About The Exploited
The Exploited are a Scottish punk rock band from Edinburgh, formed in 1978 by Stevie Ross and Terry Buchan, with Buchan soon replaced by his brother Wattie Buchan. They signed to Secret Records in March 1981, and their debut EP, Army Life, and debut album, Punks Not Dead, were both released that year. The band maintained a large cult following in the 1980s among a hardcore working class punk and skinhead audience. Originally a street punk band, the Exploited eventually became a crossover thrash band with the release of their album Death Before Dishonour in 1987.
Although the Exploited continue to perform live, they have not released any studio material since their most recent studio album, Fuck the System, in 2003. Their songs have been covered by Slayer and Ice-T. Despite many lineup changes, Wattie has remained as the Exploited's singer and leader.
The original line-up consisted of Terry Buchan , Stevie Ross , Colin Erskine and Andy McNiven . After a few gigs in and around Edinburgh, Stevie Ross left after an appearance in Aberdeen supporting the UK Subs. Stevie Ross was briefly replaced by guitarist Stevey Hay who died 14 July 2013 after a successful career as a blues musician. Guitar chores then fell to Big John Duncan.
Stevie Ross still writes songs and along with solo performances he also plays in The Station Road Band.
Influenced by 1970s punk rock music such as music by the Sex Pistols, the quartet created a simple, no-frills sound characterised by speed and aggression. In 1980, the group founded its own independent record label, Exploited Records, and released their debut EP Army Life, which was #6 in the Indie/Independent charts for eight weeks, then was in the Top 20 for eighteen months. The B-side was called Fuck the Mods / Crashed Out and the record's back cover stated "To all the Edinburgh punks and skins - keep on mod-bashing!!".
They then released another single, "Barmy Army", which jumped into the independent charts and remained there for 53 weeks, peaking at #4. Their single "Dead Cities" peaked at #31 on the UK Charts. Their single "Exploited Barmy Army" peaked at #4 on the Independent/Indie chart.
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