Recording Everybody again, with Kamins this time on production duties, wasn’t the easiest of collaborations for Madonna – it was the first time the DJ had secured that type of commission – but what emerged in the first week of October 1982 swiftly established itself as a breakout club hit. Principally issued as a 12” in the US, the song rose steadily to peak at No.3 on the stateside dance charts, while 7” singles were released in some European markets.
That December, a promo video was filmed at New York’s Paradise Garage, with Madonna performing onstage with backing dancers Erika Belle and Bags Rilez. Videographer Ed Steinberg, hired to shoot the clip, later recalled an early example of Madonna’s incredible work ethic. “One of her dancers was a no-show for the shoot,” he says. “That meant she had to totally reblock her on-stage routine. Without missing a beat, she had Erika and Bags restaged with precision and the show went on.” The clip got limited MTV airtime and wasn’t even included on Madonna’s first video EP, released as her career went into the stratosphere in 1984, and it remains one of her few promos never released commercially on a collection. Primarily used as a marketing tool in the dance clubs that played clips, it remains a fan favourite that has now enjoyed millions of streams online.
Star power that needed little assistance
Madonna performed Everybody at the many club appearances she made as she was trying to establish herself, and later included the song in the setlist of her first full-scale tour, 1985’s The Virgin Tour, which never made it beyond the US. (International audiences had to wait until 1993’s The Girlie Show to see her perform it live.)