Madonna dresses for part

Press, 15 July 1985, Page 6

Madonna dresses for part

Madonna, the controversial girl of rock ‘n’ roll, performed yesterday at the Live Aid concert for African relief — fully clothed, as she let her audience know quite bluntly.

“I ain’t taking s. . . off today so they won’t hold it against me 10 years from now,” she told the 90,000 people in her audience, and the hundreds of millions watching her live on tele-

vision around the world. Dozens of pages of nude photos of Madonna last week set off a' bidding war and publication race between “Penthouse” and “Playboy” magazines.

Madonna was said to be unashamed but the ado about nothing caused her managers some consternation.

During the concert at John F. Kennedy Stadium

yesterday, the “material girl” wore lots of it in spite of the heat — a shirt, pedal pushers, heavy green brocade jacket, and a full battalion of trademark crucifixes.

The singer, Bette Midler, introduced Madonna as “someone who pulled herself up by the bra straps.” Madonna performed “Love Makes the World.” Backstage, Madonna was

testy. Surrounded by her entourage, she refused all interviews, and consented to sign ten Live Aid concert programmes and three Live Aid concert banners, to be sold at a charity auction at Sotheby’s this year. Promotors were afraid she was in such a bad mood she wouldn’t sign the programmes. As she autographed them in sprawling handwriting, she said, “This is a wrist exercise.”