In 1985, during Madonna’s tour following the release of Like A Virgin in ’84, she called upon the Beastie Boys to open for her. The Beastie Boys were a year away from releasing their debut studio LP, Licensed to Ill. Still, they were gaining traction in the New York scene at this time. Madonna was gaining popularity as well, in a move that is now mirrored in the present day by Chappell Roan’s monumental rise to pop stardom.
However, back then, Madonna was still booked to play theaters. According to Adam “Ad Rock” Horovitz and Michael “Mike D” Diamond—the two remaining Beastie Boys after Adam “MCA” Yauch’s death in 2012—during The Virgin Tour, Madonna quickly outgrew playing theaters. Still, the Beastie Boys were already booked as openers, even though they were arguably not as well-known as Madonna was becoming outside of New York.
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“It was a huge deal and totally absurd that we got asked to do that tour,” said Mike D during an appearance on the Conan O’Brian Needs a Friend podcast. “She booked the tour and she was playing like theaters. And by the time the tour was actually happening, she was so beyond selling out a theater in terms of stature.”
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Mike D and Ad Rock of the Beastie Boys Recall Opening for Madonna on The Virgin Tour in 1985
Mike D continued, “Before the tour was finished, I think she was like on the cover of Time Magazine or something.” He added, “She was on her way to being a cultural phenomenon [when the tour started], but then she really was one by the end of that tour.”
During the tour, Madonna was selling out the smaller clubs and theaters so quickly that she had to be moved to larger venues. Not unlike Chappell, who was moved to bigger stages during Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza this year. There are distinct similarities between Chappell Roan’s and Madonna’s rises to pop superstardom, starting with the organic popularity they gained over time from fans.
In 1985, the Beastie Boys hadn’t achieved that level of fame, considering their album hadn’t even come out yet. However, being on tour with Madonna brought a lot of new buzz to the trio. Because Madonna was gaining so much traction, so were the Beasties. When Licensed to Ill finally dropped, they had already built hype around the album from their time on tour.
Ad Rock once described Madonna’s decision to take them along as a “terrible idea.” There’s merit to that, as their styles are distinctly and utterly different. However, in this recent interview, he shared that they were more matched than people think.
“We used to play at the same clubs in New York,” said Ad Rock, places like CBGB in the East Village and the Mudd Club in Tribeca. “No one ever talks about that part of the story.”
Featured Image by Ilpo Musto/Shutterstock
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