10 Insane Backstage Demands Made By Musicians
When you’re drunk on star power, you really think you deserve it all…
You see plenty of things in showbiz, but rock and rollers come up with perhaps the craziest backstage requests. Of course, some of these requests were made back in the day and could possibly be down to a number of substances that were being used at the time. Nevertheless, these musicians seem to think that the world revolves around them when they are sat backstage.
It stopped being just about the music and became about the persona somewhere along the line. A major trend throughout this list is the persona a lot of the bands and musicians liked to adopt in years gone by. Some say that it's all about making your temporary tour home as comfortable as possible, but surely you don’t need 50,000 live bees and 100 goats for that? The worst part, is that these stars get exactly what they want a lot of the time because the venues and organisers can't afford to lose them as an act. Neat, right?
Drunk on star power, these excerpts from some of the backstage riders take the cake for the most insane backstage demands made by musicians.
10. Iggy Pop - Bob Hope Impersonator And "Seven Dwarfs"
Currently touring the world, this 72-year-old rockstar has a long history of wild backstage requests. Most bands and musicians have a tour rider that highlights their likes and a few of their must-haves in their backstage rooms, buses, and caravans.
Iggy Pop had a 28-page rider back in 2012 that quickly became public news thanks to some of the hilarious requests on the list. But two of his terms were strange enough to be worthy of a mention on this list. The rider was authored by stage manager Joe Grain who was clearly having a bit of fun while writing it. The rider clearly states that Iggy and his guests would like to have the seven dwarfs in their cabin at all times. However, it does mention that if seven small men can't be found, tall men will do just fine. One thing that was highlighted was the need for each man to be wearing a pointy hat. Who knows what that is all about.
Another strange request on his list is a Bob Hope impersonator. The alternative for the impersonator is a belly dancer.