FOR A WHILE it seemed we'd been cut off from our Madonna-like dark roots. We couldn't discover a thing to report about the newlywed dynamo. But here's some hot skinny.

When Madonna appeared in her extraordinary Drowned World tour at Milan's Fila Forum for 10,000 rabid fans, including her pal Donatella Versace, she said, I dedicate this song "Gone" to my friend Gianni Versace.

After her Barcelona opening, Madonna had an intimate celebration in her dressing room, where she personally thanked her 10 gorgeous dancers, her dynamite band and her brainy, good-looking manager Caresse Henry for their hard work. While others drank champagne, Madonna chomped on asparagus and other unrecognizable vegetables. She was happy greeting friends, including AOL Time Warner honchos Dick Parsons and Roger Ames.

Reviewing her opening night, the Daily Mirror reported: They had better strengthen the roof at Earl's Court before Madonna rolls into London in a few weeks or she'll blow it sky high. Whether she is painted into her D Squared mud jeans and diamond-studded chaps, or stunningly sleek in a lean Jean Paul Gaultier Spanish pin-stripe backless dress, or wearing Arianne Phillips futuristic kimono with the 51-foot wing span, or flying through the air in her Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon homage, There's little doubt Mrs. Guy Ritchie has no intention of becoming a full-time housewife. Reports have her singing and dancing better than ever. And now she is also playing one heck of an uber guitar. (She has taken lessons for the past eight months.)

The tour is sold out but reaches Philadelphia on July 21. Thank heaven and HBO (aren't they one and the same?) because they'll air Madonna's show on Sunday night, Aug. 26. And though a concert ticket is like gold, TV is better than no Madonna.