There is no better way to show your devotion to a band than a concert T-shirt, ticket stub or other souvenir. Unfortunately, there are very few options for The Red Devils or 13; the little official merchandise that is out there is sought after by collectors.
Beyond the records, here is some of the swag (the “shit we ain’t getting!”) that has been coveted by fans:
T-shirts
NoFightin.com reader Feelgood sent us some images of the handful of tees out there.
Many of the T-shirts that are out there are fan-made and tribute-style. The 13 shirt above, “I hate to talk negative,” is a fan tribute that Jasper Heikens says is by Chris Wobben.
This one is The Red Devils’ Planet Hollywood-style tee, which Feelgood said he bought when he saw the Devils on Nov. 18, 1993, at Zalen Schaaf, Leeuwarden, The Netherlands.
These two pictures show the front, sleeve and backside of the 13 T-shirt, with damn slick tattoo-style artwork, purchased Jan. 30, 1998, near Feelgood’s hometown, Het Bolwerk, Sneek, The Netherlands: “I bought here the 13 T-shirt, Lester was after the show present on the stand with T-shirts and CDs for a chat and a autograph.”
Pocket-sized
Oddest piece of memorabilia? A Red Devils bottle opener/keychain combo, found on eBay. Annika Bärlund told NoFightin.com that this is authentic Red Devils merch.
“The bottle opener/key chain is the real deal,” Bärlund told us in 2013. “They were around sometime in 1992-1993. … I was on tour with the R.D. in Europe in 1993 and sold theirTshirts, tapes and 45s and other stuff in venues. Part of the tour was opening for Johnny Winter, so I got to sell his merchandize too. That was pretty cool!”
Along the same lines as the tour T-shirt above comes this pin with The Red Devils’ “Planet” logo. This one appears to be super-rare; it was posted to the Facebook group by Frank Roland Verstappe in 2018.
Red Devils bootlegs aren’t confined only to recordings of the band: This “Red Devils” harmonica and bag is of dubious origin.
If you have 60 Euros you could be the proud owner of a promo Red Devils harmonica, of dubious origin.
Pasi Rytkönen found this harp in a European store in 2015, for 60 Euros. From the pic, it’s hard to tell the make and model of the harmonica, but it looks off-brand with the red band logo on it. The harp appears to come with a little red felt bag with a black “Red Devils” logo on it.
On the Devils Facebook group, Jamie Cassius, who toured with the band and continues to work with The Blasters, said the full-size harp is a fake. “The only promo harps were miniatures, anything else is exploitation,” Cassius said.
Of course, if you want to be sure you have the real deal, you’ll want your harmonica autographed, as Andrew Rackauskas shared with NoFightin.com back in 2009.
‘Return’ of the swag
When they reunited in 2017 for a short summer European tour, The Red Devils brought with them some fresh merchandise.
Early shows offered the red-on-black “Return” T-shirts in the original “King King” font. At later stops on the tour, the band had a fresh CD, poster and T-shirt, with a fantastic design from Andre Dieterman.
There is more out there … what do you have, and what do you want?
No Fightin' 