Madonna secretly planning 40th anniversary Greatest Hits tour including London shows
MADONNA is secretly planning a special 40th anniversary Greatest Hits tour, The Sun can reveal.
The 64-year-old Material Girl is expected to announce new dates in the next few weeks — and has booked out London’s O2 Arena for multiple events.
Starting at the end of this year, it will be the pop superstar’s first ever compilation tour, featuring all her best-known numbers.
She hinted in an interview with Variety magazine last year that she was keen to get on the road again.
Now she has held a series of meetings with American director Jamie King, 51, who has masterminded her productions since 2001.
Last night a source said: “Madonna is trying something completely new — and really giving fans, young and old, what they want.
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“She wants to capitalise on tracks like Frozen and Material Girl popping off on TikTok, and introduce her back catalogue to an entirely new generation.
“Previously she has always wanted to be forward-facing and focus on whatever new album she’s plugging. But now, in her mid-sixties, she is going back to basics and once again reinventing herself.
“That being said, it is sure to be no holds barred and suitably risqué.
“Her last Madame X tour was in small theatres, but this one will be in stadiums, with the O2 already confirmed. It’s massively exciting.”
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The US superstar has been planning the shows for several months.
She last performed at the O2 in 2015 on her Rebel Heart tour — and famously took a tumble on stage there that year at the Brit Awards.
Last July, Madonna told how she was eager to perform again, saying: “I want to go on tour again. I’m a creature of the stage. That is my happy place.”
Her Madame X tour in 2019 and 2020 saw her play 75 intimate shows at theatres around the world.
But she was forced to cancel several dates due to recurring hip and knee injuries.
This year marks 40 years since Madonna first entered the US Billboard Hot 100 with Holiday in 1983.
The following year she got her first US No1 with Like a Virgin.
Her first No1 in the UK came in 1985 with Into the Groove.
Madonna is famed for reinventing herself — and for shocking audiences. She famously angered the Catholic Church in 1990 after simulating masturbation on stage during a song, with the Pope calling for a boycott of her Blond Ambition tour.
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And in 2006 she was criticised by the Church of England for staging a mock crucifixion during her Confessions tour in LA.
She defended herself saying: “Jesus wouldn’t have minded.”
MATERIAL GIRL’S GIG HIGHLIGHTS
MADONNA has wowed UK audiences with spectacular tours for nearly four decades.
She first toured in Britain in 1987, two years after her Virgin Tour of North America.
1987 - Who’s That Girl World Tour - Madonna looked devilish as she stepped out into the Stadio Comunale in Turin, Italy, in her Red flamenco dress from her La Isla Bonita video from the same year.
1990 - Blond Ambition World Tour - The Queen of Pop donned her iconic Jean Paul Gaultier conical bra during her sellout show in Chiba, Japan. The number was praised for swapping typical soft curves for sharp edges and spikes.
1993 - The Girlie Show - Protests around the world formed the backdrop for The Girlie Show - her raunchiest tour yet. During the concert, she sported an Asian beaded headdress in a nod to Thai culture.
2001 - Drowned World Tour - Jean Paul Gaultier returned to style the pop diva for her Drowned in World tour, where she sported a stars and stripes top and chaps.
2004 - Re-Invention World Tour - Critics were less favourable of her Re-Invention World Tour which coincided with the release of American Life, but they could not get enough of her Christian Lacroix corset, which she sported with armwear with leather boots.
2006 - Confessions Tour - Her sellout tour included a white suit - inspired by actor John Travolta’s classic outfit from 1977 disco flick Saturday Night Fever.
2008 - Sticky and Sweet Tour - Madonna touched down in Cardiff to kick off her 2008 tour sporting a pair of bespoke crystal-encrusted American Football shoulder pads.
2012 - The MDNA Tour - She moved from the field to the sidelines for her next tour when she slipped into a revealing white and red cheerleader’s outfit.
2015 - Rebel Heart Tour - Her five-legged tour saw the pop superstar blasted out classics such as 'Material Girl' in a fitting Moschino mini dress adorned with thousands of Swarovski crystals.