Music & Media magazine, a European entertainment and radio trade publication, missed the mark on The Red Devils by a few months.
In the June 25, 1994, edition, writer Robbert Tilli lauded the Devils as at the tip of an exciting blues movement.
Meanwhile, The Red Devils were in the process of sputtering out, more of a wish than a working band. The group, hobbled initially by the exodus of Paul Size in late 1993, seemed to spark again with guitarist Zach Zunis. A second record was in the can, and gigs were lined up. By the summer of 1994, it was clear that The Red Devils were no more.
Magazine articles are typically written months in advance before publishing, so it is hard to fault Music & Media for the hype. And they rightly named several Devils-adjacent musicians (Sue Foley, Robin Daveys’ The Hoax, Guy Forsyth and The Moeller Brothers) worth watching — all of whom are still relevant and active on the touring and recording scenes.
Here’s from the story:
Younger people began showing an interest in blues, similar artists sold CDs and more tours were organised, but have you seen any young bands on stage? Well, we have. The Red Devils from L.A. for instance or even greener, fellow Californians the Loved Ones. These bands are burning and definitely keep the torch flaming.
Blues brothers all around the world have been praying for the new blues messiahs and many found them in the hippest neo-blues band of ’em all, The Red Devils, whose Rick Rubin-produced live debut album King King, released on (Def) American at the tail end of 1992, grabbed the entire blues fraternity by the balls. Such high energy was exactly what everybody had been waiting for. In Europe the album came out on Phonogram UK’s label imprint This Way Up.
Founder Andrew Lauder, once the mastermind behind Silvertone talks about his mission and how the Red Devils fit in. “It’s a fairly broad label, but the blues undertone is very strong. We signed living Chicago blues legend Otis Rush, because we found he was a bit underrecorded. I’m dying to sign a young R&B band from the UK, though. The last time something really important happened in this country was when Dr. Feelgood surfaced in 1974. They were so different from anybody else, so energetic and direct. We probably have to wait for the clock to tick round again. It’s good that the Black Crowes, serious fans of classic blues albums, are talking this music up again. The success of our Red Devils with the kids — especially in Holland — is that they look like a rock ‘n’ roll band. You see rockers playing the blues, and you can feel the excitement.”
Music & Media (the magazine, not the concept) ceased to exist in 2003.
Click below to read the full article, “Blues Is Ringing In A New Generation.” (And scroll down for a review of Billy Boy Arnold’s “Back In The Game.”)
Top image: Bill Bateman, Paul Size, Dave Lee Bartel, Lester Butler and Jonny Ray Bartel, as seen in the June 25, 1994, issue of Music & Media.
No Fightin' 