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After years of harassment by rabid One Direction fans, TSG is breaking down and giving the young horde what it wants, the boy band’s 2015 tour rider.
The group provides concert promoters with a 32-page production rider, a 40-page security plan, and a 23-page risk assessment report, among other documents covering its sold-out stadium shows.
Here are some highlights from those documents:
* Harry Styles and those other guys are so committed to hydration that if they are going to be in a auto for “journeys of over 15 mins duration, a cooler with refreshments (water, soft drinks) should be provided.”
* While there are five band members, One Direction demands four “STAR dressing rooms,” one of which “MUST allow smoking.” Another backstage room is for “Personal Training.” The group’s private rooms must offer a “pleasant ambience” and “Wall-to-wall freshly cleaned and deodorized carpet.” And, of course, bathrooms have to be “stocked with supply of Soft toilet tissue and odorless air freshener.” Because nobody wants a repeat of that unfortunate incident at Wembley.
* The band’s “Green Room/Games Room/Private dining room” needs to be outfitted with a “Large, glass fronted drinks fridge,” a ping pong table (“c/w bats & balls”), and a “Pinball Table Table” (whatever that is). Also, promoters are asked to provide “One other games table/machine of your choice – Pool/Airhockey/Space Invaders etc.”
* To help promotion personnel set the proper backstage mood, One Direction provides photos of dressing rooms previously used by the singers. Like this, this, and this.
* On the food front, Louis Tomlinson and his cohorts demand that caterers “use garnish and find creative ways to help prevent food from drying out while it is being served.” Also, “ALL CATERING MUST BE ON CHINA.” To avoid chafing dish confusion, One Direction asks that labels--“2 inch by 3 inches approx. typed with easy to read bold font”--be placed in front of hot food.
* Dessert must be homemade and offer choices like fruit tarts, cobblers, and ice cream. And profiteroles (reportedly a favorite of Niall Horan).
* While the rider lists no alcohol being provided in the dressing rooms, a list of “Aftershow Food” includes “3 cases of local beer.” Promoters are also required to provide One Direction with “assorted local menus for after-show food” from establishments such as KFC, Chick-fil-A, and Steak 'n Shake. The rider adds, however, “The LOCAL treats or famous joints are the best!!”
* The group’s security rider includes an audience profile noting that One Direction devotees are “known to be Extremely loud, Enthusiastic, Excitable, but in a whole Compliant as long as they are given guidance.” Not unlike Zayn Malik’s Maltese. Fans “do have a history of throwing object, being extremely excited and in some instances bordering on hysteria and obsessive,” while their parents or guardians “can be Protective, Concerned, Pushy, Territorial, and Compliant,” according to security officials.
* All tour staffers “regardless of stature or position” are required to wear a visible credential at concert venues. Except the members of One Direction, for whom “CREDENTIALS NOT REQUIRED!” The performers “are to be allowed to move around the backstage area without credentials and at no point what so ever should they be stopped or hindered.” To help facilitate this movement, the security rider includes a captioned photo (seen above) of One Direction, just in case anyone (understandably) has trouble recognizing Liam Payne.
* A risk assessment report notes that the group’s fans are “very young, excitable and inexperienced. Audience has been scored 9/10, 0 being sedate seated and non-moving and 10 being riotous and moshing.” (8 pages)