Gastro Nerd - Backstage Catering Demands
A "rider" is a contract, issued by an artist to venues, containing a list of demands of their backstage requirements.
Ranging from bunny rabbits to washing machines, the rider usually specifies the catering arrangements required. PubChef reveals a few of the more unusual requests:
VAN HALEN requested that they be supplied with bowls of M&Ms with all the brown ones removed by hand. The penalty for non-compliance? The band reserved the right to destroy their dressing rooms. The logic behind the inclusion of this small print was to ensure that promoters were reading the contract properly.
Diva JENNIFER LOPEZ even specifies the direction in which her coffee must be stirred.
During his 2002 World Tour, vegetarian PAUL MCCARTNEY insisted that no meat or meat by-products were allowed to be served in the dressing rooms, backstage areas or the production offices.
SHERYL CROW specifies different booze on different days of the week. On Wednesdays it's a bottle of Courvoisier brandy whilst Saturday's request is a bottle of Absolut Vodka and a carton of orange juice.
Rock legend PRINCE demands that all foods be covered with cellophane until he opens them personally. Also that a doctor is on hand before every show to inject him with a dose of Vitamin B12.
MARIAH CAREY'S demands include Cristal Champagne, with a box of bendy straws to sip it with. She's even picky about the bottled water that may be kept in the dressing rooms, specifying "16oz plastic bottles of Evian".
King of bizarre requests is IGGY POP. Famous for once requesting seven dwarves backstage, he is also known to have demanded broccoli, purely so that he could throw it in the bin to express his hatred of it!
US singer CHRISTINA AGUILERA is known for her healthy ways while on tour. She often requires soya milk and cheese in her dressing room, together with echinacea tablets and a bottle of Flintstones chewable vitamin C pills.
Former Spice Girl, GERI HALLIWELL, is certainly not afraid to tell you what she wants, what she really, really wants. When performing for British troops in the Middle East, Geri demanded a fridge in her make-shift desert dressing-room, stocked with soya milk and fruit juice.
Source: www.djangomusic.com and www.thesmokinggun.com
