THE SONGS
1 MATERIAL GIRL
Despite becoming one of her signature songs and its title being a moniker which is still linked to the star 35 years later, Material Girl wasn’t actually written by Madonna. It was penned by Peter Brown and Robert Rans and submitted to Warner Brothers for consideration for one of their artists. A&R Michael Ostin heard the song and immediately knew that it would be a perfect fit for Madonna. A tongue-in-cheek satire on 80s materialism, both Madonna and Nile Rodgers loved the track when it was presented to them and the singer duly changed her mind about only including her own compositions on the record, which had been her original plan. Released as the second single from the album in 1985, Material Girl peaked at No.2 in the US and No.3 in the UK.
2 ANGEL
One of the demos written by Madonna and Stephen Bray in late 1983, Angel is a straightforward fluffy ode to being in the throes of a new love affair. A charming dance pop track with unmistakable Chic flourishes, the song remains a fan favourite but has been largely disregarded by Madonna who hasn’t performed it live since the Virgin Tour in 1985 and the track was edited out of the VHS release. During the performance, balloons were released onto the audience emblazoned with “Dreams Come True”, a line from the song.