'It's a miracle I got this far!' Madonna apologises as she's forced to cancel MORE shows on doctors' orders and reveals she does SIX HOURS of rehab every day due to her serious injury
By Ellie Phillips For Mailonline
17:55 31 Jan 2020, updated 19:18 31 Jan 2020
The singer, 61, announced on social media that she has cancelled two shows at London's Palladium due to illness: February 4th and February 11th
Madonna explained that 'doing three shows in a row is too much' on her body
The Like A Virgin songstress also revealed that she has been putting herself through six hours of rehab every day
Wednesday kicked off what should have been a 14-night run at London's Palladium, having cancelled 10 previous gigs on the Madame X tour
On the first night, Daily Mail's Julia Lawrence declared the show a triumph, writing: 'Painful hip and knee be damned, she dazzled, the trouper she is'
Madonna has cancelled more shows on her Madame X tour.
The musical icon, 61, took to social media to apologise on Friday evening as she announced that she has been forced to abandon more performances on doctors' orders.
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Madonna also revealed that she has to do six hours of rehab every day due to her serious injury and claimed that it's a 'miracle' she has been able to get this far on the tour.
Cancelled: Madonna, 61, took to social media to apologise on Friday evening as she announced that she has been forced to cancel more Madame X tour dates on doctors' orders
Alongside a photograph of herself with her head in her hand, Madonna penned a long, heart-felt caption.
She wrote: 'A note to all my my fans: As you all know I have multiple injuries and have had to cancel shows to give myself time to recover.
'So as not to surprise you I want to let you know ahead of time that I will be cancelling 2 shows - on Feb 4 and Feb 11th at the Palladium in London.
'Because doing 3 shows in a row is too much on my body and in fact my doctors insist I take a day off after every show but I believe can manage if I do 2 shows then I rest!'
Persevering: The singer also revealed she does six hours of rehab every day due to her serious injury (pictured following her show at London's Palladium on Thursday evening)Honest: Taking to Instagram on Friday, the singer shared a photograph of herself with her head in her hand, and penned a long, heart-felt caption to announce the news
Madonna continued, explaining that she has managed to continue on with the tour thanks to intensive rehab, by changing her footwear and by modifying her performance.
She wrote: 'It's a miracle I have gotten this far but a-lot has to do with the fact that I do 6 hours of re-hab every day 3 hours before show and 3 after with multiple therapies.
'I have also switched to flat shoes and modified difficult parts of the show. This has helped enormously but I still need to be careful and of course rest is the best medicine.'
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Trying her best: Madonna explained that she has managed to continue on with the tour thanks to intensive rehab, by changing her footwear and by modifying her performance (pictured in May)Determined: Finishing off her sincere message, the superstar insisted that she is determined to complete her tour and apologised for being forced to cancel two more dates (pictured recently showing her tour warm up)
Finishing off her sincere message, the superstar insisted that she is determined to complete her tour and apologised for being forced to cancel two more dates.
She wrote: 'I never want to cancel any show and I'm determined that I will make it to the end if I pace myself. God Willing.
'Refunds will be automatically issued to the credit card on which tickets were ordered.
'I appreciate your understanding and sincerely apologize for any inconvenience. Thank you!! Madame.'
Cancelled: The two more cancelled dates come after the singer announced on Saturday she was needed to 'put her body and her health first', cancelling Monday's scheduled gig
The two more cancelled dates come after the singer announced on Saturday she was 'deeply sorry' but that she needed to 'put her body and her health first', cancelling Monday's scheduled gig.
'Under doctors guidance I have been told to rest for a few days,' she wrote on Instagram. 'As you all know, I have injuries that have plagued me since the beginning of the tour but I must always listen to my body.
'Please know that it hurts me more than you can imagine to have to cancel any shows.' She also cancelled dates in New York, Miami Beach, Los Angeles, Boston, and Lisbon.
Wednesday kicked off what should have been Madonna's 14-night run at the Palladium over the next three weeks, having cancelled 10 previous gig on the Madame X tour due to illness, which so far has been to Lisbon and the USA.
The highest-grossing female solo touring artist took concert-goers through five acts of her classic hits and new recordings from her 2019 Madame X album - her first release after living as a recluse in Lisbon for two years, as well as eight costume changes.
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The pop diva wore knee supports as she performed the first gig of her 14-date UK leg of her world tour after cancelling Monday's show and being ordered to rest by doctors over knee and hip injuries.
Madonna replies on stretching, warm-ups, meditation and daily ice baths to ease the pain before gigs, refusing to compromise the choreography of her shows, something which both the critics and fans noticed in their gushing reviews.
Gushing social media reviews and five star write-ups from critics heralded the delayed gig, her first London date since 2015, as worth the wait.
'Painful hip and knee be damned, she dazzled': JULIA DAVIS REVIEWS MADONNA AT THE LONDON PALLADIUM
To be honest, I was nervous I wouldn't be able to write a review of Madonna's long-awaited Madame X show last night.
Not because she cancelled – again (this has happened ten times so far, due to an unspecified injury, said to be a dodgy knee and hip) – but because the Queen of Pop has built up a reputation for being ridiculously late on stage during this tour.
Not fashionably late, a whole diva TWO HOURS late, forcing fans to dance into the small hours, on a school night.
But last night at London's Palladium, Madonna remembered her manners. And painful hip and knee be damned, she dazzled, the absolute trouper she is.
Yes, she looked sore and stiff at times, yet the next minute she was performing an impressive handstand and writhing athletically on a grand piano lid. At 61, she's still got it. She can dance.
The Madame X tour comes with a difference. She was intent on it being an intimate, and interactive event, and had hence banned all phones.
Everyone was instructed to place their device in a lockable pouch on arrival, which only security could open, as you left or slipped out to designated phone zones.
Although we had been warned, there were wobbly scenes, reminiscent of the daemon splicing scenes from Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials, as phones were silenced, muzzled and wrestled away. 'But I neeeeed it…'
It did mean, however, that the usual distracting glow of a thousand photo screens being held aloft was absent which made a refreshing change, and Madonna stressed how wonderful it was 'to look into the audience's eyes', as they fretted about missed calls from the babysitter.
The show opened with a motto from the late American novelist James Baldwin: 'Art is here to prove that all safety is an illusion... Artists are here to disturb the peace,' and finishes with police riot shields, attacking dancers under a video montage of a street riot.
All the time, Madonna looked on, clad in a sequin-encrusted Revolutionary war costume, complete with tricorn hat and eye patch. The 1984 pop princess, performing a sassy 'Holiday' on Top Of The Pops, in rubber bangles and leg warmers, seemed a very long way away.
She took the 'immersive, interactive' theatre feel even further, by climbing down into the audience at one point to truly terrify some poor soul in the 'posh seats' and steal a swig of his beer. She also took a Polaroid selfie, which she auctioned, on stage, to raise money for her Raising Malawi charity. It went for £1,500 – around the price of a top ticket.
We all know Madonna has an opinion or two, and isn't shy about sharing them, which means anyone who likes their concerts light on sermons, and heavy on bop-along-old favourites, is going to be disappointed by Madame X.
She takes on everything: gun control, abortion, Donald Trump, sex, religion, family, rape, violence, slavery and Brexit in her lyrics and soliloquies between songs. Some golden oldies made it, however.
There was Vogue, La Isla Bonita and Express Yourself, and Like a Prayer which had the diehard fans delighted. A lot of material came from her Madame X album, of the same name, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
It's said to be one of her best to date, combining a strange mix of disco, and Portuguese fado music, inspired by her move to Lisbon three years ago, to further her son David Banda's football career.
In fact, the show was very much a family affair: three of her adopted daughters, seven-year-old twins Stella and Estere and 14-year-old Mercy James joined her on stage along with a crowd of women at one point, to chant (disturbingly) 'I'm not your bitch!', after performing Nineties hit, Human Nature.
Later, she performed Frozen while a video of her beautiful, and athletic, 23-year-old daughter dancing played in the background.
Let's hope her medical woes have been laid to rest: she still has 14 gigs to get through in the capital. Somehow, I think she'll do it.
Cancelled: Madonna, 61, took to social media to apologise on Friday evening as she announced that she has been forced to cancel more Madame X tour dates on doctors' orders
2 / 8
Persevering: The singer also revealed she does six hours of rehab every day due to her serious injury (pictured following her show at London's Palladium on Thursday evening)
3 / 8
Honest: Taking to Instagram on Friday, the singer shared a photograph of herself with her head in her hand, and penned a long, heart-felt caption to announce the news
4 / 8
Trying her best: Madonna explained that she has managed to continue on with the tour thanks to intensive rehab, by changing her footwear and by modifying her performance (pictured in May)
5 / 8
Determined: Finishing off her sincere message, the superstar insisted that she is determined to complete her tour and apologised for being forced to cancel two more dates (pictured recently showing her tour warm up)
6 / 8
Cancelled: The two more cancelled dates come after the singer announced on Saturday she was needed to 'put her body and her health first', cancelling Monday's scheduled gig
7 / 8
8 / 8
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