Desperately seeking stardom ...

Press, 8 February 1986, Page 15

Desperately seeking stardom ...

GEORGE HADLEY-GARCIA

i talks

to the pretty, pouty, blonde phenomenon! who is Madonna.

“I want to be known all over the world!” the pretty, pouty blonde confesses, her bare midriff peeking from beneath a revealing lace outfit stretched tight as a tourniquet. “But, I don’t want to be just another girl singer: I want to be a star!”

Conquering music charts and male libidos for the last two years, Madonna is poised on the brink of cinematic stardom after a hot role in “Desperately Seeking Susan” — with others about to follow. Whether singing or acting, however, her keynote is pure, 100 per cent, all-American sex — a trashy, tantilising image steamier than a scarlet striptease spotlight.

The bad girl of rock has been noticed to such an extent that her opening; concert dates in Seattle sold out in 19 minutes. Similar unprecedented ticket tales trailed the Virgin Tour down the west coast of the United States, prompting managers in the east to shift concert sites to larger arenas. The 28-city crosscountry trek will be followed by another movie, a tentative second tour, an album, and a steamy pin-up calendar. Despite the hectic schedule. Madonna has shown that she is made of

resilient wash-and-wear fabric. “I have incredible energy — I’m hyperactive,” she says. “I don’t hide my ambitions; I’m 26 and, let’s face it, I don’t have unlimited time — women lose theii; images quickly in this business. By age 30,1 want to be very wellestablished, and able to generate my own projects. By 40, I should be a legend — at least l ” Although she does not yet own an extravagant home or car, Madonna has found fame distracting. “I had to hire a bodyguard, and I can’t

hang out at some of my old haunts — the dance clubs where I was first discovered. Still, it’s all worth it, I love to hear the kids call my name, and I love to perform.” Yet, her tours have also proven disconcerting at times. “It can be awful,” she declares. “There’s a negative side to having a sexy imagae. Like, men come. up to me on the street and try to kiss me!” “I get two kinds of nuts, the sex maniac who writes for pieces of my underwear, and the Moral Majority type who condemns me to eternal hell. Can you imagine people believing there is such a place? “Billy Idol and I are both sexual musicians. We wear crucifixes as jewel-

lery, and we get criticised for it People cannot relate religion and sex, which is stupid. They go hand-in-hand. Sometimes, older folks condemn me,

they’ve either forgotten about sex or are jealous of youth. In either case, they’re angry, and want to keep religion for their own age group.” While the geriatric set greets her with less than open arms, the teeny bopper crowd, known as

“Wanna Be”s, has spawned a fashion phenomenon by copying Madonna’s wardrobe, right down to the pearl necklaces and lace gloves. While Madonna’s flashy, fleshy, girl-in-the-backseat image has angered Christian groups, she has not renounced her early ties to the faith.

“Everyone assumes I take religion lightly, which isn’t true. I used to think of Jesus as a movie star — you know, the portraits with the golden hair and radiant skin. I’m more realistic now.” Madonna’s beliefs have also fired the wrath of feminist organisations which disdain her expressly erotic come-hither image. "Growing up in the church I was taught that

there are only two kinds of women, whores and saints," she explains. “I am trying to break down the stereotypes. Women can be whatever they want to be. I’m not against feminist demands — I’m still a woman aren’t I? “I’d like the movement to lighten up a little, to get a bit more humour, Cyndi Lauper, Pat Benetar and Tina Turner have mixed feminism with rock. I’m more overtly sexual, so I get all the heat But I won’t change my image. Believe me, it’s more fun to be like a virgin than to really be one. After all, virginity is wonderful while its lasts — but it can overstay its welcome!” Copyright Duo.

"Billy Idol and I are both sexual musicians. We wear crucifixes 4 as jewellery, and we get critisized for it.”