Mario Testino Photography Launch Party
Posted: 30 January 2002

Madonna, Guy and Lourdes attended the launch party last night of an exhibition of Mario Testino's photographic work at the National Portrait Gallery, London.
The exhibition brings together more than 120 colour and black-and-white photographs by Mario Testino.
The display is open to the public from 01 February - 04 June 2002.
To see more pictures from the event, go to the gallery.

UK-based heat magazine (02-08 February 2002 issue) has more photographs from the Versace Fashion show at the Trocadero Centre in Paris on Saturday 19 January 2002.

The photographs are available in the gallery.

The National Enquirer (05 February 2002 issue) carries the photograph of Madonna in Fulham Road, London.
This photograph is a slightly different one from the shot which was shown previously in the Daily Mail.

The National Enquirer's story is headlined Fab to Drab - Glamour girl Madonna worn down by winter woes.

Madonna is the cover star of Q Magazine's Special Edition - The 100 Greatest Rock 'N Roll Photographs.

The photograph of Madonna comes in at number 35, and is the Rankin shot taken at Smash Box Studios, Los Angeles on 20 December 1997.

Here's what Rankin had to say about the shoot:
'The first thing she said to me was, I hate working with new people and I hate having my photograph taken. So quite cheekily I asked why she was working with me? She said, Because you make people look like they're having fun. So I thought, Er right, now I've got to keep her entertained. However, once you start working you realise that she's got a brilliant sense of humour, and a lot of stuff where she's been seen as being brattish she's turned it into a joke, so she's a lot nicer than I thought she'd be.
I'd been told by Q that Ray Of Light was really good and she played me three tracks. I decided that I wanted to make her look tough, because I thought the music I'd heard was tough and I knew that would be doing something different from what she'd done before.

'My photos of her are harder than anyone else's and they were some of the strongest photos she'd done since the Sex photos. My idea was to make things feel direct. I said to her, this is how I photograph people, I want you to be really empowered, sexy if you want, but really strong and in contol. At the end of the shoot, she said to me, Right, you got it now, haven't you? So I said lets do one more roll.

'It's strange, but I hate talking about Madonna. I don't mind discussing the shoot, but I promise you, more people have asked me what she's like than anyone else. I think by discussing her you really start to invade something that is nothing to do with you, especially if you're a photographer who only meets her for a few hours you can't know the reality. I suppose it's best summed up by the fact I'm a Q reader. I approach her in the same way most Q readers would, theyre fascinated but theyre also respectful towards her. So really It was a priviledge to photograph her.

Part 3 of the Andy Bird story was published in the Daily Mail today.

This is the last part in the series.

You can read the FULL TRANSCRIPT HERE.

Part 2 of the Andy Bird story was published in the Daily Mail today.

You can read the FULL TRANSCRIPT HERE.

Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow attended Donatella Versace's Fashion Show in Paris yesterday.

During the show, a PETA anti-fur protester managed to display a banner reading "Fur Kills - PETA" a few yards from where Madonna and her celebrity friends sat.

The UK-based Daily Mail has started a serialisation of Andy Bird's story of his relationship with Madonna.

The front-cover featured the headline The incredible story of the penniless Englishman who seduced Madonna and four pages inside the paper are devoted to the story of how they met.
Andy Bird is the man who is credited with being the inspiration behind the song Beautiful Stranger.
The best bit of gossip I can find is that as a couple they used to have arguments about his sweaty feet, and that Madonna would make him disinfect them before he came to bed!

Part Two of the story will be in the Monday's paper.

Read the FULL TRANSCRIPT HERE!

Madonna graces the cover of the UK magazine TV & Satellite Week (19-25 January 2002 issue).
This is to advertise the premiere showing of The Next Best Thing on Sky Premier on Tuesday 22 January at 8pm.
The magazine also features a two-page spread looking at Madonna's film career, and asking why Hollywood stardom still eludes her.

For the first photographs of 2002, Madonna was "snapped" leaving Highgate Studios in London on 10 January.
Madonna was said to have been at these studios for a photoshoot, but the reason for this shoot is unknown at the moment.

     

Thanks to www.wherelifebegins.com for the photographs.

An unconfirmed report has said that Madonna and Guy will be presenting a brit Award to Sting at the 20 February ceremony at Earls Court in London.
Madonna herself has not been nominated for any awards this year.

The UK newpaper the Daily Star today features a front-page story by reporter Nigel Pauley about Madonna, and how she hates being called Madge.

Madonna has banned husband Guy Ritchie and his cockney mates from calling her Madge - because she DETESTS it.
The Queen of Pop has issued strict orders that no one uses the nickname - first given to her by her movie director love.
Friends say the American superstar "absolutely hates" being called Madge and has insisted that everyone calls her by her full name.
The revelation was made by british actor Jason Flemyng, who became a close friend of Guy when he starred in his movies, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch.
Jason said: "She just hates 'Madge'. We're under strict instructions not to call her that. She absolutely abhors it."
But the british star insisted that Madonna was not at all stuck up, saying she was "one of the boys".
He said " She loves being one of the lads and being treated normally".
Mum-of-two Madonna, 43, is currently living in the UK with her husband and children.
Although brit Guy adopts a mock-cockney accent, he comes from a wealthy, blue-blooded family and went to a top public school.
Madge recently announcing that she wanted Guy to be knighted - so she could be called Lady Madonna.
However, it only showed her lack of knowledge of british noble affairs - a knight's wife always takes her husband's surname, so she would be Lady Ritchie.
Madonna, who is shivering her way through her first british winter, isn't totally taken with our way of life.
She recently blasted workmen doing up her central London home, claiming that the british working week seemed to start at noon on Monday and end at noon on Friday.

LittleStar - The Madonna site now has a whole new collection of galleries of Madonna photographs.
These photos are all taken from my personal collection of Madonna magazine cuttings, newspaper articles and books.
I'll hope you'll browse the gallery and find some pictures you've never seen before.
You'll also find a new section called UK Press Adverts which features some adverts for Madonna products/events that featured in the UK Press.

Time magazine (January 14 2002 issue) has a small piece on the tartan that was specially commissioned in celebration of Madonna and Guy's first wedding anniversary.
The Highlands of Scotland Tourist board have now explained the reasoning behind the design of the tartan, called "Romantic Scotland".
The color scheme: pearl white, for Like a Virgin; blue, for the early True Blue album; yellow, for the Blond Ambition tour; and purple, for Scottish heather. A three-line overcheck echoes the style of the Ritchie tartan.

In the heat magazines annual poll (12-18 January 2002 issue), readers of the magazine voted for the Top 25 Sexiest Female Celebrities.
Madonna only came 12th, following behind after such celebs as J-Lo and Geri Halliwell. Kylie Minogue topped the poll this year.

Here is what heat magazine had to say about Madonna:
She might be a 43-year old mum of two and have the muscles of a building site foreman, but there is an empowering sexiness about Madge.
She knows what she wants out of life and takes no prisoners - and that sort of attitude is just as alluring as her yoga-honed body.

The nominations for the 44th Grammy Awards were announced yesterday. Madonna has only been nominated in one category "Best Short Form Video" for Don't Tell Me.

She faces competition from Aerosmith (Fly Away Home), Missy Elliott (One Minute Man), Fatboy Slim (Weapon of Choice) and Outkast (Ms. Jackson).

A brand new Madonna website launched today, and as a special treat you can get EXCLUSIVE LittleStar Avatars there.

Go and visit www.madonnapolis.com