Les Thugs were apunk band from France. Their records are distributed in North-America bySub Pop Records.
The founding members of Les Thugs were two brothers, Eric and Christophe Sourice, fromAngers,France. The Sourice brothers were teenagers in1977 and were influenced by the English punk wave that was sweeping through France. Without knowing how to play any instruments, the band used theDIY ethic. Their first band was founded in 1979, a group calledIVG. They then played in the groupsDazibao andStress with Gérald Chabaud, Thierry Méanard and a fifth member (Philippe Brix) as singer.
In April 1983, following the departure of the lead singer, they officially became Les Thugs. The band's name refers to the historical brotherhood of theThuggee, followers of the goddessKali, and not directly to the English loan wordthug. Eric became the lead singer and the band quickly created its own repertoire, performing its first concerts in bars in Angers and surrounding towns. In July 1984, during a concert inJuvisy, nearParis, Les Thugs met the very young independent labelGougnaf Mouvement with whom they decided to release a 45rpm single.Frenetic Dancing, the group's first record, was released in January 1985 by Gougnaf Mouvement. This single includes two tracksNight Dance andFemme Fatale. Both were recorded in a basement inJuvisy 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 3,000 copies. Response to the record in specializedfanzines was good; the group got reviews inmaximumrocknroll in theUnited States and inSounds in England. One hundred copies were sold inVinyl Solution, a shop and a label inLondon run by two Frenchexpatriates in England.Greg Shaw, a protagonist in theCalifornian underground scene, put the trackFemme Fatale on theBomp! Records compilationBattle of Garage.
Les Thugs then recorded their first mini-album, Radical Hystery. They were approached by many labels such as New Rose records in France andMidnight in United States. Eventually the band chose Closer, a French independent label which was more established than Gougnaf Mouvement. The album was released in 1986 and sales were good, with 3,000 copies sold in France and 2,000 abroad.
In 1987 the band left Closer to join the English labelVinyl Solution. The seven tracks on the mini-albumElectric Troubles were recorded inLondon in July. On November 8, during their first tour of England, they participated inJohn Peel'sPeel Sessions onBBC Radio 1.
The year 1988 was mostly occupied by touring throughout Europe. In June their bassist Gerald left the band. He was replaced by the group's roadie, Pierre-Yves Sourice, the younger brother of Eric and Christophe. At the start of the year they released the EPDirty White Race in Europe, and on 11 October the French quartet played inBerlin atIndependence days festival. This performance brought them to the attention of theSeattle-based labelSub Pop. Later,Jonathan Poneman, founder of the label recalled
"I remember back in 1988,Bruce Pavitt and I scammed a trip to Berlin withMudhoney, who were scheduled to play the then state-funded, now defunct Berlin Independence Days music festival. As an unofficial representative of the insurgent American Rock Underground I was pleased to note that most of the European bands that were playing this extravaganza were godawful. Wondering just how horrible it could get, I decided to go check out a French rock band for laffs. Maybe they would play someMink DeVille covers. The band was Les Thugs and they effortlessly blew my shit away."
This meeting resulted in the signing of the group to Sub Pop, who started to distribute the band's catalog in North America. During the summer of 1989 the group performed a two-month tour in North America in precarious conditions. They played inSeattle withPIL then toured withBlood Circus in the USA then withSNFU inCanada, and withTad inWashington. It was during this time that they crossed paths withJello Biafra.
In the autumn of 1989 they released their first full-length albumStill Angry, Still Hungry in Europe. This album was recorded inWales during May byIain Burgess (Big Black) and then mixed inChicago. Les Thugs toured in England withMega City Four, and performed many dates in France, including supportingNoir Désir at theOlympia inParis. During 1993Still Hungry, Still Angry was made available by Sub Pop in North America under the title of 'Still Angry'.
In 1991, in the midst of theGulf War, the songStop the War and the albumIABF were issued in the US byAlternative Tentacles,Jello Biafra’s label. Recorded in England, IABF (International Anti-Boredom Front) contains one of the best known tunes of the group:I Love You So. A European tour accompanied the album's release in spring 1991, followed by a US tour of 33 dates in autumn. During this period, for the 10th anniversary of Alternative Tentacles and the hundredth issue of the Californian label, Les Thugs were invited byJello Biafra to contribute to a tribute album for the Dead Kennedys,Virus 100, alongsideFaith No More,Sepultura andL7. The band recorded a cover of theDead Kennedys’ trackMoon Over Marin atSmart Studios inMadison withButch Vig (Nirvana, Sonic Youth, Garbage).
In 1993, they recorded the albumAs Happy As Possible in Seattle withKurt Bloch (Fastbacks,The Young Fresh Fellows). The album was their best commercial success with 40,000 copies sold worldwide, including 15,000 in both the US and France.
On February 19, 1994, they were the support forNirvana during their concert inNeuchâtel in Switzerland. It was one of the last Nirvana concerts before the death ofKurt Cobain.[1] In May, the Thugs toured in major French theaters, such as (Le Zenith de Paris), opening forThe Breeders.
In 1996, Sub Pop produced the albumStrike, recorded bySteve Albini. In May the group performed its last US tour, opening forTherapy? andGirls Against Boys. Despite a good critical reception, the commercial impact of Strike was lower compared to the previous album and the band emerged disappointed by the collaboration with Steve Albini. After this, the group wanted to compose and record a new album as soon as possible.
In 1997 they changed label again producingNineteen Something themselves, which was licensed byVirgin in France andSub Pop in theUnited States. The album was recorded inAngers withKurt Bloch once again. The album showed the band moving towards a more melodic style of rock than the previous albums. For the first time, they sang in French on the track “Les lendemains qui chantent”. A tour of 60 dates in France and Switzerland followed the release of the album. It launched with an unpaid gig atVitrolles stadium withNoir Désir in support of the association “Le sous-marin”, stripped of grants by theNational Front (far right political party in France) municipality. Despite again receiving a good critical response and a good start on the AmericanCollege Radio Charts, sales of Nineteen Something did not exceed 10,000 copies.
At this point Christophe Sourice decided to leave the band because of internal disagreements. Before ending this part of their career Les Thugs recorded their last albumTout doit disparaître, produced by Christophe Sourice himself. This album was only released on the French market, in 1999. They performed their last tour with 20 dates in France. The band, who had played more than 700 concerts, performed their farewell show atLa Roche-sur-Yon in December 1999.[2]
In 2008, they played a show in Seattle for the 20th anniversary of theSub Pop label, and for some dates in France. This small tour was ironically called the No-Reform Tour.[3]
In 2018, two members (Eric and Pierre-Yves Sourice) launched a new band calledLANE (Love And Noise Experiment) with Pierre-Yves' son, Félix, and two members of another similar band, Daria, the brothers Etienne and Camille Belin. One album was issued in 2019 which gained critical acclaim, "A Shiny Day". "Pictures of A Century" followed in June 2020.
This review is mainly a translation of the French article : Les Thugs(fr)
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