10 Musicians' Craziest Backstage Food Demands (Slideshow)

While refinement might be the last thing you'd associate with this rowdy hair metal band, they apparently wouldn't settle for regular yellow mustard: only Grey Poupon would do. They weren't joking around, either: In 1988 frontman Vince Neil discovered that he'd been given the wrong mustard so he threw it at the wall. It shattered, severing an artery in his thumb. They also specify that only creamy peanut butter is acceptable. 

The goth king demanded a food item that seems a little out of character for such a dark guy: Haribo gummy bears. He also asked for venues to track down a bald, toothless hooker, because he always wanted to see one (no joke). 

It must get boring eating the same thing on the road every day, because LL Cool J demanded that every day of the week have a set menu:

Monday: Roasted Turkey
Tuesday: Steak Dinner
Wednesday: Fried Shrimp
Thursday: Local Faire [sic]
Friday: baked Salmon, Fried Red Snapper
Saturday: Salisbury steak
Sunday: Soul Food

On her most recent tour, Britney needed there to be exactly 100 prunes and figs, an order of fish and chips, and McDonald's cheeseburgers without the buns in her dressing room, along with a framed photo of Princess Diana, for some reason. 

Possibly the most infamous rider request of all time, Van Halen demanded that there be a big bowl of M&Ms backstage, with all the brown ones removed. As opposed to this being a sign of mental illness, Eddie Van Halen just wanted to make sure that the venue was paying attention.

On a recent tour, the Guns N' Roses frontman needed to eat a square melon at every stop. We guess he didn't want it rolling away. 

MIA wouldn't settle for an ordinary cheese tray, demanding that one with "very good quality" organic cheeses be served to her. "English or French blue cheese, goat cheese, cave-aged Gruyère, Swiss, and sharp cheddar" were essential, as was two packages of smoked salmon, eight Ferrero Rocher chocolates, a six-pack of Red Stripe, and 12 cans of Coke (no Pepsi). 

These guys have one of the best senses of humor in the industry, and their 2008 rider is a hoot to read. They demand that their cereal be unopened ("Do not recycle from last night's Dio show"), their Sunday dinner request is "MEXICAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!," and they want one bag of Pirate's Booty ("Not Johnny Depp's"), and 75 pounds of ice (they even include a recipe for it). They also suggest "some cool things to do with meat," like "fried anything, really" and "big ass kielbasas that make men self-conscious," and note that "Bacon in any form is great. Not as an entrée, but just in general." Seriously, you need to read this. 

Idol was oddly specific in what he needed backstage. His demands included a tub of I Can't Believe It's Not Butter and Pepperidge Farm Soft-Baked Chocolate Chip Cookies. 

Finally, NIN noted that it was "VERY IMPORTANT" that there be two boxes of cornstarch backstage. We're assuming they weren't looking to thicken sauces; our guess is they needed it to help get into and out of tight pants.