{"id":3095,"date":"2026-06-23T13:56:39","date_gmt":"2026-06-23T17:56:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/?p=3095"},"modified":"2026-06-23T13:56:40","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T17:56:40","slug":"the-real-reason-why-van-halen-demanded-no-brown-mm-candies-in-their-dressing-room-ahead-of-concerts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/the-real-reason-why-van-halen-demanded-no-brown-mm-candies-in-their-dressing-room-ahead-of-concerts\/","title":{"rendered":"The Real Reason Why Van Halen Demanded No Brown M&amp;M Candies in Their Dressing Room Ahead of Concerts"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>It&#8217;s a well-known story within rock and roll that has been passed around as a rumor for years. Van Halen was one of rock&#8217;s top acts in the 1980s, and they were rumored to be picky ahead of performances. The story that has been told is that when booking <a href=\"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/songs\/van-halen\" id=\"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/songs\/van-halen\">Van Halen<\/a>, there was a specific stipulation in the contract. It stated that there was to be a bowl of M&amp;M&#8217;s in the dressing room, with the brown ones removed. Van Halen was known for their party rock sound, mixed with high-energy stage presence and over-the-top antics. So, a request such as this doesn&#8217;t seem far-fetched for a rock band of the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This wasn&#8217;t just a rock band being ridiculous, though. It wasn&#8217;t just because Edward Van Halen had a sweet tooth. In fact, this was brilliantly planted by the band to guarantee their own safety. At the time, Van Halen&#8217;s stage featured massive complexes, heavyweight loads, and high-voltage lighting grids. The heavy lighting above the stage, displaying their VH logo, can be seen in videos such as their Live at Oakland Coliseum performance in 1981. The technical setup of the show was important, as the technology was newer at the time. To ensure the band&#8217;s safety, they included specific instructions in a 53-page contract. Hidden within those instructions was a small detail about no brown M&amp;M&#8217;s. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The M&amp;M Test Would Mean Promoters Skimmed the Contract<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Van Halen - &quot;Hear About It Later&quot; (Live at Oakland Coliseum 1981)\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/CLGEYPOhK6w?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>If the band walked into the dressing room and either saw brown M&amp;M&#8217;s or none at all, it meant the promoters skimmed through the contract. There were times when this happened, and promoters were called out. Their safety was important, and the band needed a way to directly gauge the situation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The story went through various versions throughout the years. In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/songs\/david-lee-roth\" id=\"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/songs\/david-lee-roth\">David Lee Roth<\/a>&#8216;s 1998 memoir <em>Crazy From The Heat<\/em>, the former Van Halen singer cleared up the rumors. He dismissed the \u201crock star diva behavior\u201d side of the rumor and brought everyone&#8217;s attention to the real reason. It was a security measure for the band all along, devised by rock stars with brains. It&#8217;s a real twist in the tale for a band like Van Halen to be this forward-thinking. What started as a rumor attempting to make the band look bad ended up being a myth with a brilliant explanation after all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Photo by \u00a9 Roger Ressmeyer\/CORBIS\/VCG via Getty Images<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Van Halen had a contract that demanded a bowl of M&amp;M&#8217;s without the brown ones, to ensure the band&#8217;s safety ahead of a concert.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":595065,"featured_media":3102,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"byline":{"profiles":[{"type":"byline_id","atts":{"term_id":52,"post_id":228}}]},"savage_platform_role_ideator":[],"savage_platform_role_editor":[],"savage_platform_role_senior_editor":[],"savage_platform_role_photographer":[],"savage_platform_role_illustrator":[],"savage_platform_role_translator":[],"savage_platform_role_as-told-to":[],"savage_platform_role_reviewed-by":[],"savage_platform_disable_recirculation":false,"savage_platform_article_type":"news","savage_platform_vice_article_type":"article","savage_platform_article_intent":"","savage_platform_show_affiliate_disclaimer":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"wp_curate_deduplication":false,"wp_curate_unique_pinned_posts":false,"savage_platform_featured_image_caption":"Photo by \u00a9 Roger Ressmeyer\/CORBIS\/VCG via Getty Images","_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"savage_platform_subheadline":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[61,18,310],"byline":[52],"class_list":["post-3095","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","tag-1980s","tag-rock-music","tag-van-halen"],"savage_platform_primary_term":{"category":{"term_name":"Features","term_id":12,"term_link":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/category\/features\/"},"post_tag":{"term_name":"1980s","term_id":61,"term_link":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/tag\/1980s\/"}},"hide_from_homepage":false,"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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