Friday Nerd-Out
How the Beastie Boys opened for an emerging music icon, how The Clash got re-invented twice... and a few other little pop gems.
This week in music history.
This week, back in 1985, Madonna kicked off her first live tour (for North American audiences only). It followed the success of her second album, included 40 dates, and every one of those nights had a rather interesting opening act: the Beastie Boys.
Apparently, Run–D.M.C. were originally considered but were deemed too expensive by Madonna’s manager, so the gig finally went to the Beastie Boys.
I don't know why she thought it would be a good idea [to open for her tour], though. It was a terrible idea. But it was great for her in a way because we were so awful that by the time she came onstage, the audience had to be happy - Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz
The Virgin tour opened nightly with them performing six of their songs for 30 minutes. They were accompanied by a DJ, who had joined the band following the success of their single Cooky Puss - the band’s first release featuring Adam Horovitz. This DJ was New York University student Rick Rubin.
Rick Rubin went on to become one of the biggest producers in the music industry, working with Metallica, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rage Against the Machine, Weezer, Aerosmith, Linkin Park, System of a Down, and even country stars such as Johnny Cash, and the Chicks.
Although in the last couple of years we have seen music fans attend tours like Harry Styles’ and Beyonce’s Rennaisance wearing clothes that mimic or pay homage to their stars, the Virgin Tour saw this phenomenon happen really organically, without the help of social media. On its opening night and beyond, women and girls attending the show would wear clothes inspired by Madonna.
“Hundreds of thousands of young girls came to the concert dressed like her, with bleached and tousled hair, see-through tops, bras, fingerless gloves and crucifixes. Magazines and TV shows ran lookalike competitions” - Debbi Voller, author of Madonna: The Style Book
This phenomenon gave rise to the term “Madonna wannabe”, which was added to the Webster's Dictionary in 1991.
Yeah but the original is better.
Train in Vain is a song by The Clash. It was released as the final single from their third studio album, London Calling (1979), but because the song was added to the record at the last minute (with the sleeve already in production) it initally appeared as a hidden track at the end of the album. Train in Vain was the first song by The Clash to reach the US charts.
In 1995, Annie Lennox recorded the cover below for her album Medusa, a collection of covers, and her second solo record. She would perform the song live many times.
In 1996, Garbage used a very recognisable drum loop from Train in Vain for their hit Stupid Girl.
Gimme, gimme more.
Great new pop releases include: Good Luck, Babe! by the wonderful Chappell Roan, Beyonce’s Texas Hold’Em (Pony Up Remix) and rather timely, on the 29th anniversary of its original release, Angel, by Madonna (and Nile Rodgers) has hit streaming services. It features the FANTASTIC Extended Dance Mix Edit… they don’t mix music like this anymore ;)
Keep applying that SPF (I’m talking to you Kevin x)
Stay hydrated, listen to some good music… and while you’re at it, make a fellow music nerd happy by introducing them to Music Nerdery.
Until the next newsletter…