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Read how Monte Pittman met Madonna and went on to become her tour guitarist!

Madonna graces the cover of the latest issue of the Roland User Group magazine, featuring a great article about the keyboardists who toured with Madonna's Re - Invention last summer.

Tthe article offers an interesting insight into how the music was put together for this tour, and how Micheal McKnight and Marcus Brown worked with Madonna in evolving the sound for the tour.

You can read the article here - included in the page is also a link to view a short clip of the Nothing Fails soundcheck at Slane Castle.

Check details about Madonna's new book, and how she feels about the election outcome.

Tomorrow night Madonna will be inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame as one of the five founding members. The other founding members are Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Bob Marley and U2. Priscilla Presley will accept on behalf of Elvis, and Rita Marley for Bob Marley. Members of U2 will be present to accept their induction.

 Madonna will attend the ceremony at the Hackney Empire in London after her personal appearance at Selfridges. The event will be filmed and shown on Channel 4 on Sunday 14 November at 9.00pm.

 As Madonna mentioned in her syndicated ABC Radio Network interview today, she had hoped that Elton John could have presented her award to her to show that there are no hard feelings after his lip - synching outburst last month - however Elton is taping an appearance on The Jonathan Ross Show that night.

Madonna dishes her opinions about her supposed feud with Elton John, Cameron Diaz, and the War in Iraq! Don't miss this exciting interview!

UK fans can catch a recording of Madonna being inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame on Sunday 14 November at 9.00pm on Channel 4.

 Madonna joins such greats as Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Bob Marley and U2 as one of the five inaugural members of the hall.

 Madonna is due to attend the award ceremony which actually takes place at London's Hackney Empire on Thursday 11 November.

Hundreds of Madonna fans spent the best part of 24 hours queuing outside a central London store in the hope of catching a glimpse of the Queen of Pop as she made a rare public appearance to promote her new children's book.
 But only 250 of them who were first in line were lucky enough to bag tickets for the reading and signing of her fourth book The Adventures of Abdi.
 Crowds gathered on the streets outside the Selfridges store on London's Oxford Street to see the former Material Girl but she snuck in through an underground car park entrance.
 The new tale - like her previous books - is said to be based on the ancient Jewish faith Kabbalah which the millionaire pop star and her film director husband Guy Ritchie both follow.
 Madonna, who is regularly photographed by the paparazzi in the red string bracelet worn by Kabbalah devotees, has reportedly come under fire for highlighting the religion in her children's books.
 Part of the sales from her book reportedly go to fund Kabbalah centres she attends.
 The singer was today giving a 10 - minute reading from the book, which was officially released in the UK at the start of this week, to a group of 30 schoolchildren aged eight to 10 from St Winifred's Catholic Junior School in south London.
 She has already penned her fifth book Lotsa de Casha, which will be released next summer and is about how wealth is overrated.
 The illustrated yarn features the Italian greyhound Lotsa de Casha who is the richest creature in the world but is desperately unhappy.

Madonna has been inducted into the first UK Music Hall Of Fame - and received a hilarious message from close pals Stella McCartney and Gwyneth Paltrow.
 Hollywood actress Gwyneth and designer Stella put together a video tribute to the Material Girl by wearing some of her outlandish outfits.
 Madge gasped as they appeared on a big screen at London's Hackney Empire - Stella dressing in a 'Material Girl' dress and Gwyneth donning a conical bra and basque.
 Madonna, 46, received her honorary award from artists Tracey Emin and Radio One DJ Jo Whiley.
 Wearing a Remembrance Day poppy, Madge gushed: 'If someone had told me while I was a little girl growing up in mid - west America that one day I'd be married to a Brit, living in England and inducted into the UK Hall Of Fame, I would have said: 'b******s to that'.'

Madonna appeared on the BBC Radio 2 program The Jeremy Vine Show this lunchtime to promote her new children's book The Adventures of Abdi.

You can listen to the interview again by visiting
www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/shows/vine/

Publishers Callaway have published this press release to celebrate the launch of Madonna's fourth children's book The Adventures of Abdi today:

 Callaway Arts & Entertainment is pleased to announce today's release of The Adventures of Abdi, the fourth in a series of five books for children by Madonna.
 Madonna's first children's book, The English Roses, made publishing history with its simultaneous release in 30 languages and over 100 countries on September 15, 2003. It became the biggest and fastest - selling book ever by a first - time children's author, and is now available in 40 languages and more than 110 countries as diverse as England, France, Germany, Italy, Turkey, China, Brazil, Slovenia, Iceland, and the Faroe Islands.
 The English Roses was followed in quick succession by Mr. Peabody's Apples, released on November 10, 2003, and Yakov and the Seven Thieves on June 21, 2004.
 Not only were Madonna's first three children's books launched within one year, but they also all debuted on The New York Times' best - seller list, and have sold in excess of 1.5 million copies worldwide.
 To celebrate Madonna's unprecedented achievement, Callaway is releasing a boxed - set of her first three children's titles, The English Roses, Mr. Peabody's Apples, and Yakov and the Seven Thieves. A .85 value for only .95, this gift item comes just in time for the holiday season!
 Madonna will launch her fourth children's title, The Adventures of Abdi, with a series of print, radio, and television interviews in London, followed by a book signing on November 11 at Selfridges.
 Madonna's fifth children's book Lotsa De Casha, will be released worldwide in June 2005.

In promotion for her new childrens book The Adventures Of Abdi Madonna is due to make a couple of UK TV appearances.

 One interview will be aired on Channel 4's The Richard And Judy show which is broadcast weekdays at 5.00pm - this show is well know for helping to promote new books so will be ideal for promoting The Adventures Of Abdi. The other appearance is scheduled for a children's TV show to be confirmed later.

 At the moment we do not have scheduled air dates yet for these interviews (of which some will be pre - recorded) but as soon as the confirmed dates are known we will publish them here.

Today's edition of UK newspaper The Times featuring extracts from Madonna's new book The Adventures of Abdi, a chat with the illustrators Andrej and Olga Dugin and a revealing interview with Madonna by Jane Wheatley, in which Madonna talks about the writing process, and her daily life in London with her family.

 Can you tell us something about the inspiration for The Adventures of Abdi?
 This book was inspired by a combination of things. I have always loved the backdrop and setting of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves and One Thousand and One Arabian Nights so I wanted to write a story in that genre. In this setting I wanted to explain the Kabbalistic principle of 'certainty', the idea that we can overcome all obstacles and challenges in our lives if we perceive them as blessings and not curses; if we accept that they have arrived in our lives to teach us something valuable.

 What were your favourite books as a child?  
 Charlotte's Web, The Giving Tree, The Little Prince, Pippi Longstocking, and The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.

 Do you read some of those childhood favourites to your own children?
 Yes, all of them.

 What are Lola's and Rocco's favourite books at the moment?
 Lola's are Junie B. Jones by Barbara Park, Wayside School by Louis Sachar and Tom - Tom & Nana by Jacqueline Cohen.
 Rocco's are Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis and Les Schtroumpfs.

 What do your children think of the books you have written?  
 They love them, but The English Roses is Lola's favourite as she was very involved in its creation.

 Is there a bedtime story ritual in your house?  
 Yes, my children go to the Lyc so they get French and English books read to them. When I read to my son, my French nanny is reading to my daughter, then we switch. Although my daughter is getting to the point where she likes only to read by herself so she reads aloud to me.

 What do you feel is the role of stories and books in children's lives?  
 Stories and books are everything. They were very important to me as a child and were instrumental in developing my imagination. I feel very fortunate that my children love books as much as they do.

 Do you think you will continue to write after this series?
 Yes, I have already written a sequel to The English Roses.

 Have you any thoughts about writing for adults?
 Well I have thought about it, but that is a much tougher crowd. Ask me again in a few years.

 How does the process of writing books compare with writing song lyrics?
 At this point in my life I have written so many songs and they tell only a part of a story. I find the process of writing books much more rewarding, as there is a beginning, middle and an end.

 You live mainly in England with your family; can you describe your perfect day out with your children in London?
 A perfect day always includes going to Hyde Park riding bikes, feeding the ducks, having a treat at the little restaurant on the lake, and a trip to Bramley's Big Adventure. Lola loves ice skating at Somerset House and Rocco loves the Natural History Museum and the Science Museum.

 What else would you recommend?
 Tate Britain on Sunday afternoon has a children's day to do artwork and they like the Puppet Barge on the Thames.

 What is the one best thing you have all enjoyed and why?
 Our favourite thing to do together as a family that we all enjoy is going to our country house. My children really come alive there, feeding chickens, taking care of the horse, picking flowers and spending time outside in nature. I realise that this is not "in London" but it is our favourite thing to do.

 Where do you shop with them?
 The children's sections of Selfridges and Harrods.

 Where do you take your children to eat in London?
 Guy and I rarely take our children out to dinner as we rarely go out to dinner. But they go to the Blue Kangaroo a lot with their grandfather.

 Do you worry about children and safety in London?
 Not really. We take the normal precautions. but I would say we feel very safe here.

 You also have a home in LA. How child friendly is London by comparison?
 Extremely. There is so much to do for children here.

In celebration of the Steven Klein/Madonna X - STaTIC PRO=CeSS exhibition that opened today at the Camerawork gallery in Berlin, numerous articles about Steven Klein's work with Madonna have been featured in German newspapers.

 Yesterday's edition of Berlin newspaper the Berliner Morgenpost featured a short interview with Steven Klein about how he works with Madonna, and how she brought her lucky pantyhose along for the photoshoot!

 We'd like to talk about the elections in the USA.  
 Uaah.

 How would you photograph Laura Bush?  
 Just because she is Mrs Bush doesn't mean she is interesting to me as a photographer.

 In the Madonna photos there is a perfect hole in her pantyhose. Did you do that?  
 The evening before the photo shoot we went through everything on the set and then she said that she would like to bring her lucky pantyhose. She had worn it many times. The hole was already in it and I'm very happy with it.

 How were the first five minutes with Madonna?  
 She is very shy and very quiet. And I was incredibly nervous. Usually, when I meet models or movie stars to take their photos I always think, oh they look like regular people after all. But with Madonna it's different, she has an incredibly intense aura and she really is an extremely beautiful woman.

 Your photos of movie stars and models do not necessarily portray classical beauty. What is your definition of beauty?  
 A structured face or body shape. But also a power that lies beneath.

 What did Madonna do with your photos?  
 She put some of them on her wall at home. In the living room.

Madonna's Re - Invention tour has been named as the Top Tour in the inaugural Billboard Backstage Pass Awards. The awards recognize the top performers of the just - completed touring season, and are based on box - office data gathered from Billboard Boxscore reports.

 The Re - Invention tour grossed 125 million from 56 performances across North America and Europe this summer. The awards will be presented during the Backstage Pass Conference at New York City's Roosevelt Hotel on Tuesday 09 November.

 Madonna's manager Caresse Henry will also be awarded the Top Manager award!

Meet Madonna as she celebrates the launch of her new book "The Adventures of Abdi".
Pre - signed copies will be available to the first 250 customers in the queue and Madonna will hand these copies to customers as she meets them.
November 11, Oxford Street, London, 3pm, Designer Room on 2.