The Red Devils were a short-lived Los Angeles blues band who achieved acclaim in the early 1990s for their raw, forceful sound. Signed by Rick Rubin to Def American in 1991, they released one album, backed Mick Jagger and Johnny Cash, and became known as a brilliant but ultimately destructive musical force.

The band emerged from LA’s punk and rockabilly scene, with roots in The Blasters and a lineup of five musicians who revitalised traditional blues. Their frontman, Lester Butler, was praised by musicians including ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons, but his troubled behaviour damaged relationships within the band; Butler died at 38, while former bassist Jonny Ray Bartel remains wary of portraying him too positively.