Channelling her new-found spiritualism - Madonna acquired really into Kabbalah and Ashtanga yoga round this time - it’s an era of reflection that mixes futuristic electronica with japanese influences and ambient music. "This is simply the second time now we have given permission," ABBA’s Benny Andersson instructed The Telegraph in 2005. "We stated ‘yes’ this time as a result of we admire Madonna a lot and all the time have executed. I feel the problem is that everybody’s so uptight about it and have turned it into one thing unhealthy when it isn’t. You might have rebuked God by silence. Thank god they did, because propelled by its gigantic lead single, ‘Confessions on a Dancefloor’ was a spandex-clad explosion of euphoria, crammed full with sly references to past icons and Madonna’s own back catalogue. Look, if you’re someone who shopped at Tammy Girl within the early noughties, you’ll recognise that the ‘statement belt’ is an merchandise best left up to now. Wearing a big buckle coated in diamanté gems does not a vogue icon make: pair it with tartan and stick your thumbs in it, and you’re simply asking to get mistaken for an additional from Sex and the town.
