Notorious Van Halen Rider Revealed
12/15/2008 By Josiah Hughes

The decadent rider of early ’80s Van Halen is one of the oldest tales in rock’n’roll lore, and the sneaky snoopers over at The Smoking Gun have finally confirmed it’s 100 percent true. I’m talking, of course, about the “no brown M&Ms” request, where the band forced some poor assistant to dig through a bowl of candy and discard the brown treats. Now that’s decadence.

The Smoking Gun has posted the full 53-page list of backstage demands, which includes some very interesting requests. The M&Ms request is written with the explicit “ABSOLUTELY NO BROWN ONES” specification. Then things get weird. Among the thousands of dollars in groceries, the band also requested a whole bunch of liquor, some “herring in sour cream” and “one large tube of KY Jelly.” So they need a month’s supply of food and drink, but they’re willing to share a bottle of lube? Those are some bizarre priorities.

The full rider can be read here.

Van Halen “Jump”
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