Tour by Madonna | |
Promotional poster for the tour
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Associated album | Erotica |
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Start date | September 25, 1993 |
End date | December 19, 1993 |
Legs | 6 |
No. of shows |
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Box office | US$70 million ($116.05 million in 2017 dollars) |
Madonna concert chronology |
The Girlie Show World Tour (also referred to as simply The Girlie Show) was the fourth concert tour by American singer and songwriter Madonna, in support of her fifth studio album, Erotica. The tour visited the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Australia for the first time, selling 360,000 tickets in this leg only. Madonna's inspiration for the name of the tour was a painting called "Girlie Show" by Edward Hopper. The tour is estimated to have grossed over US$70 million. Two separate television specials were broadcast during the tour, one made during the Japanese leg of the tour and shown only on Japanese television; Madonna Live in Japan 1993 – The Girlie Show and an HBO special Madonna Live Down Under – The Girlie Show which was later released in 1994 by Warner Music Vision on home video.
Proclaiming after her 1990 Blond Ambition World Tour that she would "never go on tour again", it only took her three years until she hit the road again. After that, she said that if "you ever hear me say again 'I'm never going on tour again', don't believe me."
The Girlie Show was launched in support of Madonna's 1992 album, Erotica. The show had the central visual theme of a "sex circus". Described as "a mixture of a rock concert, a fashion show, a carnival performance, a cabaret act and a burlesque show", the show had a more complex stage than those from Madonna's previous tours: it had a runway that led from the center of the main stage to a minor stage, a revolving elevated platform in the middle of the main stage, balconies in the rear of the stage, and a giant illuminated "Girlie Show" sign above stage, among other features. The tour was directed by Madonna's brother, Christopher Ciccone; costumes for the tour were designed by Italian fashion house Dolce & Gabbana.
Madonna played an unusually few five dates in the U.S. It was speculated that this was related to the Erotica album's particularly low sales in that country and the extreme negative backlash surrounding Madonna's book Sex and film Body of Evidence. The tour was chronicled by the photo book The Girlie Show, which included a CD with three live tracks: "Like a Virgin", "In This Life", and "Why's It So Hard."