Studying the Properties of Early Galaxies with the ESO Remote Galaxy Survey

We present a discussion of and results from the ESO Remote Galaxy Survey (ERGS), a spectroscopic survey of Lyman-break galaxies with z ~ 5 and above. The survey directly explores the properties of these early star-forming galaxies, increasing the observational detail in our picture of early galaxy evolution. The survey provides a sample of galaxies ideally matched in spatial distribution to the capabilities of current and imminently available instrumentation. We discuss the results of the first follow-on studies of the sample in the mm/sub-mm that signpost the potential of these facilities for exploring early galaxy evolution.