On this Day: 15, 1990 Blond Ambition Tour Chiba Marine Stadium City : Tokyo

Madonna’s third concert tour in support for “Like a prayer” and “I’m Breathless” was the first mega tour of the nineties. With this show Madonna clearly raised the bar very high because she managed to create an amazing extravaganza and certainly went beyond the conventional pop-rock concert, giving it a more theatrical feeling and mixing elements from films, Broadway, performance art and fashion. For the first time in any Madonna tour there were five different sections, Metropolis, Religious, Dick Tracy, Art Deco and Encore. Each one of these sections had a distinct character and featured costume changes. Clothing was another big element on this tour, Jean Paul Gaultier was chosen by Madonna to design all clothes for her and the dancers, including the now iconic elements such as the classic cone-shaped bustier and the ponytail hair extension.

Controversy was another big recurrent theme in this show. Madonna faced trouble when her “Like a virgin” number, in which she simulates masturbation, raised a lot of ewebrows, especially in Toronto where police threathened to arrest her for obscene behaviour, or when visiting Rome, the Vatican forced her to cancel one of the two shows she performed there. But controversy aside, this tour is witness to Madonna’s definitive rise to stardom and global domination, and has garnered almost cult status, as it has never been properly released, except for a Laserdisc release  and a few broadcasting shows on HBO and European channels. 

Madonna performed 57 shows in 27 cities and 3 continents,  although some of them had to be cancelled due to throat problems. The setlist of this show was the longest for any Madonna concert so far, 18 numbers which are pretty impressive to watch, because most of them are nowadays classic Madonna hits, making this a truly greatest hits tour.

Setlist

Express Yourself
Open Your Heart
Causing A Commotion
Where’s The Party
Like A Virgin
Like A Prayer
Live To Tell
Oh Father
Papa Don’t Preach
Sooner or Later
Hanky Panky
Now I’m Following You
Material Girl
Cherish
Into the Groove
Vogue
Holiday
A Family Affair
Keep It Together

Tour Schedule

13/4/90 – Chiba Marine Stadium, Tokyo, Japan
14/4/90 – Chiba Marine Stadium, Tokyo, Japan
15/4/90 – Chiba Marine Stadium, Tokyo, Japan
20/4/90 – Nishinomya Stadium, Osaka, Japan
21/4/90 – Nishinomya Stadium, Osaka, Japan
22/4/90 – Nishinomya Stadium, Osaka, Japan
25/4/90 – Yokohama Stadium, Yokohama, Japan
26/4/90 – Yokohama Stadium, Yokohama, Japan
27/4/90 – Yokohama Stadium, Yokohama, Japan
4/5/90 – The Summit, Houston, Texas
5/5/90 – The Summit, Houston, Texas
7/5/90 – Reunion Arena, Dallas, Texas
8/5/90 – Reunion Arena, Dallas, Texas
11/5/90 – LA Sports Arena, Los Angeles, California
12/5/90 – LA Sports Arena, Los Angeles, California
13/5/90 – LA Sports Arena, Los Angeles, California
15/5/90 – LA Sports Arena, Los Angeles, California
16/5/90 – LA Sports Arena, Los Angeles, California
18/5/90 – Oakland Coliseum, Oakland, California
19/5/90 – Oakland Coliseum, Oakland, California
20/5/90 – Oakland Coliseum, Oakland, California
23/5/90 – Rosemont Horizon, Chicago, Illinois
24/5/90 – Rosemont Horizon, Chicago, Illinois
25/5/90 – Rosemont Horizon, Chicago, Illinois (cancelled)
27/5/90 – SkyDome, Toronto, Ontario
28/5/90 – SkyDome, Toronto, Ontario
29/5/90 – SkyDome, Toronto, Ontario
31/5/90 – The Palace, Auburn Hills, Michigan
01/6/90 – The Palace, Auburn Hills, Michigan
4/6/90 – The Centrum, Worcester, Massachusetts
5/6/90 – The Centrum, Worcester, Massachusetts
6/6/90 – The Centrum, Worcester, Massachusetts (cancelled)
8/6/90 – Capital Center, Landover, Maryland
9/6/90 – Capital Center, Landover, Maryland
11/6/90 – Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, New York
12/6/90 – Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, New York
13/6/90 – Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, New York
15/6/90 – The Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA (cancelled)
16/6/90 – The Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA
17/6/90 – The Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA
20/6/90 – Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey
21/6/90 – Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey
22/6/90 – Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey (cancelled)
24/6/90 – Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey
25/6/90 – Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey
30/6/90 – Eriksberg Stadium, Goteborg, Sweden
3/7/90 – Palais Omnipsorts, Paris, France
4/7/90 – Palais Omnisports, Paris, France
6/7/90 – Palais Omnisports, Paris, France
10/7/90 – Stadio Flamino, Rome, Italy
11/7/90 – Stadio Flamino, Rome, Italy (cancelled)
13/7/90 – Stadio Delgll Alpi, Turin, Italy
15/7/90 – Reimer Reitstadion, Munich, Germany
17/7/90 – Westfallen Halle, Dortmund, Germany
20/7/90 – Wembley Stadium, London, United Kingdom
21/7/90 – Wembley Stadium, London, United Kingdom
22/7/90 – Wembley Stadium, London, United Kingdom
24/7/90 – Feyenoord Stadium, Rotterdam, Holland
27/7/90 – Vincente Calderon Stadium, Madrid, Spain
29/7/90 – Balaidos Stadium, Vigo, Spain
1/8/90 – Olympic Stadium, Barcelona, Spain
5/8/90 – Stade De L’Ouest, Nice, France
6/8/90 – Stade De L’Ouest, Nice, France

Musicians:
Jai Winding, Kevin Kendricks – Keyboards
Carlos Rios, David Williams – Guitar
Darryl Jones – Bass
Jonathan Moffett – Drums
Luis Conte – Percussion
Donna De Lory, Niki Haris – Background Vocals

MADONNA BLOND AMBITION WORLD TOUR TOKYO,JAPAN NEWS REPORT 

Blond Ambition Tour opening night in Tokyo