Their recorded debut was a 7" E.P. titled "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit Of Shit" that was self-released on the band's own Police Records in the U.S. in August 1996 and re-released by Nefer Records in Canada in 1997. In addition to that record, The Pinkerton Thugs released two full albums ("The Pain and The Pinkerton Thugs" on V.M.L. Records in 1997 and "End Of an Era" on Go Kart Records in 2000), a split 7" record with the Ducky Boys, and a 7" on Go Kart Records titled "The Times." The bands later recordings saw Paul Russo playing both drums and guitar as well as singing in the studio while Tommy "Von" Gatton, who joined the band in 1998, played drums live. Shortly after the recording of "End Of An Era" in early 1999 Smaldone left the band to concentrate on playing rockabilly with The Racketeers. Paul Russo moved up from the drums to sing and play guitar and James Lynch of The Ducky Boys joined as a permanent member. He only played one show with the band before he left to join The Dropkick Murphys and The Thugs stopped performing, playing its last show in February 2000 at the Karma Club in Boston, Massachusetts. "End of an Era" was released posthumously in June 2000, some 18 months after it was recorded, to both critical and public acclaim.
The Pinkerton Thugs officially got back together in 2008 and are currently active with a touring line-up. The band was signed to Jailhouse Records in 2011. They are doing a full U.S. tour summer of 2012, re-releasing all their older albums, and recording a brand new record fall of 2012.
Discography:
"Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Shit" 7" (1996 Police/Nefer Records)
"The Pain and the Pinkerton Thugs" CD (1997 VML Records)
split 7" with the Ducky Boys (1998 Police Records)
"The Times" 7" (1999 Go-Kart/AF Records)
"End of an Era" CD (2000 Go-Kart Records)
Never Again
The Pinkerton Thugs Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
'Cause all the glory never had the meaning that it should
Never again will I see through those eyes
Never again will I have you by my side
Never Again
I wanna call you a brother we'll be there for each other
Well one thing that's for certain
They'll draw the final curtain
But you'll never fight alone
You'll never fight alone
The Pinkerton Thugs's song "Never Again" is a nostalgic, reflective piece that touches upon the loss of innocence and the acceptance of mortality. The opening lines, "The agony of youth no it never did me good / 'Cause all the glory never had the meaning that it should," speaks to the idea that the excitement and adventure of adolescence often cloud the reality of the world. The chorus, "Never again will I see through those eyes / Never again will I have you by my side" highlights the realization that the carefree days of youth have come and gone, and the person once by their side may no longer be there.
The second half of the song takes a more uplifting tone, with the lyrics "I wanna call you a brother we'll be there for each other / And call it all out own, we'll call it all our own" suggesting a desire for companionship and unity in the face of life's challenges. The lines "They'll draw the final curtain / But you'll never fight alone / You'll never fight alone" provide a message of support and camaraderie, reminding us that even when facing the inevitable end, we are not alone.
Line by Line Meaning
The agony of youth no it never did me good
I didn't benefit from my younger years' pain and struggle
'Cause all the glory never had the meaning that it should
The recognition and success I attained didn't have the significance I hoped for
Never again will I see through those eyes
I won't ever perceive the world the way I used to before
Never again will I have you by my side
I won't have you close to me as I did in the past
I wanna call you a brother we'll be there for each other
I want to consider you as family, and we'll always be supportive of one another
And call it all out own, we'll call it all our own
We'll take ownership of this relationship and make it our own
Well, one thing that's for certain
There's one thing that's clear
They'll draw the final curtain
Our time will come to an end
But you'll never fight alone
You'll never be alone in your battles
You'll never fight alone
I'll always be by your side in support
Contributed by Luke T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Ride the Wave of Fun!
29:00 Factory Life! ๐ค๐ค๐ค ๐
Pinkerton Thugs = GOAT ๐
Please reunite and bring it back to the masses! We love you!
P.S. I re-copied this from a reply message- here it is for more emphasis and for all to see! ๐ค
Absolutely Fantastic stuff- thank you all so much for the memories and the inspiration and hope for a better future!!
"No Fist of Ours / Has any Clout / If a Fist of theirs / Can knock You Out.....Together WE will see a Brighter Day..." ๐ค๐๐ค
Ian Good
1. One Day
2. Suburbicide
3. The Struggle Continues
4. Ballad of the Slaughterhouse
5. Happening Today
6. Battle Cry
7. White Man in Hammersmith Palais- Clash cover!!!!
8. Russia
9. Warfare Division
10. Never Again
11. Factory Life
12. For the Warriors
hate5six
The Pinkerton Thugs at The First and Second Church of Boston in Boston, MA on 1999-02-13
Other Videos From The Show:
Anti-Flag - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_W-GienLSA
The Trouble - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQLqeJ_64mg
The Explosion - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2LtVI63GP8
30 Seconds Over Tokyo - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4dvz2Kcz1A
Become a member of hate5six and gain access to exclusive interviews, early access to live sets, apps and other bonus content: http://patreon.com/hate5six
James Whitten
Wow, thanks for posting this. My old band. Nice to see it from the crowd perspective.
Ian Good
@ian clark you donโt know music if you donโt think the thugs were folk punk slash street punk
ian clark
@Ian Good not folk punk bro this is Boston street punk done the right way
Dale
@Ian Goodmischief brew
joshua pacheco
one of the best bands ever.
clam cake
Cheers mate
drew rocker99
This was an amazing show, I took pictures from the side of the stage of the Thugs performance as well as Anti-Flag must of been about 1000 people at this show, Micah's last full show with the Thugs, although he did make a couple of guest appearances with them later that year doing a couple of songs. At one point Micah saw me taking pics and turned and waved at me, I got that pic somewhere and that's one of my most treasured memories rom that time.
Ian Good
Makes no sense he gave up. I got to meet him in Louisville Ky in 2004 when he was touring with Some Sweet Day album. He said he tried to get back with the Thugs a couple times but he wasn't feeling it. Depressing. They would've made so much money. They were so good. Fuck. Micah has literally ridden in my car dude. To buy Jim Beam. I put in my casualties cd and he was talking about 1997 instantly. Classic. That time was actually 2005. The next year he toured and he came to Lexington Ky with Cerberus Shoal. So good. Micah is an underground God
Joe Hannan
my very first โreal punkโ show outside small christian shows in SC was at this venue around the same time. it was insane. always. hope thereโs more vids from this era in boston out there!! it was a hell of a time.
clam cake
My childhood .i was here at age 15 and blown away