On this day in 1978, Van Halen kicked off their first tour at Chicago’s Aragon Ballroom. The group’s standard concert contract called for them to be provided with a bowl of M&Ms backstage, but with the provision that all the brown ones must be removed. And indeed, a copy of a contract rider from Van Halen’s 1982 world tour, under the “Munchies” section, does document that the band specified they be provided with “M&M’s (WARNING: ABSOLUTELY NO BROWN ONES)”. You can see the contract image above. This was a very smart way to see if promoters were actually reading the band's contract/rider. David Lee Roth said "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" of the entire stage setup.
Lend a Helping Can raises money for 12 New England charitable agencies to feed the Needy and Homeless.
