Despite putting on live shows for more than 20 years, the 49-year-old singer sometimes fears she “might die on stage”.
Luckily, her condition failed to surface as she was inducted in New York into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.

Wearing a sparkling black dress, the star was welcomed on to the prestigious list alongside singer-songwriters John Mellencamp and Leonard Cohen, and the three surviving members of The Dave Clark Five.

The British band lost their front man Mike Smith, 64, to pneumonia last month but collected the award in his honour. “Mike was one of the great 60s rock singers, an incredible talent who will be greatly missed,” said Dave Clark, flanked by band members Rick Huxley and Lenny Davidson.

Madonna’s stage fright revelation will surprise many of her fans who are used to seeing her strutting confidently on stage, sometimes in the tiniest of outfits.

But she said: “Sure, I have moments when I feel incredibly invincible. And then I have panic attacks when­ I feel like everyone is breathing my air and I cannot live up to everybody’s expectations.”

The singer, who is married to film director Guy Ritchie, told Dazed & Confused magazine that she counters her panic by turning her back on the audience and taking a deep breath.