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It’s a somber day whenever a great artist passes - but don’t forget that #VanHalen is also famous for an important legal contribution: “contract riders”.
The band required venues to make special arrangements and safety precautions, which were detailed in their contract. /1
The band required venues to make special arrangements and safety precautions, which were detailed in their contract. /1
On a number of occasions, venues had not taken sufficient care, read the contract thoroughly, and put in the safety measures. This almost resulted in a few dangerous accidents.
So they started putting an interesting clause in the technical portion of the contract ... /2
So they started putting an interesting clause in the technical portion of the contract ... /2
Buried in the specifics of technical position of the contract was a clause that allowed the band to cancel the show if, when they walked into the dressing room, a bowl of M&M’s (with all the brown ones removed) was not on the table. /3
As the band explained in interviews, this was really more about testing the thoroughness of the preparations and whether the contract had been read carefully than making snide stipulations. /5
As far as I know they never cancelled a contract on the basis of the M&Ms clause, but apparently they did have things double-checked when there was something wrong with the bowl - eg if the brown ones weren’t taken out (or no bowl of M&Ms at all). /6
Now, these types of stipulations have become pretty common fare in the music industry, and you sometimes read about celebs’ strange contractual stipulations. Sometimes these are indeed because of idiosyncratic tastes... /7
But perhaps more often they’re meant to serve as a proverbial canary in the coal mine for concert safety. Just one important contribution from an iconic group. /fin
