Van Halen's No Brown M&Ms clause

Van Halen had a clause in their concert contracts that stipulated that the band would “be provided with one large bowl of M&M candies, with all brown candies removed”.


At the heart of any major concert is the contract. Most contracts involving large venue concerts are jam-packed with riders, most of which involve technical details specific to the band’s stage design.


For instance, a rider might say “Article 148: There will be fifteen amperage voltage sockets at twenty-foot spaces, spaced evenly, providing nineteen amperes total, on beams suspended from the ceiling of the venue, which shall be able to support a total gross weight of 5,600 pounds each, and be suspended no less than 30 feet, but no more than 37.5 feet, above the stage surface”.


Van Halen’s concert contracts would have several hundred such demands. The band needed a way to know that their contract had been read fully and that's where the no brown M&Ms clause came in! 


Love it! And everyone thought they were being big babies.