Who was the first female solo artist to sell out Wembley Stadium?
It feels like a specific rite of passage for any music icon to make it to Wembley Stadium. Ever since The Beatles opened up the doors for bands playing in stadiums rather than clubs and theatres, it’s every artist’s dream to have an entire football stadium of people singing along to every word that’s coming out of their mouth whenever they are onstage. Although Wembley is a daunting task for any artist to pull off, it wasn’t until 1987 that the first woman held the entire crowd in her hand.
Then again, Wembley Stadium isn’t the kind of venue that was meant to be performed on alone. Aside from being used for sporting events, some of the biggest names that had come through its hallowed halls tended to cater to the festival circuit, whether that was The Beach Boys playing or some of the biggest names in California rock coming together for shows like when Crosby, Stills, and Nash performed alongside fan favourites like Joni Mitchell.
Even when the place sold out, the performances always had a special event surrounding them. There had already been the spellbinding few days at Live Aid in 1985, and when the world said goodbye to Wham! for their last-ever gig at Wembley, it felt more like an iconic final bow rather than a proper concert half the time.
Although acts like Yes and Rush had garnered massive followings that led to them playing Wembley Stadium on their own, the decade had reached a fever pitch for pop music by 1987. It was time for the ‘Queen of Pop’ to take over, and once Madonna played Wembley on the Who’s That Girl tour, she left the entire audience flabbergasted.
What led to Madonna playing Wembley Stadium?
Despite only being on her second major tour, Madonna had come a long way since being one of the leaders in glamorous pop music. She already had cut her teeth playing New York venues like CBGBs in her prime, but the minute songs like ‘Like a Virgin’ and ‘Holiday’ began gaining traction, she had become one of the most in-demand pop stars of her time.
Even though much of what she performed during her set for those nights at Wembley reads like a greatest-hits package today, it was more about the spectacle behind everything. Because Madonna was nothing without her trademark image, and whether that was the outrageous outfits during her performance of ‘Material Girl’ or getting serious on ‘Papa Don’t Preach’, there was never a moment where she wasn’t 100% committed to leaving everything onstage.
What’s even crazier is knowing where the pop icon was going to go after this. She had gone through some of the biggest heights a singer could go through, and yet fans still hadn’t heard songs like ‘Like a Prayer’ or ‘Ray of Light’, each of which showed a drastic turn into new territory that no one had ever thought of before.
Even though Wembley Stadium usually marks a point where any artist’s career hits the ceiling, Madonna was still just warming up for what the rest of the decade had in store. During her first TV performance, she had said that her one desire was to rule the world, and even with another decade of classics to go, it was clear that the world was already kneeling at her feet.
