Madonna - Unauthorised Live Vol 1. Torino, Italy (1987) Bootleg

(U.S  1979 - Present)
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28 years ago on September 4th, Madonna performed in Torino, Italy. The concert performed at the Communale Stadium was a monumental television event. It was broadcast live on TV in Italy, France, Germany, Spain and Austria. In Italy alone, the broadcast was watched by an estimated 14 million households. The Who's That Girl Tour ended 2 days later in Florence, Italy on September 6th.

In early summer 1987, two beautiful eyes started popping out from posters in the streets of major cities in the USA asking to the public: Who’s That Girl?
A few weeks later Madonna was on the road with her first world tour, the one that has consecrated her as the world’s leading female star of the ’80s.

Madonna surprised the world with extravagant clothes and accessories and a selection of songs from her first three albums in a heartfelt show that was broadcasted worldwide live from Torino, Italy on September 4, a show that later combined with footage from the other Italian show in Florence and bits from Tokyo, became the famous VHS tour souvenir Ciao Italia.

When Madonna closed her Who’s That Girl Tour in Italy, it became a national celebration. Tickets were immediately sold out and to prevent huge masses of people moving to Torino or Florence from other parts of the country, Rai, the Italian national tv channel contacted Madonna to broadcast her first Italian concert live on television. [extract from madonnatribe.com]
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Dressed To Express Yourself
Madonna's second tour, appropriately named the 'Who's That Girl Tour', is built around the power of costume to invoke thought and ultimately pose the question 'Who's That Girl'. Madonna used seven costumes and a variety of roles and attitudes to compliment the moods of the songs. As the sequence of personas paraded across the stage, the audience
pondered the question and quite often discovered that the answer was more complicated than it seemed..

Madonna has always tried to be thought-provoking and entertaining and the image of Madonna attired in a brazen bustier while packing a pistol gave the sell out crowds at her Who's That Girl concerts plenty to think about (see left)
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Dressed in a brazen black bustier, Madonna opened the show as the seductress. As the show progressed, she became alternately comical and thought-provoking. She poked fun at herself by dressing up in a goofy hat and glasses for a few songs, but then turned serious with 'Papa Don't Preach.' Surrounded by images of the pope, president and the White House, Madonna made it clear where she stood on the issue of a woman's right to control her own body.
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Her performance of 'Live To Tell' didn't use a costume or other props to make a statement, instead drawing its strength from a single, powerful moment at the end of the song, when she slumped to the ground. For a brief moment, the pose suggested despair, and then the singer rose slowly but nonetheless triumphantly.

Madonna sizzles on stage

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The Who's That Girl Tour was far more successful than the film of the same name. Approximately two million people on three continents paid top dollar to experience Madonna's musical extravaganza, which reportedly made as much as $500,000 per show. Madonna's challenge to herself was to make a stadium show personal. Anyone who has ever attended a concert at a stadium knows how far removed the audience feels from the performer(s) on stage. By keeping her show visually exciting, Madonna succeeded in making her performance more accessible to the people in the far reaches of the stadium.
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An actress, a singer, a song writer and a world-class entertainer, Madonna is also a caring individual who has done benefit performances for a number of causes, from famine to AIDS to rain forests. While on her Who's That Girl Tour, Madonna's Madison Square Garden performance of 13 July 1987 raised over $400,000 for the American Foundation for AIDS Research (AMFAR).

Madonna's 'Who's That Girl' 1987 Tour Dates

She was the first major star to stage a large-scale fundraiser for this fatal disease, and she would continue to lend her support to fight AIDS with another benefit three years later at the Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles, where she received the AIDS Project Commitment to Life Award. [extract from Madonna, by Marie Cahill, Bison Group, 1991. p60-68]
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This post consists of MP3 (320kps) ripped from my Australian JOKER Bootleg CD - acquired from a Garage Sale some time ago when I started to take interest in what Madonna had to offer, other than provocative 'fashion statements' !  Also included is full artwork and a selection of tour photos, sourced from Marie Cahill's book on Madonna with thanks.
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Please note that VOL 2 of the Unauthorised series is simply a reproduction of VOL 1 with a different title and cover, so the tracks are identical - very strange. Likewise, this bootleg has also been released by Turtle records under title 'Ti Amo, Bambini Part Two' (see cover below)
The only criticism I have of this bootleg is that the guitar and bass seem to be quite distant at times, indicating that the engineer sitting behind the soundboard did some pretty poor mixing on the night. 
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Track Listing
01 - Like A Virgin / Can't Help Myself
02 - Where's The Party
03 - Live To Tell
04 - Into The Groove
05 - La Isla Bonita
06 - Who's That Girl?
07 - Holiday

Personnel:
Madonna (Vocals)
David Williams, James Harrah (Guitar)
Jai Winding, Patrick Leonard (Keyboards)
Kerry Hatch (Bass)
Jonathan Moffett (Drums)
Luis Conte (Percussion)
Debra Parson, Donna DeLory, Niki Haris (Backing Vocals)
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Madonna Unauthorised Link (103Mb) New Link 25/12/2023
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