We are The Exploited ttt 204
Hello music lovers and Hello hivers!
This weekend has seen the famous Links Market being held here in Kirkcaldy and I saw a kid with an orange mohican, which sent my memory into overdrive and got me remembering the good times as kid in Edinburgh following our local band The Exploited.
Time for three four fast tunes from The Exploited.
Lead Image made on Canva with an AI prompt from me the author
It is Tuesday and that of course means that it's #ttt or #threetunetuesday and so it's time to share some tunes with you!
@ablaze started #ttt 204 weeks ago! Go check out what it is all about on his last post Lisa Hannigan for Three Tune Tuesday - Week 203 - win 5 HBI
Do go support @ablaze as without him we would not have this mental fun musical activity that you can win HSBI from! I am happy to be one of the FIVE sponsors and it is kinda fun checking out music from all over this global village of ours!
Long live #ttt 😁🎼 and #threetunetuesday
Where to start
London and England had the Sex Pistols who I featured last week LIAR ~ The Fluffing Rotter within us Sex Pistols TTT 203 whilst we in Edinburgh had our own punk rock/Oi/UK82 band The Exploited!
They still perform live and I have seen them a few times over the years. Mind you the lead singer and all round nutter Wattie Buchan has had a couple of heart attacks and things so has cancelled shows.
They formed in Edinburgh in the late seventies and Wattie took over from his brother as lead vocalist and is distinctive with his mohawk which is why the kid at the fair reminded me of him!
Their last studio album was Fuck the System in 2003 and their first was Punks Not Dead in 1981. They have had various albums inbetween including maybe my favourite Beat the Bastards in 1996.
They had a cult following and to me were part of the second generation of punk rock and even coming up with crossover thrash to inspire bands like :
Slayer who covered "UK 82" (retitled "LA 92" for the Judgement Night soundtrack featuring Ice-T) and "Disorder."
Metallica, Anthrax and even Nirvana. There are loads and if want to know more, hit Google or you local friendly AI!
So today we have three tunes from The Exploited
This is going to be hard to only pick three!
The first two pick themselves, so the tough part will be finishing with only one third!
Tune 1 ~ The Exploited ~ Punks Not Dead
Short and sweet and I chose this live performance from Carlisle City Hall in 1983 as not only is a classic rendition of Punks Not Dead but showcases Wattie's fluffing awesome Mohawk.
We weren't allowed haircuts like that at school unfortunately, did you have something like that?
Whilst I am asking questions, it will be interesting what fellow punk fans @thebighigg and @geneeverett think of The Exploited and if they had a following over the water in the States.
Punks Not Dead was the title track from their debut album and became an iconic rallying cry for the second wave of punk called UK82. At a time when many declared the original punk movement over Punks Not Dead was a defiant two fingered statement.
Punks Not Dead shows the early, raw, street punk energy and anti-establishment attitude that launched The Exploited onto the scene.
It's a fitting start to this trilogy as it set them on their way and I remember this blaring out of cassette players in our dorm at school!
Tune 2 ~ The Exploited ~ UK 82
It was a fluffing no brainer that UK 82 would be amongst the three tunes I select!
Can you guess why? Well you know the answer if you have been reading up until this point 🤣
UK 82 is from the album Troops of Tomorrow that was released in 1982.
The name of the song was chosen as the name of the movement or subgenre UK82 hardcore punk sound which they helped define.
It demonstrates their crucial role in shaping early UK hardcore punk and their influence on aggressive music that followed, I did tell you they were influential.
You'll find this much faster, heavier, and more aggressive than much of their debut material.
I loved music and was never one for labels. I like punk, I liked rock, I heavy metal and I liked ska and mod music!
So many of them at the time were lyrically the same. Much of them tackled the themes of social chaos and police confrontation, typical of the era.
Ironic much of what happened in the 80s is back today.
What do you think about this @asiaymalay did you put cotton wool in your ears?
Tune 3 ~ The Exploited ~ Death Before Dishonour
Death Before Dishonour is the lead song from the album Death Before Dishonour which was released in 1987.
I included this to show they were not all hardcore aggresive punk and how their career progressed.
As you can hear this sound is rushing towards crossover thrash. Of course it is still punk in attitude and aggression, but it's much more instrumental that just Wattie shouting at the mic!
You can hear much heavier metallic guitar riffs and the sound closer to thrash metal bands which were emerging at the time.
Move with the times they say, well The Exploited helped define the times with their styles of music!
They helped bridge the gap between punk and metal. Always a good thing to do is bridge the gaps.
I am going to close with a Sex Pistols Bonus where the title sums up what I was thinking earlier...
Bonus Beat The Bastards
Beat the Bastards, Beat them Now
One of my all time favourite songs that I could not omit!
I lvoe the lyrics, the tempo and if you are in a mood, sing along to it, it is amazing how uplifted you get in a matter of seconds!
Which was your favourite The Expolited tune or was it one of the many others that could have been chosen? Or have you never heard of them?!?
Note: The 4 YouTube videos that I have shared are not owned by me, I am simply spreading great music on Hive.
I wish that you all have a brilliant happy fun and terrific Tuesday until we meet again enjoy your tunes 🎶🎵🎶
Thanks for visiting!
Lead image generated with AI in canva and ramblings are from me, the mad Scotsman TengoLoTodo unless otherwise stated.
@tengolotodo April 22nd 2025
DO WHAT YOU LOVE AND DO IT OFTEN
HASTE YE BACK
Feel free to check out Hive and comment if you need a starting hand
The Exploited, the days of youth and madness, when we listened to music all day long and didn't really care about anything. For me, the best track on that album is Fight back. By the way, that was the first CD album of theirs that I bought. I had the rest of their albums on cassettes.
Oh I like Fight Back as well. Hehe yeah I have spent three hours listening to them this morning, it's been fun and you nailed it, youth and madness and not caring about anything else.
I never did get any of their stuff on CD.
Great to share memories!
just listening to the album Punks Not Death right now, for the good old days
Oh sweet, gotta love the good old days!
Nice!!!!! Classic old skool punk! 🎸
My favorite here is definitely the Bonus track Beat The Bastards! Love it! I’ve heard em b4 but didn’t particularly remember that track. I It’s a fire 🔥
Here’s some Bonus Jams for you and all the punks! One band from New York , LA & Chicago!
Eighties Punk Bonus Picks!
Adolescents - Amoeba (LA)
Naked Raygun - Vanillia blue (Chicago)
Dead Boys - Sonic Reducer - live (NYC)
Beat The Bastards is a classic and one of my all time favourites.
Nice shares!
I know Naked Raygun and Adolescents are familiar but must admit I hadn't heard Dead Boys before!
Love it, a noisy Tuesday and just away to goto the gym, with banging tunes in my head!
Another band I have never heard of before. You seem to do a good job of putting stuff on my radar! I am heading into a meeting now, butI will check it out later!
Hehe, it is good that we grew up on different sides of the Atlantic, as you sure do give me bands I have neither heard of either.
But all fun checking these out.
Very cool! I hadn't heard them before so they may not have had a lot of exposure on this side of the pond. Also back then some bands were pushed in some local markets but not nationwide depending on how much the producer was willing to spend! All are fun songs, but that last one is awesome! Beat The Bastards is their crowning achievement, great lyrics and beat. The guitar sound almost was more heavy metal in there too. That was fun stuff, thanks for sharing!
I love Beat The Bastards and always have it my head if I am pissed off at something or someone. Quite a few bands from the some of the metal genres took inspirations from some of their songs.
Yeah I remember Mrs T saying how even from state to state different bands get promoted over there!
Gosh Ed, you'll give an old gal a heart attack, my sound was turned up higher than usual! Never heard of Exploited. All I'll say is...
Aww Lizzie, I thought I saw you up on your pogo stick geein it laldi 🤣
Sounds like they are at war ready to lose their lives😬😌.
I think my neighbors are going to protest when they see me for this music!!! hahaha. I had never heard this band before, but I must admit I didn't dislike it. The most punk thing I ever did in my life was put on a studded leather jacket and a plaid miniskirt. Those were the times. A punk hug!
O h wow! What a cool post! London is such an amazing breeding ground for incredible music. As you know @jasperdick and I are in a band that we formed called MobeyDick, but we play an unusual mixture of grunge, soft rock, country. You may be interested in my friend's band, who play punk rock, rock n roll and blues all mixed together in a whirlwind of sound. They are IMMENSELY talented and I can't wait to see what they come up with next! Check them out here Colossus