The band touring contract is fifty-three pages long.
The contract laid out the technical specifications and security requirements for their concerts. It also included their food and beverage requirements.
Roast beef, fried chicken or lasagna with sides of Brussels sprouts, broccoli or spinach are served on even calendar days. On odd days, steak or Chinese food with green beans, peas or carrot are served. No plastic or paper plates and plastic cutlery are to be used when serving dinner.
There is a "Munchies" section on page 40 of the contract which asked for potato chips, nuts, pretzels and "M&M's chocolates (WARNING: ABSOLUTELY NO BROWN ONES)."
To many people, they took it as a request from pampered, spoilt and egoistic superstar.
Van Halen's concerts were extravagant with gigantic stage set, spectacular lighting effects and sound systems. But many of the venues they performed at were outdated and couldn't accommodate the production size.
It turned out the fifity-three pages long contract spelled out point-by-point instructions to make sure that the promoter at each venue provided enough physical space and electrical power. The band wanted to make sure no one got killed by a collapsing stage or a short-circuit.
But how are they going to ensure that the promoter had read the whole contract and followed all the safety procedures?
By checking for brown M&M's.
When Roth arrived at the venue, he'd go backstage to check out the bowl of M&M's. If he saw brown ones, he knew the promoter hadn't read the contract carefully and he had to do a serious check to make sure the important equipment are properly set up.
He also made sure that he trash the dressing room if there were no brown M&M's so that other will take it as rock-star folly.