Madonna – Burning Up
In March 1983, Madonna released her second single Burning Up, after the success of Everybody, which she had released a few months earlier. Both songs were on a tape that she carried with her when she went to sing in clubs, and in this way she succeeded in getting a real contract and recording her first album.
These were dance songs, pleasant to listen to and dance to, with an extra touch given by her two historic boyfriends, first Stephen Bray, who had moved with her from Michigan, and then John “Jellybean” Benitez, who was making his way as a guitarist, drummer, deejay, producer, all-round musician, in short, was becoming one of the very first music influencers of the 80s.
Burning Up was not exactly a worldwide success but it still gained visibility mainly in the American dance charts. Madonna’s fame reached Europe starting with her third single, Holiday, and then had a real explosion naturally with her second album and with its leading song, Like a Virgin.
I must say that, although the Madonna of Burning Up was young and artistically less mature, she already showed a series of traits that would distinguish her throughout her career.
Regarding her look, Madonna already flaunts one of her characteristic elements in this video, that crucifix that we’ve seen everywhere, not just on her but in many covers, in so many videos, in almost all photographs.
In reality, Madonna showcases something even more important in her persona: not only the intensity of her gaze but also the setup of the video, where Madonna is seen lying on the asphalt of a road at one point, until an oncoming car seems to run her over. Yet, a moment later, we see Madonna behind the wheel of that very car, as if she had always been the one in control even though the roles seemed reversed.
The video of Burning Up has a strange history. After watching Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean video, Madonna decided to approach its director, the great Steve Barron, one of the most important video directors of the 80s along with Russell Mulcahy. Barron had also directed Toto’s Africa video, and within a couple of years, he would shoot the most famous video of the 80s, Take on Me by a-ha.
Barron was on vacation on some Caribbean Island when he received Madonna’s proposal, and he wasn’t thrilled by the idea. Perhaps he wasn’t enthusiastic about shooting a dance song video in general, but after Madonna’s insistence, he decided to go meet her.
During the meeting, Barron was impressed by Madonna, who despite being very young and inexperienced, evidently already showed signs of great talent. Legend has it that during the meeting, Madonna repeatedly rested her head on the table, and that this gesture inspired the scene where she indeed has her head on the asphalt.
Overall, the video of Burning Up is rather simple, and after a first part where Madonna sings and dances in a studio, there are the aforementioned scenes shot on the road and on a boat in a lake. Incidentally, to shoot these scenes, Barron took advantage of a seven-ton crane nearby and managed to fix the camera on it for the shots.
The video didn’t become very famous, especially in Europe where Madonna’s fame was yet to explode, but it remains a pleasant testimony of this great artist’s very first steps in the world of dance and pop. In any case, as we said, the video already contains some of the characteristic elements of Madonna’s entire iconography, such as the relationships between men and women, the mystically sacred look starting from her own name, and certainly a rather evident charge of femininity and sensuality.
In short, all the elements were already there to make Madonna, over the years and through her many transformations, the absolute queen of the 80s.
#quotefromthe80s
Do you wanna see me down on my knees?
Or bending over backwards, now, would you be pleased?
Unlike the others I'd do anything
I'm not the same, I have no shame, I'm on fire
Ooh, yeah, I'm burning up (burning up for your love)
#Madonna #BurningUp
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