HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MADONNA!
Did you grow up a Madonna fan like us? As the original ‘Material Girl’ turns 60 today, we take a look at some of the pop culture phenomenon’s most scandalous moments, artists she inspired and why she’s still the Queen of Pop for us
GROWING UP IN THE 80s meant there were a couple of things you just couldn’t get away from – the big hair, neon, shoulder pads, fishnet tights and of course, Madonna. My introduction to the brazen, trendsetting, pop culture-influencing superstar happened in 1987 when I first heard Causing a Commotion, a cheeky musical serenade from the soundtrack to her film Who’s That Girl.
Despite the tune’s catchiness and its popularity on air, the Madonna phenomenon took a while to grow on me. “You can’t compare her to someone like Whitney,” I would tell friends with all the solemnity a 12-year-old could muster. But eventually this somewhat feigned indifference began to fade. I saw girls at school copying some of her hairstyles and fashions, and became interested, in spite of myself. I found myself catching up with her earlier albums – including popular hits like Into
The Groove, Borderline, True Blue, Holiday – and decided I loved them all. Soon, a couple of posters sprung up on my bedroom wall – and though I can’t say my mother was completely on board with this new infatuation, from then on there was no turning back. I was a Madonna fan for life.
In 1989, when a farewell party for the tenth grade called for us ninth graders to step up and provide ‘entertainment’ – Madonna fever was at its peak - and we settled on performing True Blue, imagining with typical teenage audacity that we could recreate the magic of its iconic video. Needless to say we had to tone down some of the more suggestive movements, of course we weren’t allowed to wear as short skirts as were featured in the video, and colouring our hair Madonna’s then trademark peroxide blonde was another taboo, but l like to think we were successful in serving up a fine karaoke version – complete with dancing - of the memorable 1986 track. An old photo that surfaced recently confirmed what I suspected all along – that I was out of sync with the rest of the group. Oh well.
Looking back, I can’t pinpoint exactly what it was that endeared Madonna to me. Maybe it was her music – there’s no denying her tunes were addictive – (though I never imagined I’d be singing La Isla Bonita for years to come). Maybe it was her attitude – that devil-maycare brashness teens found irrestible. Everyone loves a rebel, right? Or maybe it was just the 80s working its magic – pulling you into a mesmerising, colourful fabric of culture that continues to resonate and exert its influence even today. Happy Birthday, Madonna!