They then played in the groups Dazibao and Stress with Gérald Chabaud, Thierry Méanard and a fifth member (Philippe Brix) as singer.
The band's name refers to the historical brotherhood of the Thuggee, followers of the goddess Kali, and not directly to the English loan word thug.
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 in Juvisy, near Paris, Les Thugs met the very young independent label Gougnaf Mouvement with whom they decided to release a 45rpm single.
Response to the record in specialized fanzines 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, a protagonist in the Californian underground scene, put the track Femme Fatale on the Bomp!
At the start of the year they released the EP Dirty White Race in Europe, and on 11 October the French quartet played in Berlin at Independence days 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.
Les Thugs toured in England with Mega City Four, and performed many dates in France, including supporting Noir Désir at the Olympia in Paris.
During this period, for the 10th anniversary of Alternative Tentacles and the hundredth issue of the Californian label, Les Thugs were invited by Jello Biafra to contribute to a tribute album for the Dead Kennedys, Virus 100, alongside Faith No More, Sepultura and L7.
The band recorded a cover of the Dead Kennedys’ track Moon Over Marin at Smart Studios in Madison with Butch Vig (Nirvana, Sonic Youth, Garbage).
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.
It launched with an unpaid gig at Vitrolles stadium with Noir Désir in support of the association “Le sous-marin”, stripped of grants by the National Front (far right political party in France) municipality.
Before ending this part of their career Les Thugs recorded their last album Tout doit disparaître, produced by Christophe Sourice himself.