Madonna
Original Release
‘Madonna’ is the self-titled debut studio album by Madonna. The album was re-released in 1985 for the European market with a new colour sleeve and was renamed 'Madonna: The First Album'. Worldwide the album has sold more than ten million copies
1. Background
In 1982, the 24-year-old Madonna was living in New York, and trying to set up her music career. She was joined by her Detroit boyfriend Steve Bray who became the drummer of her band, the Breakfast Club, which played generally hard-rock music. Soon they abandoned playing songs in that genre and were signed by a music management company called Gotham Records, planning to move in a new musical direction. They decided to pursue the funk genre, but the record company was not happy with their musical talents and they were dropped from the label. At this point Madonna decided to pursue a solo career hence she and Bray left the band. To that aim, Madonna had written and developed three songs on her own: "Everybody", "Ain't No Big Deal" and "Burning Up", which she carried around in the form of rough demo tapes.
At that time Madonna was frequenting the Danceteria nightclub in New York and it was here that she convinced the DJ Mark Kamins to play "Everybody". The song was received positively by the crowd, and Kamins decided that he should get Madonna a record deal, on the understanding that he would get to produce the single. He took her to his boss Chris Blackwell, who owned Island Records, but Blackwell refused to sign Madonna. They then approached Sire Records. Michael Rosenblatt, who worked at the artists and repertoire department, offered Madonna $5,000 in advance, plus $10,000 in royalties, for each song she wrote.
Madonna was initially signed for two 12" singles by the President of Sire, Seymour Stein, who was impressed by her singing after listening to "Everybody" at a hospital in Lenox Hill where he was admitted. The song was commercially released in the United States in October 1982 and became a dance hit. This led to Sire signing Madonna for an LP and two more singles.
At that time Madonna was frequenting the Danceteria nightclub in New York and it was here that she convinced the DJ Mark Kamins to play "Everybody". The song was received positively by the crowd, and Kamins decided that he should get Madonna a record deal, on the understanding that he would get to produce the single. He took her to his boss Chris Blackwell, who owned Island Records, but Blackwell refused to sign Madonna. They then approached Sire Records. Michael Rosenblatt, who worked at the artists and repertoire department, offered Madonna $5,000 in advance, plus $10,000 in royalties, for each song she wrote.
Madonna was initially signed for two 12" singles by the President of Sire, Seymour Stein, who was impressed by her singing after listening to "Everybody" at a hospital in Lenox Hill where he was admitted. The song was commercially released in the United States in October 1982 and became a dance hit. This led to Sire signing Madonna for an LP and two more singles.
2. Recording
For the album Madonna opted to work with Reggie Lucas, a Warner Bros. producer although Bray decided to push her in the musical direction of pop, and recorded the song "Burning Up". With only "Lucky Star", a new version of "Ain't No Big Deal", "Think of Me" and "I Know It" Madonna did not have enough material to warrant a full album, thus Lucas brought another two songs to the project, "Physical Attraction" and "Borderline".
Madonna originally planned to call the album ‘Lucky Star’ (see Packaging and Artwork below) and believed that the track, along with ‘Borderline’, was the perfect foundation for her album. However, she was not altogether satisfied with the overall results and commented:
"The songs were pretty weak and I went to England during the recordings so I wasn't around... I wasn't in control. I didn't realise how crucial it was for me to break out of the disco mould before I'd already finished the album. I wish I could have got a little more variety there."
Even at this early stage of her career, Madonna was nobody’s muse and would not follow lightly the direction of others if it were not in accord with what she wished to achieve. Problems arose between her and Lucas during the recording of the songs, as she was unhappy with the way the final versions turned out. According to her, Lucas used too many instruments and did not consider her ideas for the songs. This led to a dispute between the two and, after finishing the album, Lucas left the project without tailoring the songs to Madonna's specifications; hence she called John "Jellybean" Benitez, a DJ at Funhouse disco, to remix the available tracks. He remarked:
"I thought she had a lot of style, and she crossed over a lot of boundaries because everyone in the rock clubs played her – the black clubs, the gays, the straight – and very few records have that appeal. However, she was unhappy with the whole damn thing, so I went in and sweetened up a lot of music for her, adding some guitars to 'Lucky Star', some voices, some magic. I just wanted to do the best job I could do for her. When we would playback 'Holiday' or 'Lucky Star', you could see that she was overwhelmed by how great it all sounded. You wanted to help her, you know? As much as she could be a bitch, when you were in groove with her, it was very cool, very creative."
In the meantime, due to a conflict of interest, Bray had sold "Ain't No Big Deal" to an act on another label, rendering it unavailable for Madonna's project. It was Benitez who discovered a new song, written by Curtis Hudson and Lisa Stevens of the pop group Pure Energy. The song, titled "Holiday", has gone on to become one of Madonna’s most enduring songs and yet, in one of pop history’s great twists, this track now so synonymous with Madonna (who even used it as the finale to her ‘Blonde Ambition’ tour) was originally offered to Phyllis Hyman and Mary Wilson, formerly of The Supremes who rejected it.
Madonna originally planned to call the album ‘Lucky Star’ (see Packaging and Artwork below) and believed that the track, along with ‘Borderline’, was the perfect foundation for her album. However, she was not altogether satisfied with the overall results and commented:
"The songs were pretty weak and I went to England during the recordings so I wasn't around... I wasn't in control. I didn't realise how crucial it was for me to break out of the disco mould before I'd already finished the album. I wish I could have got a little more variety there."
Even at this early stage of her career, Madonna was nobody’s muse and would not follow lightly the direction of others if it were not in accord with what she wished to achieve. Problems arose between her and Lucas during the recording of the songs, as she was unhappy with the way the final versions turned out. According to her, Lucas used too many instruments and did not consider her ideas for the songs. This led to a dispute between the two and, after finishing the album, Lucas left the project without tailoring the songs to Madonna's specifications; hence she called John "Jellybean" Benitez, a DJ at Funhouse disco, to remix the available tracks. He remarked:
"I thought she had a lot of style, and she crossed over a lot of boundaries because everyone in the rock clubs played her – the black clubs, the gays, the straight – and very few records have that appeal. However, she was unhappy with the whole damn thing, so I went in and sweetened up a lot of music for her, adding some guitars to 'Lucky Star', some voices, some magic. I just wanted to do the best job I could do for her. When we would playback 'Holiday' or 'Lucky Star', you could see that she was overwhelmed by how great it all sounded. You wanted to help her, you know? As much as she could be a bitch, when you were in groove with her, it was very cool, very creative."
In the meantime, due to a conflict of interest, Bray had sold "Ain't No Big Deal" to an act on another label, rendering it unavailable for Madonna's project. It was Benitez who discovered a new song, written by Curtis Hudson and Lisa Stevens of the pop group Pure Energy. The song, titled "Holiday", has gone on to become one of Madonna’s most enduring songs and yet, in one of pop history’s great twists, this track now so synonymous with Madonna (who even used it as the finale to her ‘Blonde Ambition’ tour) was originally offered to Phyllis Hyman and Mary Wilson, formerly of The Supremes who rejected it.
3. Packaging and Artwork
As already noted, the album was originally intended to be called ‘Lucky Star’. Madonna was duly photographed by Edo Bertoglio, the boyfriend of Maripol, Madonna’s current stylist. With the artwork designed by Martin Burgoyne, the project was complete. But then Madonna sat for Gary Heery, and it was his glacial, sharp black and white shots that met with Madonna’s approval over the colourised and tinted Bertoglio images as seen below:
Gary Heery, an Australian born photographer had moved to Los Angeles in 1978 where he had opened his own studio. In 1981, Heery moved to New York, opening a studio in Soho and continued to work for magazines and record companies. It was here that he took the now iconic shots of the unknown Madonna. Three shots from the session made it to the final cut appearing on front, rear and inner sleeve. A limited photo booklet was published in Australia which showcased the other shots taken during the session. This was (unofficially) reissued as a Spanish glossy while there are also large test press photographic sheets containing each shot in miniature.
The Bertoglio images also resurfaced when they appeared, albeit in b/w, form in the first Madonna biography by Michael McKenzie – ironically also titled ‘Lucky Star’. Martin Burgoyne, the original album designer, was also involved in the design of the autobiography.
The Bertoglio images also resurfaced when they appeared, albeit in b/w, form in the first Madonna biography by Michael McKenzie – ironically also titled ‘Lucky Star’. Martin Burgoyne, the original album designer, was also involved in the design of the autobiography.
4. Promotion
Madonna promoted the album throughout 1983–84 by performing a series of "track dates" or one-off gigs. These included visits to the UK where she performed live at the Camden Palace in London and also appeared on ‘Top of the Pops’.
5. Legacy
The release of the album heralded Madonna's arrival in the music scene, although it is fair to say that her vocal abilities were not fully formed artistically. Madonna was dismissed by many critics - her voice was described as "Minnie Mouse on helium", while other detractors suggested that she was "almost entirely helium, a gas-filled, lighter-than-air creation of MTV and other sinister media packagers."
It was not an entirely auspicious start and as Rolling Stone wrote: "Indeed, initial response to Madonna gave no indication of the mania to follow. But follow it did” Madonna herself remarked: "From the very beginning of my career, people have been writing shit about me and saying, 'She's a one-hit wonder, she'll disappear after a year'
Madonna dedicated the album to her father and in an interview with Time, Madonna reflected that her relationship with her father had not been good, before she released her debut album: "My father had never believed that what I was doing here [in New York] was worthwhile, nor did he believe that I was up to any good. It wasn't until my first album came out and my father started hearing my songs on the radio that he stopped asking the questions."
Twenty-five years later, in her acceptance speech of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, Madonna thanked the critics who snubbed her in the early years: "The ones that said I was talentless, that I was chubby, that I couldn't sing, that I was a one-hit wonder. They pushed me to be better, and I am grateful for their resistance."
It was not an entirely auspicious start and as Rolling Stone wrote: "Indeed, initial response to Madonna gave no indication of the mania to follow. But follow it did” Madonna herself remarked: "From the very beginning of my career, people have been writing shit about me and saying, 'She's a one-hit wonder, she'll disappear after a year'
Madonna dedicated the album to her father and in an interview with Time, Madonna reflected that her relationship with her father had not been good, before she released her debut album: "My father had never believed that what I was doing here [in New York] was worthwhile, nor did he believe that I was up to any good. It wasn't until my first album came out and my father started hearing my songs on the radio that he stopped asking the questions."
Twenty-five years later, in her acceptance speech of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, Madonna thanked the critics who snubbed her in the early years: "The ones that said I was talentless, that I was chubby, that I couldn't sing, that I was a one-hit wonder. They pushed me to be better, and I am grateful for their resistance."
6. Track Listing
|
No.
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. |
Title
Lucky Star Borderline Burning Up I Know It Holiday Think of Me Physical Attraction Everybody |
Writer(s)
Madonna Lucas Madonna Madonna Curtis Hudson / Lisa Stevens Madonna Lucas Madonna |
Producer(s)
Reggie Lucas / John "Jellybean" Benitez (remixer) Reggie Lucas Reggie Lucas / John "Jellybean" Benitez (remixer) Reggie Lucas John "Jellybean" Benitez Reggie Lucas Reggie Lucas / John "Jellybean" Benitez (remixer) Mark Kamins |
Length
5:37 5:18 3:45 3:47 6:08 4:54 6:39 4:57 |
7. UK Release and Chart Performance
In the United Kingdom, the album was released on February 11, 1984, and charted on the UK Albums Chart, reaching a peak of thirty-seven. It was present on the chart for twenty weeks.
The album was subsequently reissued as: Madonna – The First Album in July 1985. The album charted again and reached a higher peak of six. To date it has been present on the UK chart for 123 weeks.
Interestingly, a different, longer version of “Burning Up" (Alternate Album Version - 4:48), was used for the reissued vinyl edition of Madonna: The First Album. This same version was also found on the B-side for the single "Angel" (1985) issued in the same countries
Four singles were released (and re-released) from the album in the UK and further information on these can be accessed via the SINGLES tab or from the links below:
Everybody
Lucky Star
Holiday
Lucky Star (reissue)
Borderline
Holiday (reissue - second release)
Borderline (reissue)
Holiday (reissue - third release)
The album was subsequently reissued as: Madonna – The First Album in July 1985. The album charted again and reached a higher peak of six. To date it has been present on the UK chart for 123 weeks.
Interestingly, a different, longer version of “Burning Up" (Alternate Album Version - 4:48), was used for the reissued vinyl edition of Madonna: The First Album. This same version was also found on the B-side for the single "Angel" (1985) issued in the same countries
Four singles were released (and re-released) from the album in the UK and further information on these can be accessed via the SINGLES tab or from the links below:
Everybody
Lucky Star
Holiday
Lucky Star (reissue)
Borderline
Holiday (reissue - second release)
Borderline (reissue)
Holiday (reissue - third release)
8. UK Collectables and Variations
As a testament to Madonna’s initially slow climb to superstardom, estimated demand for the debut album was not considered sufficient to justify pressing copies in the UK. Instead, pressings from the main Warner’s plant in Germany were imported to the UK. Indeed the album itself was not even allocated a UK catalogue number! However, initial batches destined to be shipped to the UK were given an additional exclusive clear plastic rectangular sticker which makes it an interesting item for collectors.
The first copies came with the red banner at the bottom of the cover with no hit singles listed - as the singles themselves had not yet been released. Variations on this sticker then followed to promote the album which did include the singles once they had been released.
These rectangular stickers in both variants are quite scarce although do appear occasionally on Ebay.
Clearly this type of long, plastic sticker was expensive to produce and with sales continuing to notch up it was replaced with a new design, in the form of a circular paper sticker. However, the last batch of LPs to feature the rectangular sticker also appeared with the new paper sticker. This type of circular paper sticker has subsequently been used to promote all future LPs.
While the UK did not bother to manufacture its own copies, the same cannot be said of Ireland which did!
The album was also available as a cassette and for the collector this has appeared in three variations. Initial copies were manufactured before the widespread use of barcodes and this is evident by it's absence on the first pressed inlay sleeve. There are also two versions of the cassette label, the original appearing without a ‘gema’ credit. There is also a later reissue of the cassette in the newer clear plastic design.
For the collector, the rarest of the album variations is probably the CD version which, being new technology in its infancy at that time, was only pressed in very limited quantities. It was manufactured in Germany with a very distinctive purple and yellow design.
Finally, a note on bootlegs. This particular album has attracted more than its fair share perhaps due to its limited official releases. Bootlegs can cause confusion among those who might mistake them for official offerings and therefore it needs to be emphasised that the items shown here are not official.
Having said that, bootlegs can also be interesting and even collectable in their own right and can provide some variety to the collector who has already acquired all the official pressings. However, whereas this website is striving to show all the official releases, it is not attempting to include all the bootlegs of which there are many and, unlike official releases, tend to be reissued in new forms.
For the collector interested in such items there are several coloured vinyl variations appearing in orange, yellow and clear as well as a quirky version pressed on ‘splattered vinyl’. While at first glance these may look official close inspection of the labels will reveal the poor quality of the copies.
Picture discs fare better in terms of quality and there are at least two different versions; the first featuring the same artwork as the official release followed by a limited run featuring a colour image from ‘Vision Quest’.
Ironically, these bootlegs are actually the most valuable collectables for this release, particularly the ‘splatter disc’ and coloured picture disc which can sell for over £100 when listed. Unfortunately, with bootlegs, there is never a guarantee that they will not be repressed and so their value cannot be guaranteed.
The first copies came with the red banner at the bottom of the cover with no hit singles listed - as the singles themselves had not yet been released. Variations on this sticker then followed to promote the album which did include the singles once they had been released.
These rectangular stickers in both variants are quite scarce although do appear occasionally on Ebay.
Clearly this type of long, plastic sticker was expensive to produce and with sales continuing to notch up it was replaced with a new design, in the form of a circular paper sticker. However, the last batch of LPs to feature the rectangular sticker also appeared with the new paper sticker. This type of circular paper sticker has subsequently been used to promote all future LPs.
While the UK did not bother to manufacture its own copies, the same cannot be said of Ireland which did!
The album was also available as a cassette and for the collector this has appeared in three variations. Initial copies were manufactured before the widespread use of barcodes and this is evident by it's absence on the first pressed inlay sleeve. There are also two versions of the cassette label, the original appearing without a ‘gema’ credit. There is also a later reissue of the cassette in the newer clear plastic design.
For the collector, the rarest of the album variations is probably the CD version which, being new technology in its infancy at that time, was only pressed in very limited quantities. It was manufactured in Germany with a very distinctive purple and yellow design.
Finally, a note on bootlegs. This particular album has attracted more than its fair share perhaps due to its limited official releases. Bootlegs can cause confusion among those who might mistake them for official offerings and therefore it needs to be emphasised that the items shown here are not official.
Having said that, bootlegs can also be interesting and even collectable in their own right and can provide some variety to the collector who has already acquired all the official pressings. However, whereas this website is striving to show all the official releases, it is not attempting to include all the bootlegs of which there are many and, unlike official releases, tend to be reissued in new forms.
For the collector interested in such items there are several coloured vinyl variations appearing in orange, yellow and clear as well as a quirky version pressed on ‘splattered vinyl’. While at first glance these may look official close inspection of the labels will reveal the poor quality of the copies.
Picture discs fare better in terms of quality and there are at least two different versions; the first featuring the same artwork as the official release followed by a limited run featuring a colour image from ‘Vision Quest’.
Ironically, these bootlegs are actually the most valuable collectables for this release, particularly the ‘splatter disc’ and coloured picture disc which can sell for over £100 when listed. Unfortunately, with bootlegs, there is never a guarantee that they will not be repressed and so their value cannot be guaranteed.
LP - Standard Release (German Pressing)
LP - FIRST PRESSING for UK distribution - red banner with no hit singles listed
LP - SECOND PRESSING for UK - amended red banner sticker with hit singles listed
LP - THIRD PRESSING for UK - both red banner and white sticker with hit singles
LP - FORTH PRESSING for UK - standard release with white circular sticker only
LP - REPRESSING with alternative black text in white circular sticker only
LP - Irish Pressing
Cassette: First pressing in sleeve with no barcode and no 'gema' box on cassette
Cassette: Repressing in sleeve with barcode and 'gema' box on cassette
Compact Disc
Bootleg - Clear vinyl in copied picture sleeve
Bootleg - 'Splatter' disc
Bootleg - Picture disc (black and white)
Bootleg - Picture disc (colour)
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© madonna-decade 2013
© madonna-decade 2013
