The Varukers are a British
punk rock band formed in 1979 by vocalist Anthony "Rat" Martin. They produced their most influential recordings in the early 1980s. The band play in
D-beat, the musical style of
Discharge
Discharge may refer to
Expel or let go
* Discharge, the act of firing a gun
* Discharge, or termination of employment, the end of an employee's duration with an employer
* Military discharge, the release of a member of the armed forces from serv ...
. Also like Discharge, the Varukers' lyrics carry an
anarchist
Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not neces ...
political ideology.
History
Initially known as the Veruccas, the band altered the spelling of their name to the Varukers to convey more aggression. When recording in the early 1980s, they were part of a broader trend known as "
UK 82", second generation punk, or UK hardcore. Bands such as the Varukers,
Discharge
Discharge may refer to
Expel or let go
* Discharge, the act of firing a gun
* Discharge, or termination of employment, the end of an employee's duration with an employer
* Military discharge, the release of a member of the armed forces from serv ...
,
Chaos UK,
Amebix,
the Exploited, and
Charged GBH
GBH (originally known as Charged GBH) are an English punk rock band which was formed in 1978 by vocalist Colin Abrahall, guitarist Colin "Jock" Blyth, bassist Sean McCarthy (replaced by Ross Lomas after two years) and drummer Andy "Wilf" Wil ...
took the existing 1977-era punk sound and melded it with the incessant, heavy drumbeats and "wall of sound" distortion guitar sound of
new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM) bands such as
Motörhead. The new, harder-edged style also tended to use much darker, more nihilistic, and more violent lyrics, and vocals were often shouted rather than sung.
While the Varukers split in 1989, vocalist Rat and guitarist Biff put the band back together in 1991. Stylistically their 1990s-era music resembled the traditional
UK82 style. Since the band had former members of
Discharge
Discharge may refer to
Expel or let go
* Discharge, the act of firing a gun
* Discharge, or termination of employment, the end of an employee's duration with an employer
* Military discharge, the release of a member of the armed forces from serv ...
, a
D-beat sound developed as time went on. The band has gone through many line-up changes over the years with the only constant member being Rat on vocals while guitarist Biff has been with the band since 1985. They have recently released a retrospective CD on
SOS Records.
Even with Rat splitting his time between the Varukers and
Discharge
Discharge may refer to
Expel or let go
* Discharge, the act of firing a gun
* Discharge, or termination of employment, the end of an employee's duration with an employer
* Military discharge, the release of a member of the armed forces from serv ...
and Biff splitting his time with
Sick on the Bus
Sick may refer to:
Medical conditions
* Having a disease or infection
* Vomiting (British)
Music
* The Sick, a Swedish band formed by two members of Dozer
Albums
* Sick (Loaded album), ''Sick'' (Loaded album), 2009
* Sick (Massacra album), ' ...
. The Varukers continue to tour. They shared a headlining spot with such acts as
Broken Bones,
The Adicts,
Vice Squad and
GBH at the ill-fated
British Invasion 2k6 concert festival in
San Bernardino,
California, which ended in rioting.
Guitarist Sean is the former manager of the
public house The Olde Angel
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
in
Nottingham,
United Kingdom.
Journalist and
Killing Joke
Killing Joke are an English rock music, rock band from Notting Hill, London, England, formed in 1979 by Jaz Coleman (vocals, keyboards), Paul Ferguson (drums), Geordie Walker (guitar) and Youth (musician), Youth (bass).
Their first album, ''Ki ...
biographer Jyrki "Spider" Hämäläinen is currently working on a documentary about the band.
Members
*Anthony "Rat" Martin - vocals
*Ian "Biff" Smith - guitar
*Brian Ansell - bass
*Kevin Frost - drums
Discography
Chart placings from the UK Independent Chart.[Lazell, Barry (1997) ''Indie Hits 1980–1989'', Cherry Red Books, , p. 245]
* ''Protest and Survive'' EP (1981) - no. 31
* ''I Don't Wanna Be a Victim'' EP (1982) - no. 15
* "Die for Your Government" single (1982) - no. 5
* ''Bloodsuckers'' LP (1983) - no. 8
* ''Led to the Slaughter'' EP (1984) - no. 24
* ''Another Religion, Another War'' EP (1984) - no. 47
* ''Massacred Millions'' EP (1984) - no. 30
* ''One Struggle, One Fight'' LP (1984)
* ''Prepare for the Attack'' LP (1986)
* ''Nothing Changed'' EP (1994)
* ''Deadly Games'' LP/CD (compilation) (1994)
* ''Murder'' LP/CD (1998)
* ''How Do You Sleep?'' (2000)
* ''Hellbound'' LP/CD (2005)
* ''1980–2005: Collection Of 25 Years'' CD (2006) re-recorded tracks
* ''Killing Myself to Live'' CD (2009)
* ''Damned and Defiant'' LP/CD (2017)
;Compilations:
* ''Still Bollox but Still Here'' (re-release of old tracks) CD (1995)
* ''Riot City Years: '83-'84'' CD (2004) Punk Core Records
* ''Punk Singles 1981–1985'' CD (2005)
* ''Murder''/''Nothing Changed'' LP (Reissued 2010) Rodent Popsicle Records
References
*
External links
*
*
The Varukers on allmusic.com
''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...
The Varukers on Myspace
{{DEFAULTSORT:Varukers, The
British crust and d-beat groups