....It was Parnes, too, who in 1960 sent The Beatles on their first concert tour, during which their then drummer, Tommy Moore, was concussed by a tooth-loosening blow from a falling amplifier in their overloaded van. Even after Beatlemania took hold, touring remained a wretched business for the new gods of rock'n'roll. The band's idea of after-show luxury involved despatching their long-serving assistant Mal Evans to get hold of some Scotch and Coke. On their triumphant first tour of America, in 1963, they politely requested only two cases of cold soft drinks and two spotlights at every performance.
Then things began to change. The Beatles ushered in a new era not only in pop music but in the way business was conducted. Here was a teen sensation with staying power, guided by a manager, Brian Epstein, who saw them as more than a short-lived cash cow, who wanted to protect his protegÈs rather than join forces with some vulturine promoter and line his pockets at their expense. The balance of power began to shift towards the bands, and a new phenomenon came into its own: the rider.
Simply, the rider is that part of the contract between an artist and a concert promoter which details the provisions and facilities to be made available to the artist before, during and after a show. Technically speaking, a rider could be any clause or amendment to the contract, but it was only in the wake of The Beatles that acts began to realise this could be used to their advantage...
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/david.bennun/musicfeat/riders.html
