Twenty five years ago today — that would be March 20, 1990 (where does the time go?) — Madonna‘s greatest single — that would be “Vogue” (duh!) — premiered. The stunningly stylish black-and-white clip for upbeat lead single from her I’m Breathless: Music from and Inspired by the Film Dick Tracy was directed by David Fincher and paid homage to a classic Hollywood photo shoot and premiered a few days later on March 29. Having been inspired by dancers and choreographers Jose and Luis Xtravaganza from the Harlem “House Ball” community, Madonna helped to introduce the “vogueing” dance form to the mainstream. The entertainer traveled the globe later that year with her Blond Ambition tour and allowed it to be recorded for both an HBO concert special and as background for the popular 1991 documentary Truth or Dare. Many of the dancers, including Jose and Salim “Slam” Gauwloos, became heartthrobs to Madonna’s gazillions of gay fans.
The two men, who today both teach dance, recently reunited in Los Angeles and filmed a short video that shows they still have the nimble moves that blew minds a quarter of a century ago.
Update: Dancer Kevin Stea shares his memories of making the video here.
Watch Slam and Jose today and scroll down to see the landmark “Vogue” video and the Dangerous Liaisons-inspired performance on the 1990 MTV Awards.
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dustashed
Tbh it’s too OA it makes me cringe, I can barely make through half of the video. I guess different strokes for different folks but this video sucks balls imo. Same with the music. Not sure if it’s a generation thing but i can certainly appreciate good music from various eras.. This just aint one of the great ones for me. It is between barely tolerable to cringe worthy.
dustashed
I like some of her other music though
OhHellNo
Guess what turns 26 this year? Malcolm McLaren’s far superior tune “Deep In Vogue”, which is probably where Ma got the idea in the first place. She’s been many things, but never original. She’s copied more artists than Gaga any day…and pretty much everyone she names in “Vogue”.
spiffy
Not to be completely snarky, but what self-respecting gay men from that generation wouldn’t remember the basic vogue choreography? And your butch factor isn’t in question — the routine just isn’t that complicated.
Props to Jose and Slam though — they’ve kept their bodies tight even after 25 years — gotta respect that.
Bob LaBlah
Thank you, Queerty. It’s always nice to go back in time every now and then and this is one of them. Now, a couple of questions: Does anyone know what happened to or what dance Luis (at the 4:40 mark of the MTV version) is up to these days? And didn’t one of the guys on Noah’s Arc dance with her? I don’t see him in the video.
wpewen
@spiffy: Well, I’m a 56 year old gay man and I don’t know about the actual dance moves in the video. And yes, I am considered “straight appearing and so on.” What I do remember is it was basically her opus as her video/singles career goes. I really like her stuff, but I am not in the gay loop about it, being one of those men who identifies with the Eagles,say, but to each his own.
The interesting thing is it’s 25 years ago. People never used to hold on to popular culture like they do now. That’s really a long time.
Paco
Wow, 25 years! They pass too quickly.
I loved “Vogue” and have great memories from that time. Other fans might disagree, but I always considered that time to be the height of her career even though I greatly enjoyed much of her work after that.
Bob LaBlah
@Paco: “Other fans might disagree, but I always considered that time to be the height of her career even though I greatly enjoyed much of her work after that.”
I totally agree with you.
jason smeds
Madonna’s Vogue was such a soul-less song. There’s nothing there to make you feel. It’s basically a song for narcissists who are skilled at freezing in front of a mirror to check their better angles.
Sure, it was associated with good times – many a gay man remembers dancing to this song in some smoky night-club on a great night out capped off by finding a really hot guy to go home with.
Of course, there were STD’s to dodge but who really cares when you have a cross between Tom Cruise and Tom of Finland in the sack?
Scribe38
Haters are going to hate, but I love this bitch. I remember seeing the MTV performance in high school and losing my sh*t. I loved the way she exploited the guys and wore her sexuality like armor. Long live the queen.
Scribe38
@jason smeds: Hey I’m in nursing school doing my psych rotation could I interview you over the net or phone? I figure a case study on your special type of cray-cray would get me an A in class for sure.
jason smeds
Scribe38,
The mere fact that you think Madonna wore her sexuality “like armor” is truly hilarious. Madonna was not wearing her sexuality. She was selling her image on a stage, and making a lot of money in the process. It was a marketing ploy.
If there are any queens out there who still think Madonna was about sexuality, I pity you. I really, really do.
Scribe38
@jason smeds: But seriously can I interview you and all your different screen names you use on Queerty? Help a gay brother get an A in class.
Scribe38
@jason smeds: I have clients at a state run mental hospital that sound less crazy than most of your posts.
lykeitiz
@Paco: I agree! I remember when it came out, years after her earlier hits, being surprised that she had something that strong so “late” in her career, only to enjoy much more of her music in the years that followed. So yeah, in the long run, I guess that was the height.
@jason smeds: “Madonna’s Vogue was such a soul-less song. There’s nothing there to make you feel. It’s basically a song for narcissists who are skilled at freezing in front of a mirror to check their better angles.”
Obviously, you’ve never listened to the lyrics. In reality, it’s the opposite of that.
@Scribe38: Long live the Queen, indeed!! Madonna, that is. Not the one you’re schooling.
lykeitiz
@Bob LaBlah: Yeah, I’d like to know about Luis too. It would be cool to see a “Where Are They Now” update on all her dancers featured in “Truth or Dare”.
Bob LaBlah
@lykeitiz: I don’t exactly “agree” but hey, its his life, isn’t it?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGefxqqEkE0&spfreload=10
lykeitiz
@Bob LaBlah: Oh…….well……I guess that answers that! 🙂
Saint Law
@jason smeds: The idea of you pitying anyone is mind boggling.
scotshot
@OhHellNo: I totally agree. When I got McLaren’s album I played it continuously. I also viewed both videos – McLaren’s of course, is the best. Madonna’s: blatant rip off. Madonna posed a lot in her video, but she never really vogued as they did in McLaren’s.
seaguy
I still have my CD single of Jose and Luis’s song The Queens English.
Madonna is the Queen of Pop and all the pathetic ageist haters can go to hell.
nature boy
@seaguy OMG *The Queens English* I had that too… on cassette ! Yeah Vogue was one of those “coming out” songs for me that forever remind me of that excitement of discovering and driving to remote gay bars for a night out. Today the song seems harmless, but at the time the line “it doesn’t matter if you’re a boy or a girl” was still kind of a shocking concept, plus when it came out that Madonna had not invented “voguing” but discovered it in gay bars, and popularized it in the mainstream, that was also pretty cutting edge for that day. How far we’ve come.
DarkZephyr
@OhHellNo: Well I just googled the guy and his video (never heard of him til just now and I am 37 years old) and I guess we all have different tastes. I personally can’t agree that its superior (the production values alone, it looks like it was shot with a black and white camcorder). But I respect your opinion. 🙂
James Lee Hawn
One of the best dance songs of all timeð???
Tito Dela Fuente
love love love
John Kuehnle
Loved the song when it came out and still do. Madonna is in the video in a sheer top with both books showing, took guts
Paul Smyth
Awesome then awesome now! Love it!
batesnight
@jason smeds: Vogue was a #1 hit and it wasn’t just big among gays. It was a worldwide hit. Most people would disagree with your negative point of view.