Fans attending the Paul McCartney concert tonight in Regina should give stagehands and the local crew an extra round of thanks after the Beatles legend demanded the work be done on meat-free stomachs.
According to the Canadian Press, McCartney asked that the workers be served vegetarian meals while erecting the stage at Regina's Mosaic Stadium. It was reportedly one of the terms in order to secure McCartney's performance.
"I think the bigger you get the more you want things done your way," Evraz Place vice-president Neil Donnelly told CP of the demand. "So if it means travelling with your own folks to take care of that, they can do that." Donnelly also said there were a few jokes from stagehands about "people ordering pizza" but thus far the workers have enjoyed the meals.
The singer is a longtime supporter of animal rights. In 2006, McCartney and then-wife Heather Mills made headlines when they travelled to northern Canada to protest the seal hunt and, according to the Smoking Gun, his 2002 concert rider for his Driving USA trek demanded dressing room furniture not be made of any animal products. "It is crucial you do not provide furniture made of any animal skin or print," the rider reads. "Do not provide artificial versions of animal skin or print either. Only animal free materials are excepted. (cottons, denims, velour, etc.)"
The new demand brings to mind Morrissey's 2009 performance at Coachella where, according to the BBC, he walked off stage after stating he could "smell burning flesh." The singer and animal rights advocate was upset by the smell of barbecues on the concert grounds.
If Regina was made to meet such rigorous demands, one hazards to guess the obvious demand a city named Moose Jaw might face in landing a McCartney show.
But McCartney certainly isn't the only musician with demanding tour rider demands. Here are a few more ridiculous ones.
