At the 11th hour, Madonna cancelled her first scheduled show at the London Palladium
Tonight (27 January) was supposed to see the first of 15 nights for Madonna at the London Palladium.
But at the 11th hour, the star cancelled the show.
The 61-year old’s Madame X tour was due to kick off its London leg, but “under doctors’ guidance”, Madge has been told she needs to rest for “a few days”.
Here’s everything you need to know:
Why did Madonna cancel the show?
“As you all know I have injuries that have plagued me since the beginning of the tour,” she said in a statement. “I must always listen to my body and put my health first.”
“Under doctors’ guidance I have been told to rest for a few days.
“The last thing I want to do is disappoint my fans or compromise the integrity of my show. So I will keep going until I cannot.”
Refunds will be given to those who had bought tickets for Monday’s performance. At the time of writing, Wednesday’s show at the same venue is still scheduled to take place.
Last week, the star cancelled dates in Lisbon, Portugal, also due to injury.
The nature of the pop stars injury is not yet known, but in November she told an audience in San Francisco that she was suffering from a “torn ligament” and “a bad knee”.
“Sorry I had to cancel tonight,” she wrote on Instagram at the time, “but I must listen to my body and rest!”
The statement in full:
“I am deeply sorry that I have to cancel my concert scheduled for Monday January 27th in London. Under doctors guidance I have been told to rest for a few days.
“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 and put my health first.
“The last thing I want to do is disappoint my fans or compromise the integrity of my show. So I will keep going until I cannot.
“As always- anyone who purchased a ticket will be refunded for tickets purchased that evening.
“The show on Wednesday January 29th will go as scheduled.
“Again I am deeply sorry to disappoint anyone and please know that it hurts me more than you can imagine to have to cancel any shows.
“Thank you again for your understanding.” – Madonna
‘Full of self-reflection’
The shows were in place to support Madame X, Madonna’s 14th studio album.
Fans hoping to attend tonight’s show will be disappointing not to hear “bangers” like “’Come Alive’, “which is made for live performance and will fill the room when she plays the London Palladium in January.”
“Not for the first time, Madonna strays dangerously near French and Saunders parody,” said reviewer Veronica Lee, “but is she mocking herself, or us? Who knows?”
“Madame X is full of self-reflection, and its themes – of loving others and loving oneself – are reiterated throughout.
“The message comes through that Madonna is comfortable in her own skin, and doesn’t care what others think of her (did she ever?).
“She gives the middle finger to her critics; ‘I don’t want your opinion/ Who you talking to?’ she says on the excellent ‘Come Alive’ and ‘There’s nothing you can do to me that hasn’t been done’on the final track, the anthemic ‘I Rise’ – a statement of intent if ever I heard one.”
