{"id":3803,"date":"2026-07-08T20:07:35","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T20:07:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=3803"},"modified":"2026-07-08T20:07:35","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T20:07:35","slug":"a-new-madonna-book-features-fresh-details-about-sean-penn-romance-ken-regan-photos-interviews-with-nile-rodgers-and-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=3803","title":{"rendered":"A New Madonna Book Features Fresh Details About Sean Penn Romance, Ken Regan Photos, Interviews With Nile Rodgers and More"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\tIf you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission.<\/p>

Read more \u2018The Pitt\u2019 Stars Brittany Allen and Jeff Kober Scored Emmy Noms After Self-Submitting: \u2018A Week Ago I Couldn\u2019t Get a Good Agent\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

\nMadonna\u2019s 1985 ascent is getting a new close-up.<\/p>\n

\n\tInsight Editions is set to release \u201cMadonna: Into the Groove: An Intimate Portrait of the Queen of Pop,\u201d a new photo book built around the work of photographer Ken Regan, with text by Tom\u00e1s Mier. The book focuses on a pivotal year in Madonna\u2019s career, when \u201cLike a Virgin,\u201d \u201cMaterial Girl,\u201d \u201cDesperately Seeking Susan,\u201d the Virgin Tour and Live Aid helped turn her from rising pop star into global phenomenon.\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNEW RELEASE\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tMadonna: Into the Groove\t\t\n\t\n<\/h3>\n
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\n<\/div>\n\n\t\tBuy Now On Amazon $50.00\t<\/span>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n\tThe book includes intimate and archival images from Regan\u2019s 1985 sessions with Madonna, including shoots at Le Mondrian in Los Angeles, where she posed in a hotel room, ballroom and gym. The interiors show Madonna in several mid-\u201980s looks: lace leggings, leotards, crucifixes, stacked bracelets, \u201cHealthy Swimmer\u201d styling and the punk-Catholic iconography that became central to her early image.<\/p>\n

\n\tStructured in chapters including \u201cA Material Girl,\u201d \u201cLe Mondrian,\u201d \u201cThe Virgin Tour,\u201d \u201cLive Aid\u201d and \u201cAftermath,\u201d the book combines glossy studio-style photography with behind-the-scenes stories from collaborators, including Nile Rodgers, Maripol and members of Regan\u2019s circle. It also places Madonna\u2019s rise against the broader cultural landscape of 1985, from MTV\u2019s growing power to the backlash against sexually provocative pop music.<\/p>\n

\n\tOne of the book\u2019s most striking sections centers on Live Aid, where Regan served as the official photographer for the Philadelphia half of the benefit concert. A screenshot from the book, shared exclusively with Variety<\/em>, details how Regan was attempting to capture as many major stars as possible backstage and onstage, from Bob Dylan and Tina Turner to Keith Richards, Mick Jagger and Madonna.\n\n<\/p>

Read more Why \u2018Your Friends & Neighbors\u2019 Deserves Its Drama Emmy Nom<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tAccording to the excerpt, Regan had originally planned a controlled photo setup near the stage entrance, complete with lights and a generator. But once the concert began, the plan collapsed: the generator failed, the backstage area became chaotic and Regan had to improvise with multiple cameras and a flash. He ultimately captured a rare group photo featuring several of the day\u2019s biggest names \u2014 including Madonna and Dylan \u2014 in only a handful of frames.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe excerpt also recounts a tense, previously untold moment involving Sean Penn, who had recently reconnected with Madonna and would marry her the following month. Regan\u2019s assistant Craig Blankenhorn remembers Penn approaching him and asking why Regan had sold photos of Madonna to Penthouse. Blankenhorn says Regan explained that he did not know the backstory of how the photos would be published and had not intended to embarrass Madonna. The conversation escalated, with Blankenhorn recalling that Penn spat on his shoes before the moment ended without going further.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe story captures the the volatile beginnings of one of the decade\u2019s most high-profile celebrity relationships. Two days after Live Aid, Sire released \u201cInto the Groove\u201d as a U.K. single, where it went to No. 1. Weeks later, Madonna married Penn in Malibu, at a heavily covered wedding attended by stars including Cher, Tom Cruise, Carrie Fisher, Keith Haring, Diane Keaton, Rob Lowe, Martin Sheen, Christopher Walken and Andy Warhol.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe book follows the pop star\u2019s 15th album \u201cConfessions: II,\u201d which Variety<\/em> music writer Steven Horowitz calls \u201cher best album in decades.\u201d<\/p>

Read more Automattic\u2019s \u2018Code for the People\u2019 Documentary Is a Rallying Cry for Users to Fight for the Open Internet<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tPre-order \u201cMadonna: Into the Groove\u201d online here. <\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n<\/div> <\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A new Madonna book, featuring photos by Ken Regan reveals never-before-heard stories about Sean Penn, new interviews with Nile Rogers and more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3801,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[113],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3803","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-shopping"],"yoast_head":"\nA New Madonna Book Features Fresh Details About Sean Penn Romance, Ken Regan Photos, Interviews With Nile Rodgers and More - Relocation Observer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=3803\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A New Madonna Book Features Fresh Details About Sean Penn Romance, Ken Regan Photos, Interviews With Nile Rodgers and More - 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