by It might seem an obvious winner now, but Madonna’s Vogue was at first the speedily and cheaply-built flip side to an entirely different single
RECORDING WEEK 2025: “Strike a pose” commands the Queen of Pop at the outset of one of her most recognisable singles. Yet Madonna’s perennial dancefloor-summoning monolith Vogue was originally rustled up as the cheap backing to the inferior Keep It Together single.
At the cusp of the 1990s, Madonna was riding high following a decade that had seen her profile ascend from that of kooky NY street kid to chart-dominating titan of modern pop. At the age of 31, Madonna had become the first artist in history to have a stunning 16 consecutive top 5 singles.
But, as a new decade dawned, Madonna was beginning to worry.
1989’s fourth studio album, Like a Prayer had been a mammoth success on both a commercial and an artistic level. Yet its emotive fourth single, Oh Father, had frustratingly broken Madonna’s golden streak, landing outside of the top 50 entirely.
