Paul Gautier

Interesting Facts:

• Blond Ambition was the first mega tour of the nineties. It hit 27 cities over four months and sold out in every city, except Italy, where for weeks prior to the shows, the Pope had called for a boycott, resulting in the cancellation of one of the two shows planned.
• 18 trucks were used to get the 80x70-foot stage around. Over a hundred crew members spent two full days assembling the monstrous stage for every show.
• Choreographer Vincent Patterson recalls that Madonna wanted to "break every rule we can ... She wanted to make statements about sexuality, cross sexuality, the church ... But the biggest thing we tried to do is change the shape of concerts. Instead of just presenting songs, we wanted to combine fashion, Broadway, rock and the performance arts." And in the words of author, and good friend Matthew Rettenmund, "They succeeded".
• Pioneer Electronics sponsored the tour (Pepsi withdrew sponsorship after the "Like A Prayer" incident). It sponsored in exchange for rights to an exclusive laserdisc of the show, plus additional footage, Madonna promised not to release a competing video version for at least one year. However, since a video version in 1991 would compete with the May 1991 film, Truth or Dare, all plans were cancelled.
• Maclean's said the show "unfolds like a kaleidoscope of sexual decadence. The references range from Berlin cabarets to New York leather bars."
• Rollingstone called it "a nifty summation of the spectacle that is Madonna."
• Because of costly problems to Madonna's voice, four shows were cancelled (Chicago; Worcester, Massachusetts; Philadelphia, and a New York show in the Brendan Byrne Arena).
• Proceeds from the final New York show were donated to AMFAR totalling $300,000.
• In Toronto, the police received complaints that the show was lewd, and they threatened to charge Madonna if she did not agree to alter the masturbation scene during Like A Virgin. She refused to make the changes, yet no charges were made.
• HBO filmed and telecasted the final Blond Ambition show from Nice, France. It became the then highest rating concert event in HBO history.

Song Lineup:

(Everybody intro to:) Express Yourself, Open Your Heart, Causing A Commotion, Where's The Party, Like A Virgin, Like A Prayer, Live To Tell, Oh Father, Papa Don't Preach, Sooner or Later, Hanky Panky, Now I'm Following You, Material Girl, Cherish, Into the Groove, Vogue, Holiday, A Family Affair (intro to:) Keep it Together.

Tour Schedule:

• 13/4/90 - Chiba Marine Stadium, Tokyo, Japan
• 14/4/90 - Chiba Marine Stadium, Tokyo, Japan
• 15/4/90 - Chiba Marine Stadium, Tokyo, Japan
• 20/4/90 - Nishinomya Stadium, Osaka, Japan
• 21/4/90 - Nishinomya Stadium, Osaka, Japan
• 22/4/90 - Nishinomya Stadium, Osaka, Japan
• 25/4/90 - Yokohama Stadium, Yokohama, Japan
• 26/4/90 - Yokohama Stadium, Yokohama, Japan
• 27/4/90 - Yokohama Stadium, Yokohama, Japan
• 4/5/90 - The Summit, Houston, Texas
• 5/5/90 - The Summit, Houston, Texas
• 7/5/90 - Reunion Arena, Dallas, Texas
• 8/5/90 - Reunion Arena, Dallas, Texas
• 11/5/90 - LA Sports Arena, Los Angeles, California
• 12/5/90 - LA Sports Arena, Los Angeles, California
• 13/5/90 - LA Sports Arena, Los Angeles, California
• 15/5/90 - LA Sports Arena, Los Angeles, California
• 16/5/90 - LA Sports Arena, Los Angeles, California
• 18/5/90 - Oakland Coliseum, Oakland, California
• 19/5/90 - Oakland Coliseum, Oakland, California
• 20/5/90 - Oakland Coliseum, Oakland, California
• 23/5/90 - Rosemont Horizon, Chicago, Illinois
• 24/5/90 - Rosemont Horizon, Chicago, Illinois
• 25/5/90 - Rosemont Horizon, Chicago, Illinois (cancelled)
• 27/5/90 - SkyDome, Toronto, Ontario
• 28/5/90 - SkyDome, Toronto, Ontario
• 29/5/90 - SkyDome, Toronto, Ontario
• 31/5/90 - The Palace, Auburn Hills, Michigan
• 01/6/90 - The Palace, Auburn Hills, Michigan
• 4/6/90 - The Centrum, Worcester, Massachusetts
• 5/6/90 - The Centrum, Worcester, Massachusetts
• 6/6/90 - The Centrum, Worcester, Massachusetts (cancelled)
• 8/6/90 - Capital Center, Landover, Maryland
• 9/6/90 - Capital Center, Landover, Maryland
• 11/6/90 - Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, New York
• 12/6/90 - Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, New York
• 13/6/90 - Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, New York
• 15/6/90 - The Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA (cancelled)
• 16/6/90 - The Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA
• 17/6/90 - The Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA
• 20/6/90 - Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey
• 21/6/90 - Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey
• 22/6/90 - Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey (cancelled)
• 24/6/90 - Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey
• 25/6/90 - Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey
• 30/6/90 - Eriksberg Stadium, Goteborg, Sweden
• 3/7/90 - Palais Omnipsorts, Paris, France
• 4/7/90 - Palais Omnisports, Paris, France
• 6/7/90 - Palais Omnisports, Paris, France
• 10/7/90 - Stadio Flamino, Rome, Italy
• 11/7/90 - Stadio Flamino, Rome, Italy (cancelled)
• 13/7/90 - Stadio Delgll Alpi, Turin, Italy
• 15/7/90 - Reimer Reitstadion, Munich, Germany
• 17/7/90 - Westfallen Halle, Dortmund, Germany
• 20/7/90 - Wembley Stadium, London, United Kingdom
• 21/7/90 - Wembley Stadium, London, United Kingdom
• 22/7/90 - Wembley Stadium, London, United Kingdom
• 24/7/90 - Feyenoord Stadium, Rotterdam, Holland
• 27/7/90 - Vincente Calderon Stadium, Madrid, Spain
• 29/7/90 - Balaidos Stadium, Vigo, Spain
• 1/8/90 - Olympic Stadium, Barcelona, Spain
• 5/8/90 - Stade De L'Ouest, Nice, France
• 5/8/90 - Stade De L'Ouest, Nice, France