May 27, 1988: The U.S. Monsters Of Rock tour opened in East Troy, WI with Kingdom Come, Metallica, Dokken, Scorpions and Van Halen.
It was the second highest grossing event of 1988 earning $26.7 million. Tour promotion included giving away 100 autographed guitars that were specially designed for these concerts.
Reportedly, Van Halen added a contract rider calling for a fluffer to be present backstage for each stop on the route (a fluffer is a woman found on adult film sets and her job is to ensure the male actors remain “at attention”).
Witnesses in multiple cities reported attendees passing out from dangerously overheated conditions, stadium-wide out-of-control food & water (sod, shoes, trash, anything) fights between people in the stands against those on the field, and a list of other incidents that signaled this was the decade-closing tour for that genre.
best links for media in playlist: https://tinyurl.com/1988-MOR
