The new issue of US magazine People features an article about Madonna talking about how Kabbalah has changed her life and a BRAND NEW picture.

The new picture may be from the Steven Klein portfolio for the re-Invention tour book.

The new issue of OK! magazine (Issue 412 April 07 issue) features four pages of pictures of Madonna, Guy, Lourdes and Rocco at a recent Kabbalah Festival in Los Angeles where they spent the afternoon strolling around the festivals attractions and food stalls - see the pictures below.
The magazine also features a full-page feature with the tour promo picture entitled Deserately Seeking Madonna Tickets.

   

Looks like Madonna’s going to make that anti-war statement after all.
Last year, the singer shelved her 'American Life' video after worldwide controversy erupted when it was revealed that she planned to include anti-war images in it. Now, says a source, Madonna is planning to return to an anti-war message for her upcoming Re-Invention Tour.
The source says that Madonna and her dancers have been training with rifles, military style, and will 'reenact battle scenes in a way that is meant to underscore the tragedy of war.'
'Madonna has very strong feelings about the war in Iraq,' says a source. 'But last year, it was too controversial a thing to do — even for her. The climate has changed somewhat since then.'
Madonna’s spokeswoman says there will be 'drill team choreography' in the tour — but denies that there’s any anti-war message.

London newspaper the Evening Standard has featured more teaser adverts for Madonna's re-Invention tour.

Click on the adverts to enlarge.

The third date at POP Bercy, Paris on 04 September goes on sale tomorrow morning at 09.30am (Paris Time).
It is likely that a fourth and final date will be added when the 04 September date sells out.
For details on how to buy tickets, check the madonnalicious tour page.

The tickets for Madonna's Paris show on 01 September sold out within 30 minutes this morning. Fans found phonelines jammed and the Ticketnet.fr crashed due to an overwhelming demand for tickets.
A second date of 02 September was soon added, but was only available to buy on the phone, and also sold out very quickly.

Madonna will also visit the Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey on 07 July - these tickets go onsale on 05 April.

A third date at The Forum, Los Angeles have been announced for 27 May and goes on sale 02 April at 10.00am.

Madonna also has a third date in Boston on 30 June, these tickets go onsale on 05 April at 10.00am.

Tonight's edition of the London newspaper the Evening Standard featured this teaser advert for Madonna's re-Invention tour date at Wembley Arena.

Click on the advert to enlarge.

The 01 September concert at Bercy, Paris goes on sale tomorrow morning - for details visit the madonnalicious tour page.

Madonna arranged her notorious MTV Video Music Awards lesbian kiss with Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera to silence rumours of feuding between the pop beauties.
According to Dirrty singer Aguilera, Madonna wanted the former Mouseketeers to put on a front of solidarity to the world to prove they're pals - so decided to engineer the sexy smooch at the high profile awards last year.
The Material Girl was also concerned by reports she and rapper Missy Elliott - who appeared at the end of the performance - had a falling out when they shot a commercial together for fashion giant GAP.
Aguilera says, 'I got a call from Madonna herself, saying that she really wanted me to do it. I told her I wanted to make sure there'd be no lip-syncing, and she told me point-blank, 'The live thing is mandatory.'
'She also was like, 'The whole reason behind me trying to bring everyone together - Missy as well - is that there's so much backstabbing and so many rivalry-driven rumours in the tabloids, and it would be empowering to see all these females on the same stage.'
'You know, I'm all for female empowerment, but I also thought it just sounded like fun! Dressing up in the old Madonna gear, getting up there and rolling around with Britney....'

More pre-sale tickets were made available to ICON Fanclub members today - check ICON for details. Some lower priced seating is still available.

The first date in Los Angeles has just sold out, but a second date at The Forum, Los Angeles has just been added for May 25.

Latest Events still have some travel packages (hotel and ticket) available for Madonna's 18 and 19 August dates at Earls Court, London.

Paris tickets go on sale from this company on Wednesday 31 March.

It looks like Madonna and her dancers will be getting to grips with rifles during the re-Invention tour. The Drum Corps International website has published this story:

Current Santa Clara Vanguard tour director and former color guard staff member Allan Dekko is moonlighting with Madonna this spring, teaching the Material Girl and some of her dancers how to spin rifle for their upcoming world tour.
Dekko is currently working with Madonna and her dancers in Los Angeles teaching them the finer points of spinning as well as choreographing sections of the production they wish to use the rifles in.
Dekko has been teaching color guards since 1980. He’s taught numerous high school and winter guards, as well as the Santa Clara Vanguard from 2000 to 2002.

A sixth date at New York's Madison Square Garden has just been added for June 24.

Tickets to Madonna's tour are selling out - and more dates are being added to the schedule. From the dates on sale this morning the further dates have been added:
Jun 27 - Boston USA
Jul 04 - Philadelphia USA
Jun 20 - New York USA
Jun 21 - New York USA
Jun 23 - New York USA

A quick reminder to US fans - tickets for Madonna's tour for these venues go onsale tomorrow, Monday 29 March. Good luck to everyone trying to buy tickets!

May 24 - The Forum, Los Angeles
June 16 - Madison Square Garden, New York City
June 17 - Madison Square Garden, New York City
June 27 - Worcester Centrum, Boston
July 04 - Wachovia Center, Philadelphia

For details on phone numbers and websites to get tickets, check out the madonnalicious tour page.

Remember additional dates may be announced for venues as the first show sells out - so keep calling and stay online as more tickets become available!

The Wembley Arena website has announced that tickets for Madonna's date at Wembley Arena on 22 August go onsale at 09.00am on Friday 02 April.

Tickets are priced at £150, £90, £75 - there do not appear to be any £50 tickets at this venue.

A limited number of tickets will be available for sale at the Wembley Arena Box Office on Friday morning. The majority of tickets will be on sale from the Madonna Hotline: 0870 160 8989 and on line at www.whatsonwembleyticket.com

Today's edition of the New York Post features a new picture of Madonna and Rocco in matching Von Dutch trucker caps.

Thanks to Jamie for the scan.

Visit Splash News for the latest pictures of Madonna in Los Angeles.

A second night at the Office Depot Center, Fort Lauderdale for Thursday 29 July and the American Airlines Arena, Miami on Monday 02 August have been announced.
The tickets for these dates go onsale in one week on Saturday 03 April.

A fourth night at the United Center, Chicago has been added to the tour schedule.
The tickets for this date go onsale in one week on Saturday 03 April.

A 30-second TV advert that has been airing in the US advertising the re-Invention tour is now available to download. Right click and save target as.

Here is the advert for the re-Invention tour date at Earls Court on 18 August which was featured in yesterday's Evening Standard newspaper - which was unfortunately published after all the tickets had sold out!

Click the image to enlarge.

Another date at the Air Canada Center, Toronto has been announced for July 19.
Not soon after a third date was also added for Toronto on Wednesday 21 July.

More dates are likely to be added to the other US venues on sale today when the first show is sold out. So keep checking all the ticket outlets.

A quick reminder to US fans - tickets for Madonna's tour for these venues go onsale this morning. Good luck to everyone trying to buy tickets today!

May 29 - MGM Grand Hotel, Las Vegas
July 11 - United Center, Chicago
July 18 - Air Canada Center, Toronto
July 28 - Office Depot Center, Fort Lauderdale
August 01 - American Airlines Arena, Miami

For details on phone numbers and websites to get tickets, check out the madonnalicious tour page.

London radio station Capitol FM have confirmed that Madonna will be announcing more London concerts next week.

These are probably the rumoured dates at Wembley Arena starting on 22 August and there are likely to go onsale by the end of next week.

From www.businesswire.com:
Hot on the heels of the announcement of one of the most exciting tours of the summer, tickets for the August 18th performance of Madonna's re-Invention World Tour 2004 at Earls Court in London went on sale this morning and sold out in just 90 minutes. Due to overwhelming demand, a Madonna second show was added for August 19th. It only took an additional 90 minutes for tickets for the second show to completely sell out as well.
The intense demand for tickets bodes well for North America. Tickets for performances in Chicago, Las Vegas, Miami, Ft. Lauderdale and Toronto go on sale tomorrow, Saturday, March 27th, followed by on sale dates for performances in New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Los Angeles on Monday, March 29th.

From www.madonna.com:
Tickets for the London Earl's Court - August 18th performance this morning sold out in 90 minutes. Earl's Court then announced a second show in that venue - Thursday, August 19/04- and the second show sold out in another 90 minutes.
We anticipate that tickets for all the North American shows will also quickly sell out so please get tickets as soon as they go on sale.

Today's edition of The Sun newspaper reported that 250,000 hopefuls were still waiting on the phone lines when the last ticket sold for her August 18 date at London’s Earls Court.

Fans will be able to buy ticket packages to see Madonna's re-Invention tour when it hits Bercy, Paris on 01 September.
For more details on the packages, which go onsale at 09.00am on Wednesday 31 March visit here.

The show is designed to start off dark and heavy, similar to the Drowned World tour and then gets decadent in the middle, like The Girlie Show, and by the end it's just all out fun....Madonna wakes up from the dream and the show is over, except for the encores.
All the old songs have been tweaked to give a fresh edge.....they are not straight-on versions from the albums.
Jamie King, Madonna, and her team have late night meetings to review videotape of the days rehearsals, then they brainstorm new ideas and changes for the following day.
The set-list is still changing, as they replaced Burning Up with Borderline yesterday, and have added a reprise of Bedtime Story towards the end of the show as a bookend. The creative team are just working on different ideas and working out if songs fit.
They have not had a dress rehearsal yet as costumes for the dancers are still be fitted.
Venues for the Israel and Ireland show are still being considered. Madonna would rather play enclosed venues, rather than open-air stadium type venues.

The third of Madonna's childrens book to be published is Yakov and the Seven Thieves on 21 June 2004 - this title was originally pushed back to later this year but due to publishing issues has had it date changed again.

The fact that Madonna is touring during this time has had no bearing on this decision.

Madonna's two Earls Court dates have sold out within minutes of going onsale from the official ticket outlets.
Even with the highest price of a ticket being £150 did not put fans off.

Hopefully the rumoured 4 dates at Wembley Arena will be announced very soon.

A second night at Earls Court on Thursday 19th August has just gone onsale, but is expected to be sold out within minutes aswell.

This morning Madonna's first date at Earls Court for the re-Invention tour sold out in about 10 minutes.
Fans trying to book tickets found the websites had crashed and phonelines were constantly engaged.

There are four beautiful and stunning set designs, which fit in with the four sections of the show entitled Dreams, Indulgence, The Fall and Enlightenment.

The sound engineers are using an advanced (and expensive) in-concert surround sound that was developed and made famous by the engineers who produce concerts for bands such as Pink Floyd. So no matter where you're seated for the show, the sound will be crystal clear!

The new issue of Instyle Magazine (April 2004), features a few pictures of Madonna at the Grammy Awards and at the Warner Music after party at sushi-palace, Katana.
The magazine quotes Madonna as saying at the after party:

'I can't believe Anthony Kiedis and I have known each other for 20 years,' Madonna the red-hot mama said of the Red Hot Chili Pepper.

'Mr. Ritchie, is my dress cut too low? Should I leave my coat on?' she asked Guy.

'We're trying to figure out whether red or white wine has more calories,' said Madonna, with Missy Elliot.

Earls Court will not be selling tickets to fans who call at the box office tomorrow.
All tickets for the Earls Court dates will be via telephone, internet, or at selected Virgin Megastores.

Tickets go on sale at 9.00am tomorrow - at £150, £90, £75, £50 plus a booking fee:
www.ticketmaster.co.uk
www.eco.co.uk
www.seetickets.com
CC hotline: +44 (0)870 4000 880
Ticketzone: +44 (0)8705 321 321
Earls Court: +44 (0)870 903 9033 (by phone only)

More dates in the UK are rumoured to take place at Wembley Arena following on from the Earls Court dates - but there has not been official confirmation from Madonna's management yet.

The bitter dispute between Madonna and Warner Music will be fought in the courts.
Warner Music yesterday filed an action in a Delaware court asking a judge to declare that claims made by Madonna's Maverick Records - that Warner has violated the terms of a joint venture agreement - are baseless, The Post has learned.
Meanwhile Maverick, which is represented by famed Hollywood attorney Bert Fields, is expected to file a lawsuit today in Los Angeles Superior Court seeking more than $200 million in damages, according to sources familiar with the matter.
The lawsuit will also ask the court to terminate the joint venture deal and allow Madonna and her business partner, Hollywood power broker Guy Oseary, to walk away from Warner.
Warner's filing in Delaware is under seal, but Maverick's lawsuit will become part of the public record today.
The dispute between Maverick and Warner has been ongoing for more than a year, and represents a significant headache for the new ownership group headed by Edgar Bronfman Jr., which recently acquired Warner Music for about $2.6 billion.
Oseary referred calls to Fields, who declined comment on the suit until it is filed. A spokesman for Warner Music declined comment.
Madonna and Warner formed Maverick 11 years ago, and according to the terms of the deal Warner has the option to buy out the 60 percent of the label it doesn't own at the end of 2004.
The two sides are now dickering over what Maverick is worth. According to one published report, Madonna and her associates believe their stake is worth about $60 million.
But sources say Warner claims it is worth much less, and that Maverick has not made money since 1998.
In addition to Madonna herself, Maverick boasts such successful artists as Alanis Morissette and Michelle Branch.
Separately, Madonna is in an ongoing dispute with Time Warner over a stock options package she received prior to the media giant's merger with America Online - a deal that resulted in the collapse of Time Warner's stock price and made the options worthless, sources say.
The legal battle comes amid a wide-ranging restructuring at Warner Music, which is merging its two East Coast labels, Atlantic and Elektra, and laying off about 1,000 employees.

British fashion designer Stella McCartney joked about Madonna's 'fat ass' when she first met the Queen of Pop. Stella - daughter of ex-Beatle Sir Paul McCartney - revealed how she had a disastrous first meeting with the American star.
The pair are now best friends but things didn't go according to plan when Madonna turned up at Stella's London studio.
She said: 'I knew Madonna was coming, so I was understandably very nervous. It isn't every day that you get to meet Madonna.'
'The doorbell went at my studio while I was doing some washing in the sink. I didn't have an intercom so I had to run downstairs and let her in.'
'When I opened the door, there was Madonna and a huge group of paparazzi. There was nothing she could do about it because I had left her standing there.'
'Then when we went upstairs, the sink had overflowed because I left the tap running. There was water everywhere.'
'It was just such a drama. To cap things off, I then proceeded to tell her that she had a fat ass!'

An article in the New York Daily News discussed the high cost of tickets for Madonna's tour - to which Madonna's rep Liz Rosenberg replied:

'The tickets are scaled from $300 to $90. This is pretty much in line with other major superstar shows.'
Rosenberg added that the clothes in the show will be provided by Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel, and Christian LaCroix.

A commercial advertising the re-Inventiontour was aired in Los Angeles during the Ellen Show yesterday.
It featured a montage of clips from Madonna's videos and past concerts. A selection of her songs are played in the background while a voiceover says'See Madonna perform her greatest hits'

Madonna is also hitting the radio airways, on NYC's Z100 a voiceover says The Queen of Pop is back playing her greatest hits on the re-Invention tour.
Madonna will be playing Madison Square Garden June 16th and 17th and tickets go on sale on Monday.

The NYC Village Voice also featured a large advert for the NYC tour dates.

Despite earlier news that Niki Harris would again be joining Madonna on her tour - news is now coming in that Niki will not be touring with Madonna this time. Niki was even called and asked if she knew any good singers to audition for the tour.
Madonna's other back-up singer/dancer Donna is still on board though.

The latest issue of Us Weekly features two pictures of Madonna wearing a Mary is my homegirl t-shirt while visiting the Kabbalah Center in Los Angeles.

Thanks to www.madonnasworld.com for the scans.

Superstar Madonna could give evidence at a public planning inquiry over her long-running dispute with ramblers opening up footpaths on her £9 million country estate.
The singer and her film director husband Guy Ritchie have been concerned over a new 'right to roam' law which would allow walkers access to parts of her 1,200-acre retreat Ashcombe, in Wiltshire.
Now the issue is to go to public inquiry but it is not known if the star, who confirmed dates of her new world tour this week, will appear in person.
Anyone can attend the inquiry but neither Madonna’s agent, the Countryside Agency nor the Planning Inspectorate knew if she would be giving evidence at a week-long hearing in Shaftesbury, Dorset, from May 5.
The Countryside Agency has already agreed that ramblers would be denied access to some 15 acres after concerns by the couple that sightseers and paparazzi could legally get within 100 yards of their Grade II-listed Georgian mansion.
The agency said the paths were not included on maps as they did not meet open access criteria but stressed that Madonna used an appeal process open to any landowner and was not treated any differently.
Madonna’s time there has not been without problems – she has complained about low-flying aircraft, suffered an attempted burglary and was ordered to take down new 12ft high security gates after failing to apply for planning permission.

For all the ICON fan club members who are trying to buy pre-sale tickets over the next week please be advised of the following information which was posted on ICON's Message Board:

PRESALE only means that you are able to participate in a onsale private ticketing arrangement to try your luck at an allotment of tickets set aside to be sold VIA PRESALE before they go onsale to the general public.
Only a set number of tickets is available for a 'presale' and will sell out.
Presale does NOT mean all seats are or will be the best in the house. The higher the price, the better the seat. But that does not mean each seat will be right by the stage.

Some fans who tried to buy pre-sale tickets for the Earls Court and Bercy dates found that the ticket allocation sold out very quickly.

Following on from the official press release and the tour picture the UK newspapers have gone Madonna-mad! Most of today's tabloid newspapers feature the full page picture, with limited tour details.

The Daily Mirror uses the headline Her Madgesty and say 'Looking more like Marie Antoinette than the Queen of Pop, Madonna prepares to launch her first world tour for three years. And majestic Madge is promising a right royal rave up'.
Both The Sun and Daily Mail also feature full page pictures.

Memberships were frozen for a short time while they processed the large number of new members but you can now join ICON again - and hopefully get pre-sale tickets.

Visit www.icon.musictoday.com for more information.

Thursday 19 August has now been confirmed as Madonna's second date at Earls Court, London. The tickets go onsale on Friday 26 March at 9.00am.

ICON Members should check out the ICON website now for Pre-Sale details - click here for the details.

And check out the new madonna.com front page for tour artwork and dates.

Here are the US dates and venues - remember more dates probably will be added at each venue. The general public on-sale dates are in brackets.

May 24 - Forum, Los Angeles (March 29)
May 29 - Grand, Las Vegas (March 27)
June 08 - HP Pavillion, San Jose (April 12)
June 13 - MCI Center, Washington DC (April 03)
June 16 - Madison Square Garden, NYC (March 29)
June 17 - Madison Square Garden, NYC (March 29)
June 27 - Worcester Centrum, Boston (March 29)
July 04 - Wachovia Center, Philadelphia (March 29)
July 11 - United Center, Chicago (March 27)
July 18 - Air Canada Centre, Toronto (March 27)
July 24 - Philips Arena, Atlanta (April 03)
July 28 - Office Depot Center, Fort Lauderdale (March 27)
August 01 - American Airlines Arena, Miami (March 27)

Madonnalicious has now opened a re-Invention Tour page where you can find all the information you need to buy your tickets for Madonna's new tour.

As official information of venues, tour dates, ticket prices and ticket on-sale dates is released then it will be posted on the tour page after it has been posted here on the main news page.

To visit the The re-Invention Tour page click here

The tour logo has been revealed on www.madonnaviptickets.com

The first picture from the Steven Klein shot tourbook has been released.

Click on the image to enlarge - with thanks to Madonna Electronica for the picture.

Tickets for the 01 September concert at Paris' Bercy go on sale on 31 March 2004 according to the NRJ website.

More details on where to buy them to follow.

Tickets for The re-Invention Tour at Earls Court in London go on sale this Friday 26 March at 9am.

Tickets are priced at £150, £90, £75, £50 plus a booking fee.

You can buy the tickets via these methods:
www.ticketmaster.co.uk
www.eco.co.uk
CC hotline: 0870 4000 880
Ticketzone: 08705 321 321
Earls Court: 0870 903 9033 (by phone only)
Selected Virgin Megastores

'I'm happy to confirm the rumors. Madonna will be going out on tour this spring and summer,' announced the star's long time manager, Caresse Henry.
Clear Channel Entertainment is the promoter of Madonna's worldwide tour, which begins in Los Angeles on May 24th.

The tour will sweep across major markets in the US including Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, Atlanta and Miami and then continue with stops in London, Paris and proposed visits to Israel and Ireland.
According to Ms. Henry, 'Madonna has already started rehearsals for 'The re-Invention Tour' and she can't wait to get back on stage to recreate her songs from the earliest days of her career up until the present.
There is no doubt that this tour will be the pinnacle of her long standing and well deserved reputation as one of the most exciting live performers of our time. And as a special treat to her fans, existing Icon fan club members will have access to tickets prior to the on-sale dates in local markets.'

The Material Girl, a Warner Bros./Maverick recording artist, represented by Creative Artists Agency, is a five-time Grammy® winner, a multi MTV Award winner and has sold over 250 million albums during the span of her extraordinary two decade career.
In addition, she has had more Top Ten singles than any female artist in history and second only to Elvis Presley.
The current shows in London and Paris were announced this morning:

August 18 - London - Earls Court September 01 - Paris - Bercy

North American Tour Dates to Be Announced
For Official Fan Club, Tour and Ticket Information, visit madonna.com
For Official VIP Ticket packages, visit madonnaviptickets.com

An article in Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz has published a story in which they say Madonna's manager Caresse Henry has confirmed the tour, and that the title is The Re-Invention Tour. Here is the full article:

Madonna is expected to perform in Israel in August or September when her world tour hits Israel.
'We are pleased to confirm the rumors. Madonna will be touring during the coming summer and fall,' Caresse Henry, the singer's longtime manager, said on Sunday.
This would be Madonna's second appearance in Israel. Her first was in October 1993.
'The Re-Invention Tour' is slated to kick off in Los Angeles on May 24 and will include shows in San Francisco, New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, Atlanta and Miami. Madonna will then head to London for an August 18 performance followed by shows in Paris, Israel and Ireland.
Shuki Weiss, who will produce Madonna's performances in Israel, said the number of shows, their dates and their locations have not yet been determined.
'The artist has promised to perform in Israel and this is certainly going to be a bigger show than she has ever done,' Weiss said. 'The performance will be set for August or September, but details have not yet been finalized. A number of ideas regarding the location of the show as well as Madonna's other activities in Israel have been put on the table,' Weiss said.

You can now download MTV's Blond Date - Live From Houston backstage coverage and a small excerpt from Express Yourself from the Blond Ambition Tour in the Downloads section.

Madonna has filmed two video interludes for the show, to be played while Madonna rests and changes costumes during her performance. Similar to the way Paradise (Not For Me) was used in the Drowned World Tour.

The songs featured in these videos are I'm So Stupid and Like A Virgin.

DrownedMadonna had previously reported that one of these videos was directed by Guy Ritchie.

Visit Splash News to see the latest pictures of Madonna and Guy attending the Kabbalah Centre in Los Angeles.
The couple arrived separately and left the same way, with Madonna leaving in her Mini Cooper.

The UK ticket seller Ticketmaster has been telling customers that the on-sale date for Madonna tickets in the UK is Friday 26 March.

Love Profusion is Madonna's 33rd US Billboard Hot Dance/Club Play No. 1 and the fourth No. 1 Club Play hit from 'American Life'.
The maxi single was just released last Tuesday.

Look out for Madonna to appear as a guest on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in April to promote the tour.
The months of April and May will see a heavy media onslaught from Madonna promoting her tour.

DrownedMadonna published this story today about a HBO broadcast of a concert:
As usual, HBO will broadcast live one of the shows. Apparently, it will be one of the UK concerts. But, they are also mentioning Israel and New York City performances for that.

Several rumours about when the tour announcement will be made are circulating on the internet at the moment.

London DJ Chris Tarrant said on his Capital Radio breakfast show this morning that he would be announcing Madonna's tour on Monday morning. He said she was coming to Britain this Summer.

Fansite DrownedMadonna posted this news item on their site:
Caliente Management (Caresse Henry) is going to announce the tour very soon, they are waiting to get the artwork and the image of the tour ready. The tour is going to be heavily promoted including TRL.

Some of the dancers have been overheard commenting that they had no idea how demanding their jobs would be. They have been rehearsing 5 and 6 days a week. They arrive at the soundstage at 7:30 am and don't get back to their hotel rooms until very late at night.

Madonna has been singing all the songs live with no pre-recorded vocals, and has been playing electric and acoustic guitar on a few songs.

Madonna seriously wants to use the tour name 'Whore of Babylon' but her management is pushing for something a little less provocative. The 'Whore of Babylon' relates to the Kabbalah concept of the show.

The ITV.com website has reported that Madonna is set to get into the groove in the UK, with reports saying she will playing Earls Court on August 18-19.

Madonna is also scheduled to play Paris' Bercy on 01, 02, and 04 September.

Visit Splash News to see the latest pictures of Madonna getting a drink and heading to her car after spending the morning at a gym in Beverley Hills.

Madonnalicious reported yesterday that Ryan Seacrest's show On Air would feature a pop star announcing a new world tour, and rumours circulated that it would be Madonna - but it wasn't! It was Janet Jackson.

However sources say that Madonna's management have big plans for launching the tour in the media later this month.

Unlike what we have heard previously, Madonna's new tour is not a straightforward journey through time BUT a journey through her life and her spiritual and personal growth through Kabbalah.
Bedtime Story begins the show in a dark-broody atmosphere, portraying Madonna caught up in a decadent dream world....the superstar trying to discover who she really is. As the songs progress, Madonna is coming out of this crazy dream world, back to reality.

Inside sources at yesterday's tour rehearsals claim that these songs were rehearsed: Bedtime Story, Skin, Justify My Love, Hollywood, Live to Tell, Nothing Really Matters, Borderline, Vogue and Take A Bow - though not all of these songs may make the final set-list.

80 pictures have been uploaded to the Galleries - view these latest uploads here.

Jeannette Walls of MSNBC.com reports Madonna and Guy Ritchie recently attended a Purim party thrown in Los Angeles by Kabbalah. 'It was a costume party and she came as a French courtier and he was dressed as a Viking,' an insider revealed. 'They're both totally normal.'

Ryan Seacrest announced on his show On Air today that on his show tomorrow (17 March) one of the world's biggest stars will be on his show and they will be announcing their upcoming world tour. Could it be Madonna?

In an attempt to play the older hits, Madonna and her musical director are giving the old songs a face lift, with new arrangements, some are getting the electronica treatment, while others are going slightly acoustic. They're trying to mix it up and give a fresh edge to old songs. Madonna simply does not want to perform them as they were originally recorded.

Madonna had to fight to get Jamie King to be creative director of this tour, some people around Madonna were initially unhappy with her choice as they wanted her to go in a completely different creative direction.

The opening number at the present time is Bedtime Story

The Dutch media were fooled by a Madonna imposter hired by 'friends' of designer Paul Schulten to attend his fashion show.
The designer claims he had no prior knowledge of the publicity stunt, which was covered by the Dutch media....however it did the job, his fashion show was splashed across the news media providing him with plenty of coverage!

Stories are circulating in the Dutch press that Madonna attended Paul Schulten's fashion show in Amsterdam this weekend. Here is a story from Dutch daily newspaper Telegraaf:

All the VIPS are in place at the show in the Okura Hotel, where Paul Schulten is about to present his Spring/Summer collection. However the show doesn't start. It soon becomes clear why....a small lady, dressed in a clean suit, black beret, huge sunglasses and 'fire red' lips enters the hall with no less then 4 security guards. It's Madonna!
During the show she sits quietly next to Fashion-veteran Edgar Vos. As soon as the show ends she disappears. 'I knew she was coming', says a proud Paul Schulten backstage. 'I couldn't tell no-one though. I wasn't nervous, just honoured'.
The pop star stayed in the Okura Hotel and heard about the fashion show in the hotel. She then applied to come. What her thoughts were about the collection is yet unknown to Schulten.

On some days tour rehearsals have been going on for up to 16 hours.

A lot of song medleys are being tested, this will provide Madonna with a way to present many older songs.

Like A Prayer and Vogue are definitely on the set-list for the tour.

Reports that Madonna's creative directors have consulted with the creative team of Cirque De Soleil is false, as is the rumour that Madonna is using animals on stage.

Sources have told Madonnalicious that the Entertaiment Tonight story about Madonna making a Truth Or Dare-type tour documentary is false.
One concert will be aired on a cable channel, and later released on DVD, but no film is in the works. The cameras at the dancers auditions were there simply to record the dance auditions to aid Madonna in making her final dancer selections.

Insider sources have told Madonnalicious that Donna DeLory will be joining Madonna on tour this year. It is still unclear whether Niki Harris will also be on the tour.

Donna will also be performing her own material at local venues along the tour route like she did during the Drowned World Tour.

More information about the tour will be announced on TV around the end of this month, and tickets should be up for sale by mid-April.

You can now vote for Madonna's first childrens book The English Roses which has been shortlisted for Childrens Book Of The Year in the British Book Awards.

To cast your vote, click here. The results will be announced live at the Awards ceremony on Channel 4 at 5pm on Good Friday, 9th April.

US TV program Entertainment Tonight has run a story claiming that Madonna is shooting a sequel to her 1991 documentary Truth or Dare (In Bed With Madonna).
It will take a look at her life and her new tour, and could be one explaination of why the dance auditions which were filmed.

Piper Calum 'Spud' Fraser's got an email with a request which said: 'Can you play on Madonna's next world tour?'
'I thought it was a joke', he said. 'The email mentioned someone called Caresse Henry. I checked the name out on the internet and discovered it was Madonna's manager. I called the number and found I was talking to a lovely girl in Long Beach, California, and she told me the offer was perfectly serious.'
Spud has played for Madonna before. He said: 'When she arrived at Inverness Airport for her wedding, I turned up to give her a good Scottish welcome. I had practised her song Like A Virgin and played it as she came off the plane. She recognised it immediately and smiled. And she mentioned the incident later in a book. I can only assume she remembered me and tracked me down.'
Tartan Army piper Spud had hoped to keep Madonna's offer under wraps until a contract had been signed. But word got out after he explained his plight to a bride-to-be who wanted to book him for a wedding in August.
Spud said: 'It's a real headache. Rehearsals start in New York in a couple of weeks and I'd be required right through until September 15.
'I've got weddings and functions in my diary and I don't like letting anyone down but to tour with Madonna is the chance of a lifetime.'

You can find out more about Calum Fraser here and listen to his rendition of Like A Virgin which he played to Madonna when she arrived at Inverness airport for her wedding.

Madonna is rehearsing with a guitar the Love Profusion Headcleanr Mix and Justify My Love. So, she's going to play a rock version of these songs in the concert.
It seems that the tour will have more than one costume designer. Jean-Paul Gaultier is confirmed as one of them.
Niki Haris and Donna DeLory haven't been involved at all, so we can assume they're not going to be part of the tour.
The tour is going to be officially announced at the end of March with the official logo and the official Madonna's image of the tour. It will be something complete CRAZY: we've never seen Madonna like this!

Gossip site popbitch.com have published this story about London dates for the tour:

Ms. Madge will be announcing some London concerts next week. One at Earls Court and initially 2 at Wembley although this will be upped to 4 due to the public demand.
It will be a greatest hits tour (well it ain't going to sell on the back of the last album.) Thinking it might be good fun? Get your hands in your pockets for a measly £150 a ticket at Wembley, all seats except £175 at the front and £75 restricted view.
Bringing in a cool £2 mil for the gigs. Top prizes for any A-listers on the board who can wangle comps - they are non-existent.

Two new video clips have been added to the Downloads section - they are the dress rehearsal performances of Express Yourself and Vogue from the 1990 Blond Ambition Tour.

More than 13,500 pop fans were quizzed by the makers of Tomy MicroDancers dolls. They voted fluid mover Justin Timberlake the best male dancer and Madonna the top female.
Geri Halliwell has been voted the worst dancer in pop history.
Geri, 31, narrowly beat ex-Take That star Gary Barlow, Cliff Richard, Mick Jagger, the Cheeky Girls and fellow ex-Spice Girl Victoria Beckham.

The 2004 Dance Star USA The American Dance Music Award winners were announced yesterday.
Madonna won the Best Chart Act (US Artists) beating other nominees Christina Aguilera, Beyoncé, Mariah Carey, Kelis, Sarah McLachlan, OutKast, P. Diddy, Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake.

US ticketbroker Ticketvision.com are advertising Las Vegas dates for Madonna's forthcoming tour:

The first concert dates we have for Madonna's upcoming 2004 concert tour are Las Vegas, MGM Grand Garden on May 29 & May 30.
Tickets will go on sale through the boxoffice at the end of March. As always, Madonna tickets will sell out immediately as demand will certainly be higher than supply of tickets.

Madonnalicious brings you some exclusive pictures taken around the time Madonna was filming the video for her 1998 single Drowned World/Substitute For Love.

   

   

Madonna has been nominated in the prestigious British Book Awards in the WH Smith's Children's Book of the Year category.
While the website has yet to catch up with this years shortlist, a preview magazine is available in all good bookshops with a full list of nominees in all categories. The ceremony is on Channel 4 at 5pm, Friday April the 9th.
The awards are considered the 'Oscars' of the British book world and nomination is an amazing feat for a first time children's author. Her entry reads:
'A huge amount of attention has focused on the internationally celebrity's first children's book, published simultaneously in more than 100 countries. Inspired by motherhood, Madonna offers a tale with a moral about bullying, five girls, slumber parties, jealousy and friendship. Four more of these pretty illustrated storybooks are in the pipeline.'
There is a 'Book Notes' section within the Children's Book of the Year feature, which has a picture of Madonna and the following biography:
'Madonna's transformation into a children's author is extraordinary, especially when one remembers that it isn't so very long ago since people excitedly snipped open the sealed package that contained her book Sex, which contained the sort of pictures you certainly wouldn't expect to find in a children's book.

80 pictures have been uploaded to the Galleries - view these latest uploads here.

The 1985 Live Aid concert, one of the defining events in modern music, is to be released on DVD for the first time.
Organisers will auction the rights to release the DVD after pirate copies were found for sale on the internet.
They are hoping to raise 'a few million pounds' for charity and are aiming for a Christmas release.
The concert, split between London and Philadelphia, brought together stars including U2, Queen and Madonna - but has never come out on CD, video or DVD.
Organisers have decided to allow the DVD release after realising bootleggers were making money from it - but none was going to charity.
Proceeds from the DVD release will go to the Band Aid Trust, which still exists to relieve poverty and hunger in Ethiopia and the surrounding area.
The successful bidder will have to get the permission of every artist - but 'we don't expect any of them to be anything other than co-operative', he said.
Geldof organised Live Aid and the Band Aid single in response to famine in Ethiopia, in which 1.2 million people starved to death in 1984 and 1985.

Movie mogul Dino De Laurentiis insists Madonna ruined his movie Body Of Evidence by releasing her infamous Sex book just before the film's release.
The Italian producer begged his star to stall the release of her controversial book in 1993 until after the release of her thriller - but the stubborn pop star wouldn't listen.
De Laurentiis recalls, 'I said, 'Madonna, you're making a mistake releasing the book now. Everyone will think it's a porno movie. Please don't do it.' But she didn't want to listen.'

The Mail On Sunday's 5th Annual The Rich Report 2004 which is described as the definitive guide to Britain's wealthiest men and women feature a full page article on Madonna and Guy, who with a combined wealth of £200 million are placed at number 206 - which is down from 2003's placing at number 150 with a wealth of £210 million. Here is what the magazine says about Madonna and Guy and their millions:

The Material Girl has gone from cone-shaped bras to High Street casuals with consummate ease.
The Madonna magic is working for Gap, the biggest American casual clothes retailer. The company signed the singer for it's TV ads and credits her with pushing up sales by at least £20 million in just 12 months. This was Madonna's biggest success last year.
Her lastest album, American Life, sold 3.5 million, fewer than half the sales of her 2000 hit Music. This may strain her relationship with Time Warner which funds her label Maverick Records, an agreement that expires at the end of this year.
Madonna claims her stake is worth £38 million, but Time Warner says it is only £20 million. And she and Guy Ritchie dropped the price of their Los Angeles home by more than £500,000 to £5.6 million because it wasn't selling.
Her film-producer husband has had no earnings of late, but Madonna, 45, has 150 million album sales and money from publishing and merchandising.
The mother of two divides her time between a Beverley Hills home and a house in London. She has turned to writing children's books - two were published last year.
We lower Madonna's valuation to reflect the dropping value of Maverick and put the pair at £200 million.

Fansite DrownedMadonna bring us more news regarding songs that may be included in the new tour:

'Lucky Star' is indeed in the set-list. In fact, a really cool, electroclash version of 'Lucky Star' might be used for the show.
Also we have been informed about some other of Madonna's old songs which have been considered for the set-list: a rock version of 'Justify My Love' and a new exclusive RETRO mix of 'Deeper And Deeper.'
Don't forget there's nothing official yet, and, most of all, the set-list could change during the rehearsals. Not every rehearsed track will be performed.

Information has also been posted on Peter Rauhofer's message board concerning the costumes and tour announcement:

A lot of the dresses and costumes for the show are pink.
No tour announcement will be made until all the dates have been worked out. No itinerary can be decided until then.

French fansite www.madonna-electronica.net have reported that Madonna will be performing at Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy between 06-10 September.

Bercy was the Paris venue Madonna performed at during the Drowned World World - suggesting that this tour will also be an 'indoor arena' tour.

Today's NY Daily News featured a small article about the rumoured tour date in Israel - in this article Liz Rosenberg is quoted as saying:

'Nothing has been confirmed. Not even the tour. But a stop in Israel is definitely under consideration.

Madonna fansite DrownedMadonna have published these exciting tour rumours....

A journey through time is the rumored theme of Madonna's latest extravaganza of a tour. The concept won't be as heavy or as dark as her previous tour.
Madonna will kick off the journey in the roaring 1920's all the way through the present, performing Madonna classics of the 80's up through the present.
Fans will be thrilled to hear that Like a Virgin is indeed part of the setlist; the decade that it will represent is yet unknown, but be well aware that it will be like nothing you have ever experienced.
She's looking at Lucky Star, Live to Tell, Like a Prayer, and Into the Groove to see how they fit into the show, which is basically a trip through time.
Different eras will be visited from the early 20's jazz clubs to the trashed out clubs of the 80's.
Patrick Leonard and Joe Henry are on-board, musically. And the man behind her last tour's choreography is back also.
Montreal and Toronto are on the itinerary, but deals are still being worked out.
She's confirmed for Toronto, San Francisco, Scotland, Israel and Italy.

Madonnalicious has received news that a tentative date of 24 May has been set for the first concert of the tour to take place in Los Angeles.

Madonna will have a full dress rehearsal for family and friends in Los Angeles just before the tour kicks off.

This week the dancers are doing a promotional photoshoot with Madonna in Los Angeles.

Madonna was in charge of the final call. She gave directions to dancers and all.
The dancers used 6 feet long sticks and top hats for 'Hollywood.'
They got taught 'Die Another Day' tango from an Argentinean couple. The dance was very sexy, but very aggressive.
When some people were getting too sexual, Madonna stop the music and said, 'Please to do that, because this song is going to be ONLY ONE guy and me. So keep it clean.'
Then she explained that 'Die Another Day' is going to be kind of a LOVE/HATE thing, very sexy, but very fighty between Madonna and only single guy.
She was asking the dancers very unusual questions like their star sign, favourite color and stuff like that. Madonna was very funny and very kind.

Lacy drawers worn by pop-diva Madonna have gone on sale at a Swindon store.
The knickers, which were worn by the actress and singer in the film version of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Evita have gone on sale for £1,950 at the Infinitely Better shop in the Brunel Centre.
Shop owner Steve Goss said there had been much interest in the unusual item.
'Some people will say that buying these things is a little bit sordid. But surprisingly the most interest we have had in this item is from women fans of Madonna.'
The underwear is based on a 50s contemporary design, which would have been worn at the time the film was set and is packaged with a signed copy of one of Madonna's records.
The shop is one of 12 members of the exclusive Movie Props Association which works with movie studios to pass on items of memorabilia for retail.
Last year a pair of Dolce and Gabbana shoes which also belonged to Madonna were sold at the shop while signatures including those of Adolf Hitler, Beatle John Lennon and actor Steve McQueen have also been sold.

To find out more visit www.infinitelybetter.com

80 pictures have been uploaded to the Galleries - view these latest uploads here.

Hollywood star Gwyneth Paltrow has finally decided to give birth in London - despite warnings from celeb pal Madonna about hospital conditions.
The Sylvia actress who is six months pregnant with Coldplay singer Chris Martin's child was warned off the British hospitals by the American Pie singer after she claimed they were 'too old and Victorian'.
Yet now the couple are happy to have made plans to have their baby in Paltrow's adopted home after installing a birth tank into their swanky London pad.
Paltrow wants to give birth at home - yet plans have been made to go to the exclusive $1,400 (GBP740)-a-night St John And St Elizabeth private London hospital if needed.
The hospital was recommended to her by her showbiz friends Sadie Frost and Kate Moss, who have all recently given birth there.

Pop superstar Madonna is set to perform a sensational one-off concert in Israel's historical King Solomon's Mine which will be specially filmed for a DVD.
The singer is currently planning a world tour and has scheduled a special concert in the archaeological remains of Timna National Park, north of Eilat, in the Red Sea Desert.
The historic area, which is the world's oldest copper mine, has witnessed mining since the ancient Egyptians owned Israel 6,000 years ago.
The site is believed to have been the site where Israel's wise and legendary monarch King Solomon, who died in 926 BC, mined copper nearly 3000 years ago.
Her unusual decision to perform in the country is said to have been inspired by her and husband Guy Ritchie's devotion to the Kabbalah, a mystical branch of Judaism.
The singer has been studying the religion since 1997 and credited it with helping her make her 1998 album 'Ray of Light.'
The 'Material Girl' last toured in 2001 with her Drowned World tour. After her 2003 album 'American Life' was received poorly in terms of critics and album sales, Madonna is ready to perform again.
Madonna will be the first big name to sing in the park. Relative-unknown French singer Daniel Levi performed there in August last year.
Madonna's spokeswoman, Liz Rosenberg, adds the concert is still in the initial planning stages: 'Nothing's definite right now.'

Today's edition of UK newspaper The Guardian included a guide to the new Formula One motorsport season. As part of this guide they compared each team to a pop star. The current world champions and top team Ferrari were compared with Madonna in feature!

Italians do it better, or so she said, and there was a time when no one could dispute it. Inevitably her career faltered but, with an innovative new team of producers and engineers, she's back in vogue and seen as the greatest of her kind.
Younger, fresher rivals have borrowed ideas in attempt to steal her crown, but, depsite the march of time, she's holding on.