If you were rich and famous and in a position to make all kinds of demands , what would you ask for? Remember, the world is your oyster and you can ask for not only food, drinks and goodies, but also for rooms to be laid out exactly how you want them.
This is the world that celebs — particularly musicians — exist in. Their tour riders, or list of requirements, are the stuff of legend. Let’s have a look at some of the more memorable tour riders out there.
Van Halen
Perhaps the most well-known tour rider of all time was the one Van Halen insisted on for a 1982 tour. It famously called for M&Ms, but not the brown ones. Was it done because they were divas? Well, maybe. But more importantly, it was done as a kind of test to see if the venue managers were paying attention to the rest of the rider.
Prince
One charming detail on Prince’s tour rider was a stipulation that all food that came to him needed to be wrapped in plastic. Was this done for sanitary reasons? Not really. It turns out he just really enjoyed unwrapping it himself.
Cher
We’re not going to focus on Cher’s entire list of requests here. What we are going to do is focus on the fact that she requires a room for her wigs . That’s right: she needs a separate room just to store her wigs in.
“Weird Al” Yankovic
Have you ever wondered where Weird Al got all his Hawaiian shirts from? Well, for a time, he requested “one garish Hawaiian shirt” at every show. Unsurprisingly, he soon had a great many Hawaiian shirts and eventually stopped asking for them.
Jay-Z
Jay has some basic stuff on his rider, including peanut butter and jelly (it specifies that both have to be “good quality”), along with various refreshments. It gets a bit more complicated from there though, as he wants a jaw-dropping seven dressing rooms for him and his crew.
Blake Shelton
Country star Blake Shelton has a fairly in-depth list of food he requires for his dressing room, but it’s all accessible stuff: more PB&J, Sun Chips, Cheetos, Lays, cold cuts, protein bars and jerky. Shleton also wants coffee, but doesn’t need Starbucks — plain old Folgers will do just fine.
Lady Gaga
Gaga’s dressing room would be heaven for smoothie fans, as she requires an entire smoothie station complete with frozen berries, Fuze, whey protein, yogurt and a blender. From there it’s pretty standard stuff, including a TV, snacks and various candles.
Will Ferrell
When Ferrell was on a promotional tour for one of his films, he had maybe the strangest rider we’ve ever seen . It included a fake tree, a rainbow on wheels, a rolling flight of stairss, an electric three-wheel mobility scooter, and a headset microphone (specifically a ‘Janet Jackson style’ headset mic).
Alicia Keys
Alicia Keys has some specific snacks she wants on hand, the same as any other celeb. The only part that seems somewhat strange is that she requires seven sets of metal silverware. I guess she doesn’t like using the plastic disposable stuff.
Eminem
Slim’s requests aren’t particularly difficult to accommodate. He just wants internet access, some simple snacks (white and whole wheat bread, Lunchables, and soda are just fine) and some dumbbells for working out. He’s also a fan of Vernors ginger ale, which was invented in his hometown of Detroit.
Metallica
Metallica has had some epic riders over the years, but we’re going to focus on their 2004 rider for this . They required one room specifically for “food & schmooze”, another room for pyro, multiple offices, and a room just for their accountant . And that’s not even getting into the food requests.
Mariah Carey
Carey’s rider calls not just for specific products, but also for a specific floorplan. She wants the door into her private abode opening not into a dressing room, but into a living room. She also wants a three-seat couch in black or dark grey.
Paul McCartney
A long-time animal rights advocate, Sir Paul doesn’t want fur, leather, or meat anywhere near his dressing room. He does want “full and leafy floor plants” (no trees, though). Interestingly, he not only wants no animal products, but doesn’t want simulated animal products either — this means no fake leather.
Katy Perry
Perry’s tour rider calls for an arrangement of specific flowers (hydrangeas, roses, and peonies). She’s also a fan of Vitamin Water, freeze-dried strawberries, blue corn tortilla chips and something called Fuze Slenderize. The rest of her list is pretty straightforward, thankfully.
Justin Bieber
The Biebs was actually pretty low maintenance as far as these things go. He just want ed a couple of cases of water, some soda, tea and candy. Things got more ramped up for his 2017 four-day tour in India, when he demanded a helicopter on stand-by, something called an “Indian Yoga Casket,” and meals made by a private chef that were named after his songs .
Kanye West
You just know this one’s going to be good. Kanye wants a range of alcohol, from Patron to Heineken to Hennessey, preferably in slushie form. From there, he’s all about the toothpicks, hot sauce, and two types of yogurt: small Yoplait for eating, and a large tub of plain yogurt for dipping.
Adele
Adele splits the difference between healthy and unhealthy with her demand for fresh fruit and chicken salad sandwiches. She balances this out with a request for a pack of Marlboro Lights and a lighter (I guess a pack is better than a whole carton).
Beyoncé
Beyoncé is one of those celebs who has a contract with a soda company, which means she can’t be seen drinking any other kind of soda. Her rider asks for no Coca-Cola anywhere in her dressing room. As for what she does want , she’s big on chicken legs that are “HEAVILY SEASONED” with cayenne.
Taylor Swift
T-Swift clearly has a Starbucks tax going on, as her rider calls for some specific drink orders from Starbucks (but only if her crew is arriving before 11 a.m.). If it’s after 11 a.m., her list is specific but unpretentious, calling for Corona, Red Bull, grape juice, Twizzlers, and Ben & Jerry’s.
Coldplay
In a less bizarre and more adorable turn, the “Yellow” and “Clocks” hitmakers require each host city on their tours to supply them with postcards so they can write to their families back home.
Moby
Remember Moby? He’s almost as well known as an animal rights activist as he is for his music, so his weird demand seems oddly off-brand: he requires venues to have 10 pairs of white cotton boxers on hand for him, as well as 10 pairs of socks. Not sure we want to know what happens during his performances…
Kevin Hart
When the Jumanji star does stand-up tours, he takes recording at his shows very seriously — so seriously, in fact, that he requires venues have up to 140 cell phone roamers . They’re to mingle in the audience to stop anybody with a cell phone in their hands from recording his shows.
Iggy Pop
It’s difficult to figure out how much of Iggy Pop’s 18-page rider is serious, but it includes such details as two heavy duty fans “so that I can wear a scarf and pretend to be Bon Jovi,” and a Bob Hope impersonator .
Justin Timberlake
Jessica Biel’s husband didn’t make many friends in Manchester when he demand the arena he was playing disinfect all the doorknobs every two hours. He also reportedly requests that hotels hosting him install mirrors above the beds.
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Rihanna
Rihanna is very specific in her rider, to the point that she makes decor demands as well as food demands. She doesn’t want to see lockers or brick anywhere in her locker room, and wants layered drapes to cover them up. She also prefers a large throw rug with an animal print on it.
Madonna
Of course Madonna would have a bizarre demand or two in her rider, because of course she would. Her tours are huge, which requires accommodations for an entourage of up to 200 people, 20 different phone lines, and furniture — specifically, her own living room furniture .
Steve Aoki
A Steve Aoki concert wouldn’t be complete without the DJ throwing a cake or two into the audience, so of course he has to have at least two cakes with his “Dim Mak” branding written on them ready to go. Apparently Aoki has his team do a cake check before his shows after a Scottish bakery supplied a cake that was “hard as a brick.”
M.I.A.
The “Paper Planes” singer’s rider is generally average, but for a world tour, she required each city have three female extras , between the ages of 20 and 25, with the same height and body type, available to dance on stage while wearing a full burka.
Michael Bublé
The Canadian crooner’s demands are about what you’d expect — a big enough spread to feed four people, as well as some premium Scotch. But, being a Canadian hockey fan, he also requests a puck from a local hockey team.
Britney Spears
For a 2011 tour in Britain, the “Toxic” singer requested a feast of McDonald’s cheeseburgers, without the buns, and about 100 figs and prunes. But, to honor her hosts, she also requested fish and chips, and a portrait of Princess Di in her dressing room.
