Madonna HOME

NPR broadcast a Madonna radio interview this afternoon in the US on Fresh Air With WHYY, you can still listen to the interview here.

After a chart - topping and occasionally controversial music career, she s now turning out children s books publishing four in just over a year. The newest is The Adventures of Abdi. The others are The English Roses, Mr. Peabody's Apples and Yakov and the Seven Thieves. Her fifth, Lotsa de Casha, is due out in April 2005

Selfridges have contacted madonnalicious so that we can give to give our visitors the schedule for tomorrow's (11 November) book - signing event at their Oxford Street store. Here is the following information given to madonnalicious - please remember that all the following plans can be subject to change if Selfridge's marketing/security decide:

 Books will be pre - signed by Madonna, and be given out to customers as they come to meet her at the signing table.

 Customers will need to pay for the book first, and can join the queue on presentation of a valid receipt; both from 1.00pm only.

 No other merchandise will be signed, and photos cannot be taken with Madonna.

 A reading for 30 children by Madonna will take place before the personal appearance.

 A press photocall will take place at the signing table.

There are, it seems, some gigs so big that even royalty Can't land them. Yesterday afternoon, in an honour not even afforded the Queen's Speech, all five terrestrial TV channels and more than 20 cable and satellite stations simultaneously broadcast the new Band Aid 20 charity single.
Millions of viewers tuned in at 5.55pm to see the video, which mixes footage of the famine in Africa with images of pop stars weeping as they struggle to comprehend the enormity of the situation.
'It is something completely unprecedented,' said a Band Aid spokeswoman. 'I have never known even a royal occasion to be shown on all channels like that.'
'What we have got to make sure is that as many people as possible buy the single and I Can't think of a better way of doing that.'
The video was introduced by Madonna, who performed at the original Band Aid concert but did not take part in the recording of the new song.
Over images of starving children, she said: 'Once again, here we are 20 years later. More people die of hunger in Africa than war and Aids put together. In a world of plenty, it is hard to imagine that most African children will go to bed tonight hungry. Bob Geldof and his friends are here to remind you that we can never forget. Not ever. Feed the world.'

There are reports from various UK news sources that between 14 and 20 million viewers watched the broadcast. To download the single visit
www.bandaid20.com

Late Beatle John Lennon has been voted the Greatest Music Star Of All Time by a British music magazine. Lennon beat legends Elvis Presley, Madonna and Bob Marley in the poll by Q Magazine. Photographs of the top 100 stars will be featured in an exhibition at London's Proud Gallery from 3 December 2004.

 The top ten are as follows:
 1: John Lennon
 2: Elvis Presley
 3: David Bowie
 4: Keith Richards
 5: Kurt Cobain
 6: Madonna
 7: Bono
 8: Bob Marley
 9: Joe Strummer
 10: Bob Dylan

Michael Colombier, the composer who composed the beautiful string arrangements for Madonna on Die Another Day, Don't Tell Me and Easy Ride as well as composing the soundtrack for Swept Away has died:

 French composer Michel Colombier died yesterday after a six month battle with cancer. He was 65. Colombier was one of the most prolific and versatile French musicians of his generation. Besides his career as a film composer, scoring over 100 feature, cable and television films since the early 1960's, Colombier was a prolific song writer and arranger who worked with artists such as Madonna, Prince, The Beach Boys, Paul Anka, Barbra Streisand and Earth Wind and Fire.
 As a film composer, Michel Colombier scored a lot of French and American films, including The Golden Child, Ruthless People, New Jack City, How Stella Got Her Groove Back and The Money Pit. His background in jazz was evident in the majority of his film scores, and his ability to compose original score music that merged seamlessly with pop songs made him the perfect composer for 1980's films with song - heavy soundtracks, including White Nights, Against All Odds and Purple Rain (which won a Grammy Award as well as an Academy Award for Best Song Score).

Madonna has lent her support to the new version of the Band Aid single Do They Know it's Christmas? by recording an introduction to accompany the video premiere on UK TV.
 Although Madonna did not take part in the new recording, it is understood that Sir Bob Geldof telephoned Madonna on Thursday as she made her way to the UK Music Hall of Fame ceremony to ask her to record an introduction to the video, Madonna is said to have agreed immediately.
 The video will premiere simultaneously on all five UK TV channels at 5.55pm on Thursday 18 November.

 Madonna's full introduction:
'Twenty years ago I performed at Live Aid,' she will tell viewers. 'You saw me and my generation demanding a change.'
 'Once again, here we are 20 years later and more people die of hunger in Africa than war and Aids put together.'
 'In a world of plenty, it is hard to imagine that there are African children going to bed tonight hungry.'
 'Bob Geldof and his friends are here to remind you that none of us can forget. Not ever. Feed the world. I am honoured to introduce Band Aid 20.

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/