Move over, Gaga, and take a hike, Taylor — the true Queen of Pop has returned for her crown.
This week, Madonna released her 13th album, “Rebel Heart,” and it finds her in a reflective mood. In particular, one song called “Veni Vedi Vici” references her early days scraping together rent while living on the Lower East Side before her rise to fame in the mid-’80s. More than 30 years later, the 56-year-old has certainly left her mark around Gotham — and the city is full of Madonna-related history. This is her New York.
The Roxy, formerly at 515 W. 18th St., and Danceteria, formerly at 30 W. 21st St.
Like so many wannabe stars in the 1980s, the Roxy and Danceteria were two places Madonna played to help hone her act. Legendary New York photographer Bob Gruen recalls seeing her perform at both venues. “I first saw her play at the Roxy in 1983,” he tells The Post. “It was the style to wear a lot of belts back then, and she had six or seven of them that would fall down to her knees. She looked pretty awkward, but a few months later, she played on the roof of Danceteria. She had already gotten a lot better and this time, the show was packed.”
Funhouse, formerly at 526 W. 26th St.
When the Danceteria closed at 4 a.m., a favorite after-hours spot would be the Fun House, where the party would continue until daybreak. One of Madonna’s early club buddies was DJ Johnny Dynell. “Jellybean Benitez was the DJ, and Madonna was taking it all in,” remembers Dynell. “It sounds like a strange thing to say now, but she was the only woman I knew who would pick up and comment on a bass line or a beat, and it’s no accident that some of her early records sounded like the music that was played at the Funhouse.”
Madonna’s old apartment, 232 E. Fourth St.
The pre-fame Madonna lived in the East Village, and that’s where photographer Richard Corman went to spend a day taking pictures with the future megastar — shots he collated 30 years later in his book “Madonna NYC 83.” “We did a shoot around her block,” Corman tells The Post. “But at that point, the area was pretty much all rubble — it looked like a bomb had been dropped. But her beauty and style made for a great juxtaposition. She was so confident. I asked her what her dreams were and she said, ‘I want to change the world.’ And she did.”
The Power Station (now known as Avatar Studios), 441 W. 53rd St.
While producing Madonna’s second album, “Like a Virgin,” at this famous Manhattan studio, Chic’s Nile Rodgers became close with the rising star. But as he recalled in his 2011 memoir “Le Freak: An Upside Down Story of Family, Disco and Destiny,” Madge couldn’t understand why he didn’t want to get even closer. “Why don’t you want to f - - k me?” she once asked him by the studio’s elevator. “I’m your producer,” said Rodgers. “That never stopped any of the other ones,” quipped the Material Girl.
Industria Superstudio, 775 Washington St.
The West Village event space played host to the launch of Madge’s now-infamous coffee-table book “Sex,” and A-list celebrities, such as Naomi Campbell, Spike Lee and Vanilla Ice (hey, it was 1992), were on hand to witness the X-rated shenanigans. A clearly disturbed Rosie O’Donnell told reporters outside, “There were naked people, a lot of them had leather and sexual toys” — and they were probably just the coat-check staff.
Ed Sullivan Theater, 1697 Broadway
Madonna has regularly dropped by the “Late Show” to chat with Dave Letterman, but her 1994 encounter was by far the most memorable. Getting back for being the butt of his monologue jokes, she swore repeatedly and instructed him to smell her underwear before looking toward Dave’s hair and casually asking, “Is that a rug?” Rarely has the king of late night been upstaged so dramatically — and hilariously.
Radio City Music Hall, 1260 Sixth Ave.
The best awards show moments are always the unplanned ones, and when Courtney Love crashed Madonna’s interview with Kurt Loder after the 1995 VMAs, it was an instant talking point. The Hole singer ranted about her dating habits and asked Madonna about her sex life: “You don’t even do rock stars . . . you dip into the population, right?” Madge remained polite before politely excusing herself from this moment of car-crash TV.
Love Saves the Day, formerly at 119 Second Ave.
This East Village vintage store became a Madge mecca when it was featured briefly in the 1985 movie “Desperately Seeking Susan.” “Madonna was already a big star by then, so there were people outside the store all day when they filmed, even though Madonna was only there for half an hour,” store owner Ritchie Herson tells The Post. “We used to have a rug in front of the counter, which a fan bought from us just because Madonna had walked on it!” In 2008, the store relocated to New Hope, Pa. — but Madonna fans still recognize it from the movie all the time.
The Staten Island Ferry
The 1986 video for “Papa Don’t Preach” was filmed partly in Staten Island and famously co-starred Danny Aiello. Part of the video was filmed with Madonna on the Staten Island ferry. They had to rent the ferry, but as director James Foley recently told Rolling Stone, filming finished early. “So me, the crew and her [Madonna] just drove around the harbor to places that I had never seen in my life. It was a magical memory.”