Weekend Diversion: 1986, Part 11

A new month and a new song reached Number One on the Billboard “Hot 100”: On June 7, 1986 “Live to Tell” (video up top) by American singer Madonna went to Number One. The song was the first single from her third studio album, True Blue, which was released on June 30, 1986. The song was a re-working of what had been an instrumental to make something suitable for the film At Close Range, which starred her then-husband Sean Penn.

I liked Madonna in this era of her career, and I liked this particular song well-enough, even though it was a bit slower than I typically liked at the time, but I didn’t necessarily like it as much as some of her other songs in that era. However, I was never a super-fan: I never saw her in concert, and I never bought one of her albums, as far as I can remember, though I think I bought a single or two. However, when I arrived in New Zealand in 1995, I found that Nigel had her 1990 compilation album, The Immaculate Collection, which isn’t really relevant to this blog post except that this week’s song is on it. Of course.

As the years when on, I continued to like some of Madonna’s songs, and others not as much. Once again, something that’s not unusual for me. However, forty years ago it was stereotypical for young gay men to be presumed to be big fans of Madonna, and, like most stereotypes, it was exaggerated. Nevertheless, I was 27 when this song and its album were released, and that made me a bit too old to be included in the stereotype, but also, as it turned out, a bit too old to understand why the stereotype existed. Maybe it was my first “kids these days” moment?

“Live to Tell” reached Number 7 in Australia, Number One and Canada, Number 6 in New Zealand, 2 in the UK (Silver), and Number One on the USA’s “Billboard Hot 100” and on their “Adult Contemporary” charts. It was also Number One on the Cash Box “Top 100”. The song wasn’t certified in the USA.

The album True Blue reached Number One in Australia (4x Platinum), Canada (Diamond), New Zealand (5x Platinum), and the UK (7x Platinum), as well as reaching Number One on the USA’s ”Billboard 200” chart and on the Cash Box “Top 100 Albums” chart. It was certified 7x Platinum in the USA.

Since I mentioned it, the 1990 album The Immaculate Collection reached Number One in Australia (14x Platinum) and Canada (7x Platinum), 3 in New Zealand (7x Platinum), Number One in the UK (13x Platinum), and also reached Number 2 on the USA’s ”Billboard 200” chart. It was certified 11x Platinum in the USA.

This series will return in next week, on June 14, with the next new Number One from 1986. Unlike this week, that one wasn’t a one-week hit.

Previously in the “Weekend Diversion – 1986” series:

Weekend Diversion: 1986, Part 1 – January 18, 2026
Weekend Diversion: 1986, Part 2 – February 15, 2026
Weekend Diversion: 1986, Part 3 – March 1, 2026
Weekend Diversion: 1986, Part 4 – March 15, 2026
Weekend Diversion: 1986, Part 5 – March 22, 2026
Weekend Diversion: 1986, Part 6 – March 29, 2026
Weekend Diversion: 1986, Part 7 – April 19, 2026
Weekend Diversion: 1986, Part 8 – May 3, 2026
Weekend Diversion: 1986, Part 9 – May 10, 2026
Weekend Diversion: 1986, Part 10 – May 17, 2026