**Van Halen’s pre-show instructions included the famous “no brown M&Ms” clause to give them a signal that the show runners read the technical requirements.** Van Halen were known as divas in the rocker world. One famous piece of anecdotal evidence was their contract for them playing concerns included a clause that the backstage area needs to have a bowl of M&Ms, and moreover that bowl of M&Ms must have all brown M&Ms _removed_ before their arrival. What they were actually doing was giving themselves a signal to determine if the concert showrunners had actually read and followed through on the contract and the instructions for preparations for the show. The M&M clause was mixed in with a lot of other technical & logistical linchpins that were required for Van Halen's large, pyrotechnic shows. Most concern showrunners would need the extra instructions, all would have claimed to have read it. The brown M&Ms was a big of [[Manufactured Feedback]] the band could use to see if they needed to have someone double-check the rest of the work performed in advance of the show. **** # More ## Source I don’t remember where I first learned this. ## Related - [[Feedback Loop]] - [[Lack of Signal is a Bad Signal]]