Bio

The Varukers are a British punk rock band formed in 1979 by vocalist Anthony "Rat" Martin. They produced their most influential recordings in the 1980s & 1990’s. 

The band play in what is known as the V Beat similar, but not exactly the same as the D Beat,  the musical style of Discharge. The Varukers' lyrics carry an angry, political ideology.

The actual word Varukers is spelt wrong. In the Oxford Dictionary it is spelt verruca (a contagious and usually painful wart on the sole of the foot) When Rat and other co founder, drummer Garry Moloney started The Varukers, they thought it looked better on the back of jackets this way. So,The Varukers wording  stayed that way (ignorance is sometimes bliss).  

Garry Moloney, who later found fame with Discharge ) played  for them for many years and recorded such classics as Hear Nothing album, plus others. (in his own words took the  V Beat to Discharge ) Who would of thought  all of those years later, the connection between both bands The Varukers and Discharge would be rekindled when in 2003, Rat was asked to become the vocalist for Discharge, which he did until around 2015 (all the time still doing The Varukers ) 

When recording in the early 1980s, The Varukers  were part of a broader trend known as "UK 82", second generation punk, or UK hardcore. Bands such as  Discharge, Chaos UK, Amebix, the Exploited, and Charged GBH. These bands took the existing 1977-era punk sound and melded it with the incessant, heavy drumbeats and "wall of sound" distortion guitar  The new, harder-edged style also tended to use much darker, more nihilistic, and more violent lyrics, In the early 80s, the band started to build quite a following  with regular records being released mainly via Inferno Records and Riot City Records, & embarking on some pretty extensive touring. While The Varukers split briefly in 1988, vocalist Rat, guitarist Biff, bass player Graham & drummer Kev put the band back together in 1990. 

Stylistically, their 1990s-era music resembled the traditional UK82 style. but naturally, the 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 & Kev since 1986.which isn't bad considering 

Through The 2000’s, the band went through a few line up changes with Kev leaving in 2003 to be replaced by Ricardo on drums. Sean Duggan was added on 2nd guitar at the beginning of 2000 to strengthen the sound. Bass player Marvin left the band towards the end of the 2000’s & was replaced by the band’s 90’s bass player Brian Ansell. Ricardo also left & was replaced by Stick (Doom/ENT). Sean Duggan also left & wasn’t replaced so the band resumed as a 4 piece.(not the best of times as regards line up changes). What ever adversity was thrown at the band, Rat just soldiered on.

From 2010 - 2020 saw more changes in the band with Stick leaving in 2016 & Kev returning on the drums after a 12 year ‘Hiatus’. Brian also left in 2017 & was replaced on bass by Les Doherty.

2020 - 2024 was a stable time for the band with the line up being -  Rat - Vocals  Biff Smith - Guitar Les Doherty - Bass Kevin Frost - Drums

As the Summer of 2024 drew to a close,,more line up changes occurred. After 39 years on guitar for The Varukers,  Biff decided to leave the band. His last gig was the  CY Festival in Los Angeles September 2024. Just one month later, Les the bass player also decided to move on. That just left Rat and Kev to seek out new members. The band managed to get a couple of musicians that they have known for a number of years to stand in for the remaining gigs of 2024. (Many thanks to Steve Gungle and Sean Mc Cann). Having to use stand ins is fine for a quick fix, but for any band to progress, full time members were required.   So, the word was circulated that The Varukers required  a guitarist and bass player. Once word got around, within a couple of months, replacements were quickly found.  Nick Wynch (English Dogs/Unholy Allience /Mau Maus) joined The Varukers on  Guitar, & Kevin ‘Stabbo’ Stapleton, from Nottingham band Helvis (who Kev Frost also plays drums for) decided he wants some of that, joined on bass.   So, we now have another Kevin ( Kevin Stapelton ) or Stabbo as he is more commonly  known as (which is great because having 2 members called Kevin can get confusing )

After a little bit of a stumble, The Varukers are back up and running. A full on attack for 2025 & beyond is planned. We have been busy in the rehearsal rooms working on the set changing a few things around making things more exciting. Not only for our followers around the world but for ourselves as well. We are looking forward to taking the revamped set out to everyone with some extensive gigging & touring. (something we haven’t done for a while ) We have some catching up to do in 2025 and as well as some extensive  touring we have also been working on  a couple of new ideas for a possible new album so as you all can see exciting prospects for 2025 Stay & come on this exciting journey with us. THE PAST IS HISTORY, THE FUTURE IS YET UNWRITTEN