STORY BEHIND THE SONG
WHAT can you tell me about Madonna’s Material Girl? – V.
Any irony in the lyrics was lost as Madonna picked up a nickname she would struggle to shake off for years.
“I am not a materialistic person,” she said in an interview in 2009.
“I feel lucky to be able to afford a Frida Kahlo painting or live in a nice house, but I know that I can live without it.
“I’m resourceful, and if I ended up in a log cabin in the middle of the forest, that would work too.
“These things are not mandatory for my happiness.”
Anyway, back in her ’80s pomp, the former Dunkin’ Donuts waitress was too busy racking up hits to take time off to splash the cash like the character in the song.
Produced by Chic’s Nile Rodgers, Material Girl was one of seven top five UK hits for Madonna in 1985, reaching No. 3 in December that year.