10 Photos Of Outrageous Things Musicians Demand Backstage

Culture

Most of us have heard about the ridiculous crap musicians request in the riders of their contracts. Riders, of course, are stipulations demanded by either signatory to a contract. Over the years, we’ve seen them request specific patterned furniture pieces to oxygen tanks.

Sometimes, the full-on insanity of it all is difficult to picture. Photographer Henry Hargreaves sought to give us a better understanding of the kinds of stuff musicians request backstage through the use of photography. Writing for Vice he said, “I was inspired to create this series after reviewing a few riders from some of the biggest acts in the world, all of which were ridiculous. But what I found most interesting about them is that they offered a glimpse into their larger-than-life personalities.” With that, let’s take a journey backstage to the inner world that is musical celebrity status.

1. Guns N' Roses front man Axl Rose: Fresh Wonder Bread (white), Dom Perignon.

2. Beyoncé: Juicy baked chicken, heavily seasoned: garlic, sea salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. Beyoncé can only have Pepsi products.

3. Britney Spears: Fish and chips, McDonald’s cheeseburgers without the buns, 100 prunes and figs, a framed photo of Princess Diana.

4. Busta Rhymes: Twenty-four pieces of fried chicken, Rough Rider condoms, Guinness.

5. Foo Fighters: Big-ass kielbasas that make men feel self-conscious.

6. Lady Gaga: Small plate of cheese (nonsmelly, nonsweaty), on ice.

7. Nine Inch Nails: Two boxes corn starch.

8. Prince: Coffee and tea setup, including honey, lemon, sugar, cream, fresh ginger root. Physician will be used to administer a B-12 injection.

9. Rihanna: Hard-boiled eggs, turkey bacon, turkey sausage, at any time throughout the day. Please be prepared!

10. Van Halen: Herring in sour cream, large tube of KY jelly, M&M's (Warning: absolutely no brown ones).

I love these photos, they all feel like those paintings of food from the Dutch Baroque era. Really though, a framed photo of Princess Diana?