Rewind music: Like a Virgin, by Madonna (1984)
In 1984, Madonna was a disco chick with a fairly successful first album under her belt. But then she released the track Like a Virgin and was catapulted to stardom, staking out her place as the queen of pop.
Like a Virgin
Madonna
Sire Records
In 1984, Madonna was a disco chick with a fairly successful first album under her belt. But then she released the track Like a Virgin and was catapulted to stardom, staking out her place as the queen of pop.
Arguably her most famous song, Like a Virgin debuted at the inaugural MTV Music Awards. Dressed as a bride, she stood at the top of a six-metre wedding cake beside a mannequin groom. As she sang, she worked her way down the cake, performing a striptease as she went. It was saucy and by the end of it she was writhing about on the floor in an apparent orgasm. This kind of thing didn't happen in 1984 - not until Madonna came along - and people were shocked.
Thousands of teenage girls wanted to be like her, to dress like her - and they bought the record in the millions. Like a Virgin was Madonna's first No1 single and it stayed at the top of the Billboard chart for six weeks.
Today, we know Madonna as an artist who continues to push boundaries and it all started with her second album. The music video was shot in Venice with Madonna cavorting on a canal boat with a lion weaving its way in and out of the shots. The cover was shocking, too - it showed Madonna propped up in bed in a tight white bodice, her ample cleavage on display and wearing a belt that read "Boy Toy".