The Patrick Leonard Demos
In an unprecedented move, Patrick Leonard is sharing demo recordings from his 1988 Like a Prayer sessions with Madonna.
The audio recordings, available on his official YouTube channel, include the demos of Cherish and Like a Prayer from the day the two songs were written and the unreleased Angels With Dirty Faces.
A cassette with these demos and others from Like a Prayer is currently been auctioned, and a lawsuit filed by Madonna wasn’t able to stop this and many more items from going under the hammer.
In a recent talk with ArtNet News, art advisor Darlene Lutz, who came to possess these and other items through the years said: “Why shouldn’t I be able to make money off this?”
Patrick Leonard, who wrote and produced the songs with Madonna has clearly a different opinion – and we’re happy he found such a great way to speak out: “This demo and others from Like a Prayer are being auctioned between 7/17-7/22-19. Here it is for free,” he wrote when he first posted Angels, adding: “I hope these posts stop the sale of that cassette at auction. Not cool at all that someone would sell it. Not theirs to sell.”
Leonard also posted an update on his Facebook page:
To be crystal clear if it wasn’t before: My comments regarding the auction were referring to the MUSIC itself and not the physical cassette it’s on. If people want to bid on that cassette and are willing to pay for it, then by all means feel free to. The music belongs to the writers. Thanks. PL
A demo track written by Madonna and Leonard during the recording session for the Like A Prayer album, Angels With Dirty Faces was first mentioned in 2006 in the interview Bruce Gaitsch had with Peter Magennis. Two years ago Leonard set the Madonna fandom on fire sharing the news on Instagram that Gaitsch sent him a cassette of demos for Like a Prayer and explained that Angles With Dirty Faces is a song that he wrote with Madonna for the album and that they ultimately must have decided wasn’t good enough. “Having said that, it’s a finished song with her vocal that no one has ever heard and it’s pretty darn good.”
