Outrageous celebrity riders
 Why does anyone say yes to these people? Vitamin water to bathe the dogs in, a dressing room painted white, packs of gummy bears with the red ones taken out and a toilet bowl filled with rose petals. No I haven't gone mad, these are just some of the most outrageous requests that celebrities demand on performing at a venue or even just staying at a hotel.
Known as "riders", these lists of demands often show the ridiculously pampered world that some (mainly American) pop stars and actors live in. Reportedly, Justin Timberlake demands that every door knob that he may come into contact with on his stay at a venue must be disinfected every 30 minutes. That's fine.
On her visit to the London O2 arena last year, Britney Spears reportedly asked for a framed picture of Princess Diana and issued a threat that the phone in her room was never allowed to ring otherwise the venue would be fined $5,000. That seems reasonable. Cher apparently requests a whole room dedicated entirely to her wigs. No problem there.
Having read some of these, quite frankly, ridiculous requests and having appeared in some amateur dramatics at my local theatre in Kent, I began to think about what I would demand in my own dressing room. Firstly I would like a dressing room. And then I might go down the Lady Gaga route and demand posters of my favourite childhood charting acts plastered across the walls. East 17 and MC Hammer would work perfectly together for an angelic ambience.
Or I could go down the Mariah Carey route and have 100 of my favourite type of bird launched into the air on my arrival at the venue. I don't know how far the penguins would get but it would be one hell of a sight! Perhaps I should start demanding riders for coming to work, cups of tea on my desk for my approach, a fresh liner in my waste paper bin every 43 minutes, my lunchtime orange pre-peeled and sliced.
David Hasslehoff had the right idea didn't he, when his tour rider requested that a cardboard cut-out of himself be standing in his bedroom at each of his tour hotels. Fair enough I suppose. Look what is happening. See how easy it is to become a maniac when people say yes? It wouldn't take me five minutes to become outrageously over confident.
These celebrities are a joke. Hotels, restaurants and venues, I implore you - just say NO! What has happened to being in-touch with the common man? "But what if they stop coming to play live because of the rider refusal?" I hear you cry. If everybody says no, then they won't ask anymore and I guarantee that these so-called stars will forget all about their precious riders as soon as their wardrobe fund needs a quick cash injection from a live tour.
I am so annoyed about it, I now sound like the nutter. But honestly, 100 kittens in your bed before you perform on stage? Who is the one with the mental health issue? (Kent News)
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