Les Thugs

Les Thugs are a punk band from France. Their records are distributed in North-America by Sub Pop Records.

The Thugs' story begins in France, in Angers with two brothers, Eric and Christophe Sourice. The Sourice brothers were teenagers in 1977 and were influenced by the English punk wave that had swept through France. Without knowing how to play any instruments, the band adopted a "Do it yourself" style towards the musical movement. The band was founded in 1979 as a group called IVG. They then played in the group Dazibao, then in Stress, with Gérald Chabaud, Thierry Méanard and a fifth member (Philippe Brix) as singer.

In April 1983, following the departure of the lead singer, Les Thugs officially formed. The band's name refers to the historical brotherhood of the Thuggee, a following of the goddess Kali and not directly to the related English loan word thug. Eric then became the lead singer, the band quickly created its own repertoire and performed its first concerts in bars in Angers and surrounding towns. In July 1984, during a concert in Juvisy, near Paris, Les Thugs met the very young independent label Gougnaf Mouvement with whom they decided to release a 45 rpm. Frenetic Dancing, the group's first record, released in January 1985 at Gougnaf Mouvement. This 45 rpm includes two tracks Night Dance and Femme Fatale. Both were recorded in a basement in Juvisy with an 8 track tape recorder. The success of the record was well beyond the expectations of the group: the single, although limited, was internationally distributed and sold more than 3000 copies. Specialized fanzines reception was good; the group got reviews in maximumrocknroll in the United States and in Sounds in England. One hundred copies were sold in Vinyl Solution, a shop and a label in London run by two French expatriates in England. Greg Shaw, protagonist of the underground scene in California, put the track Femme Fatale in the United States on the compilation Battle of garage of Bomp! Records.

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