Borderline – Keep pushing me
Borderline has always been a favourite amongst fans and it is indeed one of the best tracks from Madonna‘s first album. It could have also been conceived as a ballad in the first place, as performed by singer Rob Thomas years later. But we are more than happy with the final result! It could be seen as a more kind of serious song next to the other tracks on the album “Madonna” and not so much dance-floor focused. So we could say that it is a more mature Madonna in her early wild days.
If Burning Up was Madonna’s first video shot in a real set, Borderline was Madonna’s first video shot with a storyline, which sticks pretty much to the original written by Reggie Lucas, where Madonna is in love with this possesive guy (I don’t want to be your prisoner, so baby won’t you set me free) who doesn´t “let her be” until she bumps into this photographer who takes her to his studio to take her picture… However, Madonna quickly gets bored and goes back to his boyfriend. The video was shot in the Latin area of the city of Los Angeles and Madonna’s look is closer to that well-known look imitated by so many wannabes around the world, wearing really live colours. The video was directed by Mary Lambert, who would also directed the videos for “Material Girl“, “La Isla Bonita” and “Like a Prayer“. It ranks 24th in best ever videos chosen by Rolling Stone magazine.
Borderline was one of the three songs left off the VHS release of the Virgin Tour, which has been so far the only tour including this song. She was rumoured to include it in the set for the Re-invention Tour in 2004, but finally changed her mind as it happened with Dress You Up (Both songs would actually have been a great idea for the tour).
The song was Madonna’s first single to enter the TOP 10 in the US, where it reached number 10. But it was even more succesful in Britain, where it made it to number 2 when re-released in early 1986. For the single artwork, a hand coloured photo of Madonna was used along with parts of city maps of downtown New York and London on the background (maybe meaning a borderline between US and Europe soon to be crossed by Madonna?).
