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 D-beat (also known as Discore, kängpunk, Discrust, and crust-beat) is a style of hardcore punk, developed in the early 1980s by imitators of Discharge, after whom the genre is named, as well as a drum beat characteristic of this subgenre. D-be ...

, 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,

Chaos UK Chaos UK is an English punk rock band formed in 1979 in Portishead, near Bristol. They emerged as part of the anarcho-punk scene, developing a fast and aggressive hardcore punk style. The band recorded two EPs and a full LP for Riot City Re ...

Amebix Amebix were an English crust punk band. Formed as the Band with No Name, the band's original run was from 1978 to 1987, during which time they released two EPs and three albums. The group reunited in 2008, released another full-length album ...

the Exploited The Exploited are a Scottish punk rock band from Edinburgh, formed in 1979 by Stevie Ross and Terry Buchan, with Buchan soon replaced by his brother Wattie Buchan. They signed to Secret Records in March 1981,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 The new wave of British heavy metal (commonly abbreviated as NWOBHM) was a nationwide musical movement that started in England in the mid-1970s and achieved international attention by the early 1980s. Journalist Geoff Barton coined the term i ...

(NWOBHM) bands such as

Motörhead Motörhead () were an English rock band formed in London in 1975 by Lemmy (lead vocals, bass), Larry Wallis (guitar) and Lucas Fox (drums). Lemmy was also the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band are often considered a precu ...

. 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

, a

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 SOS Records is a California-based punk-rock record label. The label was founded by Rob Chaos of Total Chaos and Ezzat Soliman. Bands * 4 Past Midnight *Abrasive Wheels *The Adicts *Adolescents * The Agitators *Antidote *Bad Manners * Bang Suga ...

. Even with Rat splitting his time between the Varukers and

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 A bone fracture (abbreviated FRX or Fx, Fx, or #) is a medical condition in which there is a partial or complete break in the continuity of any bone in the body. In more severe cases, the bone may be broken into several fragments, known as a '' ...

The Adicts The Adicts are a British punk rock band from Ipswich, Suffolk, England. One of the most popular punk rock bands in the 1980s, they were often in the indie charts during that decade. The Adicts originated as The Afterbirth in late 1975 but ne ...

Vice Squad A vice is a practice, behaviour, or habit generally considered immoral, sinful, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character trai ...

and GBH at the ill-fated British Invasion 2k6 concert festival in

San Bernardino San Bernardino (; Spanish language, Spanish for Bernardino of Siena, "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, which ended in rioting. Guitarist Sean is the former manager of the

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

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 ...

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. 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 The UK Independent Singles Chart and UK Independent Albums Chart are charts of the best-selling independent singles and albums, respectively, in the United Kingdom. Originally published in January 1980, and widely known as the indie chart, the rele ...

.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