TOP TEN 12 JULY 1986
MADONNA HITS THE TOP SPOT, WHILE WHAM! SAY SAYONARA AND OWEN PAUL ENJOYS HIS ONLY CHART HIT…
STEVEO ’ BRIEN
01 ( 2) PAPA DON’T PREACH MADONNA (SIRE)
02 (1) THE EDGE OF HEAVEN WHAM! (EPIC)
03 (4) MY FAVOURITE WASTE OF TIME OWEN PAUL (EPIC)
04 (3) HAPPY HOUR THE HOUSEMARTINS (GO! DISCS)
05 (6) TOO GOOD TO BE FORGOTTEN AMAZULU (ISLAND)
06 (23) LET’S GO ALL THE WAY SLY FOX (CAPITOL)
07 (5) I CAN’T WAIT NU SHOOZ (ATLANTIC)
08 (9) VENUS BANANARAMA (LONDON)
09 (8) NEW BEGINNING (MAMBA SEYRA) BUCKS FIZZ (POLYDOR)
10 (12) DO YA DO YA (WANNA PLEASE ME) SAMANTHA FOX (JIVE
PAPA DON’T PREACH MADONNA (SIRE)
Given that this song was from the POV of a teenager who discovers that she’s pregnant, it seemed faintly ridiculous that it was the verymuch- not-teenage Madonna who was singing those lyrics. Hell, even the video cast Mads as a teen who’s forced to tell her Catholic father that she’s in the pudding club. Madonna was 28 years old.
Papa Don’t Preach was released as the second single from Madonna’s third album, True Blue. Written by Brian Elliot with additional lyrics by Madonna, the song wasn’t without controversy, with social conservatives and Catholic groups lambasting the singer for ‘advocating’ teenage pregnancy. The next year she performed the song as part of Who’s That Girl Tour, dedicating it to Pope John Paul II, leading to the extraordinary scene of the Pontifex maximus urging fans to boycott the Material Girl’s shows.