Monster year for Lady Gaga

Mar 4 2010 by Mark Lindores

AS Lady Gaga’s Monster Ball hits Newcastle, MARK LINDORES charts the rise of the latest pop icon.

When Lady Gaga last performed in Newcastle, as bottom-of-the-bill support to the Pussycat Dolls in January 2009, few would have predicted that by the time she returned, just 14 months later, she would have sold over nine million copies of her debut album, won a clutch of Brits and Grammys and been heralded as her generation’s first true pop icon.

Tonight she brings her Monster Ball World Tour (so-called because it is a party for the “little monsters”, as she describes her fans) to the North East and promises one of the most spectacular shows ever seen.

Comprising a state-of-the-art stage (with 40ft robotic sea serpent, armoured Rolls-Royce, New York subway train and flaming piano), a troupe of dancers and 15 costume changes, the show has already overrun its budget by £2m.

“What has been lost in pop music these days is the combination of the visual and the imagery of the artist, along with the music – and both are just as important,” says Gaga.

“When I’m writing music, I’m thinking about the clothes I want to wear on stage. It’s all about everything altogether – performance art, pop art and fashion.

“For me, it’s everything coming together and being a real story that will bring back the super-fan. And this is definitely going to bring back the idea of showbiz. I want the imagery to be so strong that fans will want to eat and taste and lick every part of us.”

So far, Gaga has achieved exactly what she set out to do, Monster Ball having drawn favourable comparison with landmark live shows from the likes of Madonna, Queen (she takes her name from their hit, Radio Gaga), Prince and David Bowie, the very heroes Gaga has emulated while emerging as a unique talent in her own right.

Her vision is realised with the help of the ‘Haus Of Gaga’, a collective of designers, artists and stylists based on Andy Warhol and his Factory in the 60s, who work together on every aspect of Lady Gaga’s career.

“It was an instant love,” says stylist Nichola Formichetti. “I had always stayed away from celebrity and musicians before, but she was so different. Instantly we understood each other completely.”