He might have been Madonna’s key creative collaborator while she was at the height of her ‘80s powers, but songwriter/producer Patrick Leonard says that he’s never listened to any of her later albums – or, indeed, anyone else’s.
Leonard made the surprising admission in an interview with The Telegraph. “I’ve never heard one of her records, ever,” he said. “You know why? I haven’t listened to anybody’s records… I haven’t listened to any new music in almost 30 years. And I really mean that.”
Given his standing in the music industry – Leonard has also worked with the likes of Elton John, Roger Waters and Bon Jovi, and he collaborated with Leonard Cohen on his final four albums – and the fact that he's made definitely made music in that time, this certainly comes as a shock, as does the admission that his close association with Madonna has sometimes weighed heavily on him.
Article continues below“It’s been a burden, because I’ve never been in a dance club in my life, but I’ve written some of the biggest dance songs in history,” he says.
For context, Leonard is talking about some of Madonna’s greatest hits: between 1986 and 1990 he had credits on her albums True Blue, Who’s That Girl, Like a Prayer and I’m Breathless, which yielded the likes of Live to Tell, La Isla Bonita, Cherish and, of course, Like a Prayer’s title track, which was given a new lease of life recently when Madonna performed it with Sabrina Carpenter at Coachella.
Before all of that, he served as Musical Director on Madonna’s Virgin world tour, her first. Having initially said no, he changed his mind when he was given complete creative freedom.
Explaining his U-turn, he recalls: “She basically said, ‘I’ve never done this. You’re in charge. I will push back on nothing…’ And I went, ‘OK.’”
Despite his apparent reluctance to celebrate his pop legacy too wildly, Leonard certainly doesn’t try to play down the role he played in Madonna’s success, the Like a Prayer album in particular.
It's this era that's rumoured to be covered in the forthcoming Madonna biopic, but Leonard says that, despite being heavily involved in the events of that time, he doesn't expect to be contacted by the makers of the film.
“I was there every day and producing, and it was my studio, I hired all the musicians and the engineers, and pretty much made the record,” he says. "What I’ll be curious to see is how I’m portrayed."
What’s more, he’s still proud of the way the music sounded: “For years and years and years, I said, ‘Look, if you have a really good stereo, and you sit in front of those speakers and you put Like a Prayer on – try to find something better. Good luck!”
