Madonnaarrgh

Madame X tour is agonising at 61 but still ‘brings joy’

Madame X. While she is used to selling out huge arenas, the venues on this tour are all theatres so Madge can “connect” with her audience. And she connects with them on social media, too, being open about her struggles with health and the difficult preparation for each show.

Just a few days before jetting into the UK, a video showed her walking up a flight of stairs with a cane.

“Thank goodness for my beautiful vintage cane,” she said on her way to an after-party in her adopted home of Lisbon, with her entourage in tow.

Another video shows her having what appears to be a blood transfusion, which she captioned: “Infusing the blood... Vitamin drip... Tibetan bowls... singing and meditation. Felt amazing afterwards!!”

The eye-opening recovery regime kicked in after she had to cancel three shows in Boston due to being in agony – after a New York date was axed as well. She’s keen to share videos of herself limbering up and doing her best to “remain flexible”.

Madge has banned phones from her gigs, perhaps wanting to make sure fans concentrate on an event they would have paid up to £1,500 to see.

With only a quick break for Christmas, where she holidayed with her boyfriend and children on a yacht, the Like A Virgin star still has six weeks of touring to go until the final date in March in Paris, including a 15-show run at the London Palladium starting on Monday. But the formidable performer isn’t one for quitting – and there’s every chance the tour could be extended to other parts of Europe, Asia, and even Australia.

“My fever finally broke,” she wrote in another medical bulletin a few weeks ago. “Time to start rehab for shows in Philly! Madame X does not like to be sick or injured.”

Anyone suggesting that, given her problems, she might like to slow down is given short shrift.

Last year Graham Norton, interviewing Madge, made a reference to her age and got an icy response.

“I’m not old, you’re old!” Madonna blasted back at the chat show host – who is actually five years her junior.

And when quizzed on turning 60 in another interview, she snapped back: “Don’t be influenced by society trying to make you feel some type of way about your age or what it is you’re supposed to be doing.”