Madonna’s singing at ‘Celebration Tour’ is “all live vocal”, says Stuart Price
Madonna‘s musical director Stuart Price has said the icon’s singing on her current ‘Celebration Tour’ is “all live vocal”.
The Queen Of Pop began the UK and European leg of her 40th anniversary tour at The O2 in London last Saturday (October 14). She has since played a further three nights at the arena, and will return for two more in December.
During a new conversation with Billboard, Price – who served as a producer on Madonna’s 2005 album ‘Confessions On A Dance Floor’ – reflected on the opening gig, and shared further details about the dates.
The interviewer at one point told Price that Madge’s voice “sounded amazing”, singling out her performance of the 1998 single ‘Ray Of Light’.
“In terms of building the show, top of the list is got to be, ‘Can we make something that is enjoyable to perform? Can we make something you feel confident doing?’ The number one reason for doing that is it’s all about the vocals,” he responded.
“To give a singer the platform to sing and be themselves is the number one goal. All this stuff is aimed toward, ‘Does Madonna feel like she can hold the microphone and really go for it and deliver on it?’”
Price continued: “I love a comment I’ve received from fans after the show. A couple [of] fans go, ‘Is that all tape vocal?’ To me, that is the biggest compliment because it’s all live vocal.
“There’s a couple of spoken word sections in the show where we just use track. But it’s all live vocals; there’s backing singers – there always has been – but it’s all live vocals. I hope that you hear the humanness of the vocal coming across as well.”
Speaking to BBC News ahead of the opening night of the ‘Celebration Tour’, Price confirmed that the current concerts would not feature a live band on stage.
“There are live musicians that perform at different parts of the show,” he said. “But what we realised is that the original recordings are our stars. Those things can’t be replicated and can’t be recreated, so we decided just to embrace that.”
The producer previously served as Madge’s musical director on her ‘Drowned World Tour’ (2001), the ‘Re-Invention World Tour’ (2004) and the ‘Confessions Tour’ (2006).
In a glowing five-star review of Madonna’s first show at The O2, NME wrote: “The whole thing is a thrilling reminder that Madonna isn’t just a pop star, but also a cultural force who genuinely changed the world by chafing against what society expects from women in the public eye.
“That’s something worth celebrating in the dazzling, dynamic and at times slightly discombobulating way she presents it here. Really, you wouldn’t have her any other way.”
The North American leg of Madonna’s career-spanning tour is set to begin in mid-December, with those dates extending into April 2024.
Meanwhile, fans are speculating over whether Madonna could headline Glastonbury 2024 after the festival’s co-organiser Emily Eavis shared an image from the ‘Celebration Tour’. Eavis previously said Glasto had already booked one of two female bill-toppers for next summer.
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Tom Skinner
NME
