The Exploited

 

The Exploited are a Scottish punk band from the second wave of UK punk, formed in 1979. Originally a street punk band, they transformed into a faster hardcore punk band with a heavy political influence. Formed in Edinburgh by ex-soldier Wattie Buchan, they signed to Secret Records in March 1981 and released their debut EP Army Life. The album Punks Not Dead followed in the same year. Despite many lineup changes, the band continued into the 2000s and has developed a worldwide following. The band are writing material for a new album.
An early line-up comprised Big John Duncan on guitar, Dru Stix (Glen Campbell) on drums, Gary McCormack on bass and Terry Buchan on vocals. After a short time, Terry was removed from the band and his oldest brother, Walter 'Wattie' Buchan, took over. Inspired by the first wave of punk rock (Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Damned), the quartet created a simple, no-frills sound characterized by speed and aggression. In 1980, the group founded its own independent record label, Exploited Record Company, and released their debut EP Army Life, which was number 6 in the independent charts for eight weeks, then was in the top 20 for 18 months. They then released another single, "Barmy Army", which jumped into the independent charts and remained there for 53 weeks, peaking at number 4.
In 1981 the band signed to Secret Records and released the single "Dogs of War", which peaked at number 2 in the independent charts and number 63 in the national charts. The band then released their first live album, On Stage, recorded during a concert in Edinburgh. Thereafter, the band performed, along with Discharge, Anti-Nowhere League, Anti-Pasti and Chron Gen on a tour called Apocalypse Now. After the recordings of Apocalypse Now, the band persued to write more material for new music soon to be released. A new album was released in 1986.

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