Starlight, Starbright

Madonna’s first ever proper ‘limited edition‘ was released in March 1984. The re-release of her second UK single ‘Lucky Star‘ was hoped to set the charts alight following the Top Ten position achieved by its predecessor ‘Holiday‘. Sire UK decided to give the single a re-vamp, with brand new picture sleeves, different designs for the 7″ and 12″ and, as a world first for Madonna, a limited edition.

This took the form of a Free Bonus Poster slipped into a very small number of the 12″ singles, identifiable by a little round red sticker on the sleeve indicating the free goody included.

The poster, a classic shot of a bangle and crucifix drowned Madonna decorated with lots of ‘lucky stars‘, was similar in design to the shot which graced the sleeve of the re-launched ‘The First Album‘ and no doubt most of the ones bought by the public ended up blu-tacked up on wannabe’s walls around Britain. The single went on to reach a respectable No.14 in the chart. Sire, obviously recognising the marketable potential in such a visual artist as Madonna, went on to release at least one limited edition version of virtually every Madonna single until the UK chart rules made most of them ineligible to count towards sales in the late 1990s.

And what of those who bought the first one and managed to refrain from sticking it to their wall? Well, they ended up with a product which today is worth approximately £75. Not a bad investment for something which cost about £1.79 at the time!