The Varukers

The Varukers are a UK hardcore punk band formed in 1979 by vocalist Anthony “Rat” Martin, which produced its most influential recordings in the early 1980s. The band are one of the first to play in the musical style of the hardcore punk band Discharge, known as D-beat. Also, like Discharge, The Varukers’ lyrics carry an anarchist political ideology.

Initially known as The Veruccas, the band altered the spelling of their name to “The Varukers” in order 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, Chaos UK, Amebix, and Charged GBH 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.