Blond Ambition: The Madonna tour attacked by the Vatican

(Credits: Far Out / Radio Silence)

As I turn 30, I feel as though I’m staring perhaps my biggest battle right in the face. You see, I’ve always been a staunch believer in the power of the contemporary and, as such, have blindly put faith in the future. I’ve defended modern music fans in the face of elder generations who believed music peaked with their pop stars, be it Madonna, Prince or whoever else topped the charts.

But as I wave goodbye to my 20s, I feel the echoes of cynicism growing louder in my bones. I turn my nose up at music fans who record the entirety of a gig for their social media, or worse yet, who don’t even consider wearing earplugs.

What on earth have I become? Because I have always truly believed the next great era of music is always the next one. I think generally, that’s an important outlook to have in the perception of any art and the key to remaining open-minded. Because true greatness lies somewhere in the territory of shock and awe.

The essence of this conflict is what makes music a great tool of rebellion. When generations become disillusioned with one another, it’s the music that pales it into great significance and gives meaning to those younger and largely without a voice.

But mostly, those voices exist somewhere in the subcultures, far away from the TV screens of conservatives. So every now and then, it needs a mainstream voice, a pioneer of counterculture, to shock the world into a brave new era.

In the 1980s, that was Madonna. She challenged gender roles in a way that pop music had not yet seen before then and created an image of sexualised freedom within her music that became liberating for the onlooking generation.

But for every screaming fan was a parent, clutching their pearls with concern at the growing liberalism within a younger generation. Come 1990, her stamp of influence was well and truly embedded and she embarked on what would become a history-defining tour, The Blond Ambition Tour.

Between fake blood and fireworks bras were dance moves that overtly celebrated the physicality of sex.

Madonna’s dance moves would teeter on the provocative throughout the show, and at times, see the singer acting out scenes of masturbation on a bed placed on stage. It sent curious teenagers wild and Catholic priests into a frenzy.

As the pop icon geared up for a string of shows in Italy, unions in the country called for a general strike, while Pope John Paul II labelled her show as “one of the most satanic shows in the history of humanity”.

But Madonna fearless beat on during her tour, unwavered by criticism and undeterred by religious intimidation, she played every night on her Blond Ambition Tour with the same sense of artistic bravery as she did during the first show.

While 1990 may seem too far back in the rear view mirror to attribute any credit, the influence that tour had on the likes of modern day artists like Sabrina Carpenter, Billy Eilish and Miley Cyrus cannot be understated.

Provocative, offensive and history-making, Madonna’s tour proved the answer to any growing hesitations I have as a maturing music fan. Because what was shocking in 1990 has given way to a future era of artistic freedom and liberation, and perhaps more importantly, femininity.

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