The Exploited | |
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.jpg) The Exploited in 2014 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Genres | |
| Works | The Exploited discography |
| Years active | 1978–present |
| Labels |
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| Members | Wattie Buchan Gary gman Sullivan Irish Rob (Robert Halkett) Steve Campbell |
| Past members | See timeline |
| Website | the-exploited |
The Exploited are a Scottishpunk rock band fromEdinburgh, formed in 1978 by Stevie Ross and Terry Buchan, with Buchan soon replaced by his brotherWattie Buchan. They signed toSecret Records in March 1981,[1] and their debut EP,Army Life, and debut album,Punks Not Dead, were both released that year.[1] The band maintained a largecult following in the 1980s among a hardcoreworking class punk andskinhead audience. Originally astreet punk band, the Exploited eventually evolved into acrossover thrash band with the release of their albumDeath Before Dishonour in 1987.
Although the Exploited continue to perform live, they have not released any studio material since their 2003 album,Fuck the System. Their songs have been covered bySlayer and others. Despite numerous lineup changes, Wattie has remained the Exploited's singer and leader.
The original line-up consisted of Terry Buchan (vocals), Stevie Ross (guitar), Colin Erskine (bass) and Andy McNiven (drums). After a few gigs in and aroundEdinburgh, Stevie Ross left following an appearance inAberdeen supporting theUK Subs.
Stevie Ross was briefly replaced by guitarist Stevey Hay (Hayboy), who died on 14 July 2013 after a successful career as a blues musician.[2] Guitar duties were then taken over by Big John Duncan.[citation needed]
Stevie Ross continues to write songs and, in addition to solo performances, he also plays in The Station Road Band.[citation needed]
Influenced by 1970s punk rock music, such as that by theSex Pistols,[3] the quartet developed a straightforward, no-frills sound characterised by speed and aggression. In 1980, the group founded their ownindependent record label, Exploited Records, and released their debut EPArmy Life, which ranked #6 in the Indie/Independent charts for eight weeks and remained in the Top 20 for eighteen months.[4][5] The B-side was titledFuck the Mods / Crashed Out, and the record's back cover featured the message, "To all the Edinburgh punks and skins - keep on mod-bashing!!".
They then released another single, "Barmy Army", which ascended the independent charts and remained there for 53 weeks, peaking at #4.[4] Their single "Dead Cities" reached #31 on the UK Charts.[5] Their single "Exploited Barmy Army" peaked at #4 on the Independent/Indie chart.[5]
In March 1981, the band signed toSecret Records and spent a month recording their debut album,Punks Not Dead.[6] The Exploited released the single "Dogs of War", which peaked at #2 on the Independent charts and #63 on the UK Charts.[4][6][7] Also in 1981, the band released their first live album,On Stage, recorded during a concert in Edinburgh. Subsequently, the band toured withDischarge,Anti-Nowhere League,Anti-Pasti andChron Gen on a tour titledApocalypse Now, which was recorded and released as a live album. Their albumPunks Not Dead, released in April 1981, reached #20 in May,[8] and then climbed to number 1 on the Independent Charts.[4][7] During this period, the Exploited appeared on the popular mainstream TV programme,Top of the Pops.[9][10] Many fans of the Exploited were unhappy with the band's decision to appear on the show.[10] The hardcore punk bandConflict wrote the song "Exploitation" about this appearance, which led to a long-standing rivalry between Conflict and the Exploited, dividing the punk fan base.[11]
The band released the albumsTroops of Tomorrow in 1982,Let's Start a War in 1983[12] andHorror Epics in 1985.[13] The period between these albums was marked by severe discord over the band's musical direction: guitaristBig John Duncan and bassist Gary McCormack both left to form new bands—"bands withdisco beats and guitarsolos, total shit", in Wattie's words—and the band experienced a rapid succession of drummers, one of whom allegedly left after a "nervous breakdown".[14] The band was driven away from the Secret label by new management who demanded unrealistic changes in style and personnel.[14] Their next label, a small enterprise named Pax Records, folded after its owner fled with all its assets.[14]
The concert albumLive at the Whitehouse was recorded inWashington, D.C., in 1985 at the 9:30 Club and was released the following year in 1986.[4] They also released the studio EPJesus Is Dead in 1986, followed byLive and Loud, a videography of the Exploited performing across Europe and the United States. During the US tour, Wattie and Karl Morris had an altercation on stage, and Karl left shortly afterwards.[11] He was briefly replaced by Mad Mick, who then disappeared without trace.[citation needed] Nigel Swanson was then appointed as the new guitarist.[citation needed]
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"Sexual Favours", a single from the albumDeath Before Dishonour, was released in 1987. The album only ranked in the top 200 of the British Alternative Music chart. However, the album sold out quickly.[15] The album's cover featured artwork from the American punk artistPushead, who complained that he was neither paid nor credited for the work.[11]
In 1990, the Exploited released their albumThe Massacre. The album is acrossover thrash album.[16] The band went on to release aSingles Collection album in 1993. The Exploited also released the videographyLive in Japan in 1993. Their albumBeat the Bastards was released in April 1996.[17]
In early 2003, the band released the albumFuck the System on Dream Catcher Records,[18] and in the following year, they toured the UK[19] and the US.[20] On 14 October 2003, around 500 fans sparked a riot inMontreal, Canada after an Exploited concert was cancelled due to the band being denied entry into the country.[21][22][23] Rioters overturned and set fire to eight cars, broke eleven shop windows, and caused other damage.[22][23] The band was banned from performing inMexico City as a result of the riot.[24]
In a 2012 interview, Wattie Buchan stated that a new album was nearing completion.[25] In February 2014, Wattie Buchan suffered a heart attack on stage during a performance inLisbon as part of the band'sTaste of Chaos Tour withHatebreed andNapalm Death. He was taken to hospital, where he was expected to remain for at least a week for treatment.[citation needed] The band signed a deal withNuclear Blast Records, and it was planned that many of their albums would be reissued in March 2014. The band also confirmed that their first album in a decade would be released during the 2010s.[26][27]
In March 2020, Wattie Buchan responded to thecoronavirus outbreak that was forcing bands to cancel or postpone tours. He made a pointed remark aboutGreen Day (a band he had frequently stated he disliked), saying, "Fuck coronavirus! I have had 5 heart attacks, a quadruple heart bypass and a heart pacemaker fitted. Cancel gigs for a virus? We ain't fucking Green Day piss – We are the real deal. No danger will we be cancelling our upcoming gigs. Punks Not Dead!"[28] The Australian leg of the tour was cancelled four days later, although the band completed all the scheduled New Zealand gigs.[29]
The Exploited are one of the iconic bands of theUK 82 punk movement, alongsideCharged GBH[30] andDischarge.[31] The term "UK 82" was derived from the Exploited's song "UK 82".[32]AllMusic described the Exploited as "one of the most riveting British punk rock units of the early 1980s".[33]
The Exploited have influencedMetallica,[34][35]Slayer,[34][35]Anthrax,[36]Nirvana,[34]Queens of the Stone Age,[34]Discharge,[37]Stormtroopers of Death,[37]Agnostic Front,[37]Exodus,[38]the Virus,[39]Napalm Death,[40]Terrorizer,[41]NOFX,[36]Rancid,[36]Dropkick Murphys,[36]the Casualties,[42]Pennywise,[36]7 Seconds,[43]Anti-Flag,[44]Blanks 77,[36][45]Atari Teenage Riot,[34]Death Angel,[46] andTotal Chaos.[47]
The Exploited has been categorised ascrossover thrash,[48]punk rock,[16]thrash metal,[49]speed metal,[50]punk metal,[37]anarchist punk,[51]hardcore punk,[49][52]street punk[53][54][55][56] andoi!.[56][57][58][59][60][61] Originally playing street punk and oi!, The Exploited evolved into acrossover thrash band with their albumDeath Before Dishonour.[48] The Exploited's influences includeSex Pistols,The Sensational Alex Harvey Band,the Vibrators,the Threats, Alternative, the Belsen Horrors, andJohnny Moped.[56][62] Wattie Buchan has also mentioned being influenced byJames Brown and has expressed his admiration forThe Cure's first four albums.[63]
The Exploited have been controversial for their aggressive lyrics and rowdy gigs. Ian Glasper described them as "cartoon punks."[64] Glasper wrote: "For many, the Exploited were the quintessential second wave punk band with their senses-searing high-speed outbursts against the system, and wild-eyed frontman Walter 'Wattie' Buchan's archetypal orange mohican."[64]
The Exploited are known for their lyrics addressing anarchy,[51] politics[49][56][65] and anti-authority themes.[66][67] In a 1983 interview, the Exploited stated that they were not a political band,[68] but their lyrics became increasingly political in the late 1980s. Wattie Buchan noted in the documentaryPunk's Not Dead that punk is defined by its politics. As a band with anarchist-themed lyrics, the Exploited's vocalist Wattie Buchan identifies as ananarchist[69] and has openly expressed disdain for politics.[67] The Exploited have written songs about former British Prime MinisterMargaret Thatcher and have conveyed a negative view towards her.[65][70] The song "Maggie" from the band's albumHorror Epics is specifically about Thatcher.[56][65] The Exploited's third studio album, "Let's Start a War... (Said Maggie One Day)," centres on Margaret Thatcher and theFalklands War.[50][65][70] Other themes explored in the album include police-led riots, war, unemployment, and a sense of hopelessness.[50] Many songs from the mid-1980s focus on the threat ofnuclear war.[11]
The fans of the Exploited were nicknamedthe Barmy Army. During the rivalry between the Exploited and Conflict, there were occasional clashes with fans of Conflict, known as "the Conflict Crew". In addition to theanti-social behaviour of the band and some of their fans, the Exploited would often cancel gigs at short notice in the 1980s, which led many venues to refuse to work with them.[11]
After the 1981 Southall riot, Oi! bands, in general, became associated with racism,[71][72][73] and the Exploited were sometimes believed to be a racist band due to Wattie's swastika tattoo, an incident in the early 1980s where Wattie fought with a group of Asians in a café, and in 1985 when "Deptford John" joined from the skinhead bandCombat 84.[11] The band has denied all accusations of racism.[11]
As of August 2017, the band's website includes a history that mentions some of the issues surrounding their gigs, such as a riot after a show at the Rainbow inFinsbury Park, London, whenthe Jam were playing nearby and Wattie incited fans to attack the Mods, and a statement made onstage in Argentina that theFalkland Islands are British forever.[74] George Same has written about the fighting after the Finsbury Park gig in his book on modern music,Backward Moddy Boy.[75] In a documentary about the band, former manager Gem Howard stated that he would often sneak the band out of hotels late at night, as they would frequently vandalise the hotel and steal items from the rooms.[11]
Other sources
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| National | |
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