Material Girl
Released: 02.03.85 Highest Chart Position: 3 Weeks on Chart: 10 Total Sales: 405,000
In 1986, Madonna told Company magazine that although she did not write or create 'Material Girl' (the song was written by Peter Brown and Robert Rans, produced by Nile Rodgers), the lyrical meaning and concept did apply to her situation at that point of time. She elaborated, "I'm very career-oriented. You are attracted to people who are ambitious that way, too, like in the song 'Material Girl'. You are attracted to men who have material things because that's what pays the rents and buys you furs. That's the security. That lasts longer than emotions."
In 2009, Rolling Stone interviewer Austin Scaggs asked Madonna what her first impressions were after listening to the demos of "Like a Virgin" and "Material Girl". Madonna replied: I liked them both because they were ironic and provocative at the same time but also unlike me. I am not a materialistic person, and I certainly wasn't a virgin, and, by the way, how can you be 'like a virgin'? I liked the play on words, I thought they were clever. They're so geeky, they're cool. I never realised they would become my signature songs, especially the second one.
'Material Girl', as denoted by its lyrical content, needed to be accompanied by a quality video and indeed it was. Completing the current triptych of videos directed by Mary Lambert, the lavish video was a mimicry of Marilyn Monroe's performance of the song "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" from the 1953 film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. The mimicked scenes are interspersed with scenes of a Hollywood director trying to win the heart of an actress, played by Madonna herself. Discovering that, contrary to her song, the young woman was not impressed by money and expensive gifts, he pretended to be penniless and succeeded in impressing with flowers rather than diamonds. The video was the first to showcase Madonna acting as it combined the dance routine of the song with spoken words. Despite the ‘twist’ at the end of the video where Madonna eschews the trappings of wealth (similar in theme to the 'Borderline' video), Madonna would forever more be the iconic “material girl”.
Perhaps not surprisingly, Madonna has stated that, due to it's enduring legacy, 'Material Girl' is the song she most regrets recording adding that if she had known that the label would be attached to her for decades, she would probably never have done so. Reflecting on the song, Madonna stated: I can’t completely disdain the song and the video, because they certainly were important to my career. But talk about the media hanging on a phrase and misinterpreting the damn thing as well. I didn’t write that song, you know, and the video was about how the girl rejected diamonds and money. But God forbid irony should be understood. So when I’m ninety, I’ll still be the Material Girl!
In 2009, Rolling Stone interviewer Austin Scaggs asked Madonna what her first impressions were after listening to the demos of "Like a Virgin" and "Material Girl". Madonna replied: I liked them both because they were ironic and provocative at the same time but also unlike me. I am not a materialistic person, and I certainly wasn't a virgin, and, by the way, how can you be 'like a virgin'? I liked the play on words, I thought they were clever. They're so geeky, they're cool. I never realised they would become my signature songs, especially the second one.
'Material Girl', as denoted by its lyrical content, needed to be accompanied by a quality video and indeed it was. Completing the current triptych of videos directed by Mary Lambert, the lavish video was a mimicry of Marilyn Monroe's performance of the song "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" from the 1953 film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. The mimicked scenes are interspersed with scenes of a Hollywood director trying to win the heart of an actress, played by Madonna herself. Discovering that, contrary to her song, the young woman was not impressed by money and expensive gifts, he pretended to be penniless and succeeded in impressing with flowers rather than diamonds. The video was the first to showcase Madonna acting as it combined the dance routine of the song with spoken words. Despite the ‘twist’ at the end of the video where Madonna eschews the trappings of wealth (similar in theme to the 'Borderline' video), Madonna would forever more be the iconic “material girl”.
Perhaps not surprisingly, Madonna has stated that, due to it's enduring legacy, 'Material Girl' is the song she most regrets recording adding that if she had known that the label would be attached to her for decades, she would probably never have done so. Reflecting on the song, Madonna stated: I can’t completely disdain the song and the video, because they certainly were important to my career. But talk about the media hanging on a phrase and misinterpreting the damn thing as well. I didn’t write that song, you know, and the video was about how the girl rejected diamonds and money. But God forbid irony should be understood. So when I’m ninety, I’ll still be the Material Girl!
UK Variations and Collectables
'Material Girl' was issued in standard 7" and 12" formats, supplemented with a 12" single with a limited edition poster.
Once again there are a variety of formats. The standard 7" yellow paper label comes with two different credits - one with 'Copyright Control' and the other with 'Warner Bros'. They both come in flat and indented versions and are easily sourced. Top up plastic labels are available in common silver, slightly rarer blue and phenomenally rare red. This red plastic label would appear to be the rarest of all the colour top ups (image courtesy of MadonnaRecords.com). In terms of sleeves, 'Material Girl' is limited to three - gloss card, matt card, and thin paper.
Special mention must now be made regarding what is one of the rarest Madonna collectables, namely the 'withdrawn' 7" with 'mini poster'. Opinion on this item is divided. While 'Record Collector' considers it to be official, and as such valued it at a truly eye-watering £2000 in their last discography in 2006, most contributors to this site are of the view that it is a bootleg that was produced in minute quantities, possibly fan-made.
[Editor's view: having now acquired one of these rarities, I immediately found the sticker of suspiciously inferior quality. Under close scrutiny it appears to have been produced by a 'dot matrix' printer typical of the lower quality printers available at that time for non-commercial / non-professional use. In the interest of balance, there is a counter view that this item was not intended for commercial release and was pressed up quickly and cheaply as a marketing gimick. Unlike the sticker, the poster itself has good colour clarity and is not simply a reprint of the sleeve as it lacks the flaws that can be seen on the sleeve image. In addition, the texture of paper used (thin and silky) is similar to that used on the other posters issued at that time. Unfortunately the poster has split badly along the folds which has not happened with other official posters. Due to the dubiously printed sticker and the degradation of the poster, I am inclined to concur with the 'bootleg' opinion. Unless a retired employee of Warner Bros cares to give a diminutive statement this will prove to be one of those enduring Madonna mysteries. With regard to the price, on the rare occasion these appear they can sell relatively cheaply, due no doubt, to the dubious provenence. I paid £800 for mine from a Madonna dealer who had discounted it from the RC valuation, because of the condition of the poster]
The 12" single also provides a challenge to collectors as it comes with no fewer than four different label variations - see gallery below. There are also two different sleeves as it comes in both gloss and matt. The now obligatory limited edition is another 12” with poster, this time a large colour poster, in a stickered sleeve. However, as with most 'limited editions' it was pressed in sufficient quantities to be readily available on Ebay albeit at often excessive 'BIN' prices. The rarest standard 12" item to look out for is another scarce Irish 12".
The centrepiece collectable for 'Material Girl' has to be the withdrawn 7" with mini poster due to the fact that it has the official approval of Record Collector magazine, the authority on record collecting.
Once again there are a variety of formats. The standard 7" yellow paper label comes with two different credits - one with 'Copyright Control' and the other with 'Warner Bros'. They both come in flat and indented versions and are easily sourced. Top up plastic labels are available in common silver, slightly rarer blue and phenomenally rare red. This red plastic label would appear to be the rarest of all the colour top ups (image courtesy of MadonnaRecords.com). In terms of sleeves, 'Material Girl' is limited to three - gloss card, matt card, and thin paper.
Special mention must now be made regarding what is one of the rarest Madonna collectables, namely the 'withdrawn' 7" with 'mini poster'. Opinion on this item is divided. While 'Record Collector' considers it to be official, and as such valued it at a truly eye-watering £2000 in their last discography in 2006, most contributors to this site are of the view that it is a bootleg that was produced in minute quantities, possibly fan-made.
[Editor's view: having now acquired one of these rarities, I immediately found the sticker of suspiciously inferior quality. Under close scrutiny it appears to have been produced by a 'dot matrix' printer typical of the lower quality printers available at that time for non-commercial / non-professional use. In the interest of balance, there is a counter view that this item was not intended for commercial release and was pressed up quickly and cheaply as a marketing gimick. Unlike the sticker, the poster itself has good colour clarity and is not simply a reprint of the sleeve as it lacks the flaws that can be seen on the sleeve image. In addition, the texture of paper used (thin and silky) is similar to that used on the other posters issued at that time. Unfortunately the poster has split badly along the folds which has not happened with other official posters. Due to the dubiously printed sticker and the degradation of the poster, I am inclined to concur with the 'bootleg' opinion. Unless a retired employee of Warner Bros cares to give a diminutive statement this will prove to be one of those enduring Madonna mysteries. With regard to the price, on the rare occasion these appear they can sell relatively cheaply, due no doubt, to the dubious provenence. I paid £800 for mine from a Madonna dealer who had discounted it from the RC valuation, because of the condition of the poster]
The 12" single also provides a challenge to collectors as it comes with no fewer than four different label variations - see gallery below. There are also two different sleeves as it comes in both gloss and matt. The now obligatory limited edition is another 12” with poster, this time a large colour poster, in a stickered sleeve. However, as with most 'limited editions' it was pressed in sufficient quantities to be readily available on Ebay albeit at often excessive 'BIN' prices. The rarest standard 12" item to look out for is another scarce Irish 12".
The centrepiece collectable for 'Material Girl' has to be the withdrawn 7" with mini poster due to the fact that it has the official approval of Record Collector magazine, the authority on record collecting.
Promotional Items
'Material Girl' was issued with a 12" white label and, perhaps due to the sudden, global success of it's predecessor, also came with bigger and better promotional items - namely a very striking shaped counterstand. This was used to compliment the more regular counterstand display which is itself extremely rare. Both of these items rarely appear for sale and when they do are likely to attract prices of £100+.
Unfortunately 'Material Girl' also has the first retro bootlegged item as the shaped counterstand was reproduced onto a striped background, probably prodused in the early 1990s. This is sometimes offered for sale as a test pressing - it is not.
There is also the now standard promotional advert from 'Smash Hits', at least upgraded to a full page rather than the half page of it's predecessor.
ALL PROMOTIONAL ITEMS CAN BE VIEWED IN THE PROMO SECTION - FOR ITEMS RELATING TO THIS RELEASE CLICK HERE
Unfortunately 'Material Girl' also has the first retro bootlegged item as the shaped counterstand was reproduced onto a striped background, probably prodused in the early 1990s. This is sometimes offered for sale as a test pressing - it is not.
There is also the now standard promotional advert from 'Smash Hits', at least upgraded to a full page rather than the half page of it's predecessor.
ALL PROMOTIONAL ITEMS CAN BE VIEWED IN THE PROMO SECTION - FOR ITEMS RELATING TO THIS RELEASE CLICK HERE
7" Single - with 'Copyright Control' credit on label
7" Single - with 'Copyright Control' credit on indented label
7" Single - alternate release with 'Warner Bros' credit on label
7" Single - alternate release with 'Warner Bros' credit on indented label
7" Singles - Coloured plastic top-up labels: silver / blue / red
7" Single - Irish pressing
7" Single - with mini poster in white stickered sleeve
12" Single - Version 1: full rim copyright with 'Copyright Control' credit on label
12" Single - Version 2: full rim copyright with 'Warner Bros' credit on label
12" Single - Version 3: half rim copyright with 'Copyright Control' credit on label
12" Single - Version 4: half rim copyright with 'Warner Bros' credit on label
12" Single - Limited edition with poster in (gloss) stickered sleeve
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© madonna-decade 2013
© madonna-decade 2013