Hi Mr. Foy,
Let me first thank you for taking the time to answer these questions.
Our readers will be pleased (as we were) reading your book.
So let’s start with some history,
Could you tell us a bit about yourself?
First off, I guess I should say that my writing career is purely accidental and in many ways a pure fluke. I work for Bloomsbury Publishing in London and it was from there that the Lady Gaga book happened which then led to the go ahead for Madonna. I’ve worked in the book trade in the UK for 14 years starting out in Bookshops, a website, then a small distributor which then led on to Random House UK and Bloomsbury. Working in the book trade can give you a very rounded experience and you meet amazing people but it’s also very chaotic.
The eras, styles and chapters in the book seem to be made as of story tales. Each page tells us a story, show us superb pictures with their descriptions nearby. We find ourselves diving in Madonna’s world: piece by piece, page by page, project by project. A child (and less younger children) could discover its content each day and be amazed by M’s transformations and stories. Why did you choose that standard instead of a more literary way? What lead you to write the book?
I’m really pleased you like that format. Madonna’s life so far does lend itself to that episodic style and I wanted to try and fit things in that the true fan would love but also some things that a newcomer to Madonna’s life might not be aware of. She has had an amazingly diverse career covering music, film, stage, tours, dance, producing and directing and some of those facets had been overlooked from the fans perspective. I also wanted to be really careful with the pictures I used as I’d seen other books that either had terrible jackets or some really awful pictures inside. As those books were aimed at fans I could never understand why someone would pick such a bad picture but sometimes you are left with very little choice as the budget doesn’t allow it. I didn’t chose a more literary style as I only had a very limited amount of time to produce the book so I wanted to concentrate on the pictures themselves in a chapter based format and then work around those pictures. If you read the introduction to the book you’ll probably see why I wrote it. Madonna really did change a lot of things for me when I was growing up. I was 13 in 1985 and the impact of ‘Into the Groove’ which was No1 in the UK, ‘Desperately Seeking Susan’ and then all the other stuff happening in 1985 made an incredible impact. At the time it seemed to me that there wasn’t anyone else on the planet like this person and she represented an attitude that was refreshing and slightly shocking. You have to remember that I was growing up in the middle of nowhere and the fact that Madonna was showing her bellybutton and occasionally had vaguely hairy armpits was deemed extremely provocative. How things have changed…….
Have you considered changing it? Not going through it along the way? Was it difficult to find the information for it and get the authorizations needed?
Lots of changes were made along the way but they tended to all be for the right reason. The IVY press who publish the book are extremely thorough and very professional so if they weren’t a 100% convinced about something they felt it was best to leave it out. Some pictures had to be changed due to the fact that they were too expensive or sometimes we just couldn’t get hold of the photographer concerned even though they had put their pictures with an agency. My style of writing is just to lock myself away and write, write and write, Then I re edit myself and cut it down, then it goes to IVY press or whoever is publishing and then double check everything so everything is 100% accurate. The manuscript tends to go through 6 or 7 stages before everyone is happy. Finding the information from childhood to 1997 wasn’t difficult as I know that period (I.e. arriving in New York to ‘Ray of Light’) extremely well. Everything I wrote for that period was from memory but I had to research for the following period more as I wasn’t quite so au fait with it all. My book is unofficial so it was just authorization for the pictures. There is an amazing picture researcher who works for IVY press and she secures all the picture authorization once we’ve confirmed which pictures I’m allowed. There were some very funny experiences with people from Madonna’s past who were very tricky for us to work with but they’ll have to remain nameless for now. I don’t want to get sued!
We find the title of the book (Cherish Madonna Like an Icon) really touching and appropriate. Did you have another title in mind while writing it? Do you mind to share?
This was the first title I came up with I think. I wanted something very Catholic to represent the Iconic nature of the subject matter but would also reference the songs. I think the title sums up the book well. If you’re a fan of Madonna you do ‘cherish’ her as something significant in your cultural tastes. That might sound a bit over the top but there’s a lot about Madonna that is larger than life. Also ‘Cherish’ as a song often seems to get overlooked. You obviously get people who say they can’t stand Madonna, hate her Music etc etc but I noticed when they hear a lot of those mid to late 80’s/early 90s songs you hear them humming along to songs like ‘Cherish’.
Was this book harder or easier in the making than Lady Gaga Style Bible, your previous book & why?
I couldn’t really say it was harder or easier. Although in theory it’s the same type of book (in the UK it would be described as a ‘coffee table’ type book i.e. Hardback or Paperback photo montage with text) it was a totally different experience. Madonna means much more to me personally than someone like Gaga so that makes the writing and research more fun. I don’t dislike Gaga at all but Madonna is someone I’ve grown up with, so means more to me personally. I pretty much wrote two thirds of the book from memory with Madonna whereas with Gaga I had to research it more as I only knew her singles and some of her videos. The images for Gaga all came from one Getty light box and I wasn’t used to working with a picture library so that was hard. With Madonna I was more used to it but also had help from a picture researcher which taught me a huge amount about working with photographers and their agents. I would say Madonna was a more rewarding process whereas Gaga was a learning curve. I would also like to do an updated or expanded version of the Madonna book but it would be unlikely that I would want do another Gaga book.
Do you have passions for other artists that could lead you to publish other book about them & why?
Yes. I’m currently working on proposals for around 10 projects. One would be an expanded version of ‘Cherish’ with double the amount of pictures, interviews, Photographic catalogues of fans collections and a proper discography, filmography, lists of tours, plays etc etc. Then if that book was successful enough it could be updated every 5 to 10 years. That all depends on how well the original version sells though.
The second book is on Kate Bush, then Prince covering the period from the first Album to ‘Lovesexy’ and then the other projects are more niche.
Your work on this book is substantial. If you could choose only one album (era), one tour and one song as your favorites, what would they be?
Well that’s a difficult one isn’t it? With the album I’d probably say ‘Like A Prayer’. For me this album showed Madonna proving herself as a musician and that she was in it for the long haul. It’s not even the big hits so much but more songs like ‘Till death do us part’, ‘Love song’ and even the b side of ‘Cherish’, ‘Supernatural’ which shows a great sense of humour on her part. I always feel with Madonna that there will be a Triptych of three great albums. The first ‘Like A Prayer’, the second ‘Ray of Light’ and the third is still to come. The two I’ve just mentioned are her most personal but also two of the most successful albums and that speaks volumes in itself I think.
With the Tours I’d have to say the ‘Virgin’ tour. I’m sure she’d shudder if she thought someone loved that tour above all others but there is something very joyous, naive and at the time, exciting about it.
One song is too hard I’m afraid. That’s impossible with such a back catalogue.
Did your perspective on Madonna’s work change during the making of the book and how?
No, I don’t think so. What is apparent is how manic life must have been for her from 1985 onwards. It’s only really from 2000 onwards that you see her taking a step back occasionally and concentrating more on family as there was slightly less to write about for those years. There was obviously this huge huge push to express herself in every medium once fame had been achieved and to hang on to it. I think, once all her children have grown up, we’ll see that production of work again as she’s obviously so easily bored if enough things aren’t happening.
Have you met Madonna herself? Was it related to the writing of the book?
No and I don’t think I’d want to. It’s Madonna the songwriter and performer that I’m interested in, not the private individual. If I was to meet her I’d want to ask her about how she produces music more than anything else. I have seen her from a distance when she was living in London but I never went up to her to ask for an autograph or anything like that. I think once you’ve lived in a big city for a long time that whole thing just seems deeply uncool. I do think you have to respect people’s privacy. In my current job you do get to work with famous people so you get an insight into what it must be like and to be honest it doesn’t seem pleasant at all. I remember having to help out on something with Patti Smith and I felt like I was going to be eaten alive by the crowd. You had people shoving notes in my hand and asking me to put them in her pocket, it was insane. If it’s like that for Patti Smith then I guess you have to magnify it x 100 for someone like Madonna.
This book is really up to date (you guide us to the Super Bowl performance). You know for sure that this will generate a great interest among our readers. Is there anything specific you would like to tell, confide to them?
Well, I included the Super bowl as it seemed a nice way to end it and did bring it up to date but I did hope that the attention to detail on the early part of the career would appeal more to the true fans. There is one picture that I love the most and that’s the one where Madonna is sat on a red sofa somewhere in downtown New York. This would have been pre 85 and all the madness and it summed up everything I loved about that whole era. I felt that if you were really into Madonna then you’d really appreciate these sorts of pictures which I hadn’t seen in other books. I was also conscious of picking recent pictures that showed how great Madonna looks for a woman in her 50’s. The press always try to use the most hideous picture possible whereas I came across a wealth of really amazing pictures (even paparazzi ones) where she looked great.
You mentioned in previous interviews that a novel of yours is underway. Since Cherish Madonna: Like an Icon really caught our interest, we are thrilled with this information. Do you have any news on this?
I think I must have mentioned that in a web thing about Gaga? That’s still unfinished.
Thank you again for your time and share Mr. Foy.
You can buy Cherish Madonna Like an Icon HERE (Amazon US) / HERE (Amazon France) / HERE (Amazon UK) / HERE (Amazon Canada)