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7 Outrageous Tour Rider Demands and Other Requests

Erica Banas // Rock Music Reporter August 19th, 2019

Tour riders are often some of the most interesting parts of any artist or band’s tour, and if a recent story about Mick Jagger from U.K.’s Daily Mail is true, they often offer an inside look into how specific their requests might be.

Want to read about Jagger’s (potential) unusual hotel request? Scroll through the list below where you’ll also learn about other legendary tour riders from the likes of Paul McCartney to the Foo Fighters.

  • Mick Jagger

    Mick Jagger has a very unique request when it comes to the mattress in his hotel. According to a new report from 'The Daily Mail,' Jagger "asks for a new mattress in his room, no matter how posh the hotel. But he insists the plastic wrapping stays on while someone sleeps for one night on the mattress to break it in."

  • Prince

    Speaking of plastic wrap, Prince had on his 2004 tour rider that “all items in dressing room must be covered by clear plastic wrap until uncovered by main artist. This is absolutely necessary.”

  • Paul McCartney

    Paul McCartney's past tour riders have been lengthy, but considering his legend, they seem rather tame. Many of his request have to do with his vegan lifestyle, so no furniture backstage made from animal skin (leather) nor is faux leather or animal prints allowed.

  • Jack White

    Jack White got a lot of attention for his tour rider when he was out supporting his album 'Lazeretto,' because it included a request for a bowl of "fresh home-made guacamole" and included a very specific recipe that included directions on how to cut the avocado. (FYI: It's "3 or 4 slits down, 3 or 4 slits across.)

  • Iggy Pop

    Iggy Pop's 2006 tour rider was 18 pages, but it clearly wasn't taking itself too seriously. Some of his requests included "somebody dressed as Bob Hope" and "a copy of 'USA Today' that's got a story about morbidly obese people in it."

  • Foo Fighters

    Foo Fighters have taken joke tour riders to another level. In 2011, their tour rider had a coloring book theme complete with a word search and a maze. It also included a list of non-permitted items in the venue which included "light sabers" and "garden gnomes."

  • Van Halen

    Ah, yes...how could there be a tour rider list without mentioning Van Halen and the whole "no brown M&M's" request? Of course, the band wasn't really being divas back then. The legend of the M&M's has since been cleared up, and the reason why that detail was included was to see if promoters actually read the band's performance contract. David Lee Roth said in a 2012 interview, "Van Halen was the first to take 850 par lamp lights — huge lights — around the country. At the time, it was the biggest production ever. If I came backstage, having been one of the architects of this lighting and staging design, and I saw brown M&Ms on the catering table, then I guarantee the promoter had not read the contract rider, and we would have to do a serious line check."

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