Another Take on the Van Halen “No Brown M&M’s Rider”

Perhaps the most famous contract in rock history is VanHalen’s 1982 World Tour rider.  It containsthe legendary requirement that the band be provided with a bowl of M&M’s inthe dressing room, with all brown M&M’s removed from the bowl.  Actually, the rider states, on thetopic of Munchies: 

M&M’s (WARNING: ABSOLUTELY NO BROWN ONES)

You can check out the rider here if you’d like.

Until recently, the famous Brown M&M’s rider seemednothing more than an example of the frivolity of the rock star ego.  Then I listened to an alternativeexplanation, courtesy of NPR’s fabulous radio show This American Life.

In an episode titled “The Fine Print,” with the help of JohnFlansburgh of They Might Be Giants, we are offered a business reason for theM&M’s clause of the rider.  

Apparently, beyond thebackstage food and drink requirements, tour riders contain very importantinstructions that affect how smoothly the show will run — for example,electricity or weight requirements for the band’s gear.  Well, if the promoter at the localvenue does not read the rider, it is likely that something will go very wrongat the show.  So, Van Halen usedthe M&M’s for signaling purposes: if there were no brown M&M’s in thebowl, the band knew that the local promoter read the rider.  If the brown M&M’s were there, theband knew that the local promoter had not read the rider carefully, and technicaland safety requirements might not have been met.

You can give the show a listen here.  The Van Halen part is in the very beginning of the show, but it is well worthlistening to the entire show.

[Meredith R. Miller]