British punk outfit the Varukers were one of the leading lights of the UK82 hardcore scene, with an outlook that overlapped with the anarcho-punk community and a sound that pioneered the D-beat style, a hard-hitting punk subgenre shown to powerful effect on 1985's One Struggle, One Fight that had a major influence on many early thrash metal acts. Often compared to Discharge, the Varukers' lead singer Rat (aka Anthony Martin) would briefly join a latter-day version of that band, and they would prove to be one of the enduring acts on the U.K. punk scene, pouring out angry, aggressive, politically conscious music decades after their debut. The 1999 compilation The Punk Singles 1981-1985 is the best available introduction to their classic era.

Vocalist Anthony Rat Martin founded the Varukers in 1979, as the first wave of British punk sparked by the Sex Pistols was beginning to wane and a new breed of harder groups were appearing on the scene. Accompanying Rat in the original lineup were guitarist Bruce Riddel, bassist Tom Lowe, and drummer Gary Maloney. After honing their attack with live work, they made their recorded debut in November 1981 with a four-song EP, issued by the Birmingham-based Inferno label. Not long after the EP was released, Gary Maloney left the group, and Brian Roe (aka Brains) took over on drums. A second EP for Inferno, I Don't Wanna Be a Victim, came out in 1982, and the following year they teamed with Riot City Records for their next single, "Die for Your Government" b/w "All Systems Fail," which introduced bass player George Jenkins, who signed on after Tom Lowe left the lineup. Later in 1983, Riot City issued the Varukers' first full-length album, Bloodsuckers.

After touring in support of Bloodsuckers, the Varukers' lineup fell apart, and in the next edition of the group, Rat was the only original member left. He was joined by guitarist Damien Thompson, bassist Brik (aka Mark Briscoe), and drummer Andy Baker (who had previously worked with Thompson in the group Warwound) for a three-song EP, 1984's Led to the Slaughter, and an eight-song mini-album, Another Religion Another War, arrived later that year. Following a round of touring in Europe, Thompson and Brik left the Varukers, and guitarist Paul Miles and bassist Graham Kerr were recruited to take their place. This lineup cut a four-song single for Rot Records, Massacred Millions, that arrived before 1984 was out. In 1985, Rot issued Live in Holland, taken from a soundboard recording of a June 1984 date from their European tour. As the band blocked out plans for their next album, they were breaking in another new drummer; Andy Baker was out, and a drummer simply known as Warren was now behind the kit. Forming their own label, Liberate Records, the Varukers' second studio album, One Struggle, One Fight, appeared in 1985. In 1986, they brought out a limited-edition collection of rarities and unreleased material, Prepare for the Attack. Two years later, the group broke up.

The Varukers didn't stay dormant for long. Rat put together a new version of the group in 1993, featuring guitarist Biff (aka Ian Smith), bassist Brian Ansell, and drummer Kev Frost. In 1995, they issued the album Still Bollox But Still Here, which featured new recordings of a number of Varukers classics. Kieran Plunkett replaced Brian Ansell on bass for 1998's Murder, and the bass continued to be the revolving-door position when Kieran dropped out and Marvin Gauntlett handled the four-string on 2000's How Do You Sleep?, which became the rare Varukers albums to get a North American release, via Go-Kart Records. 2005's Hellbound was a six-song EP that was recorded to coincide with a North American tour; it was expanded with the addition of two songs and resequenced for its 2009 reissue under the title Killing Myself to Live. Live work and side projects kept the members of the Varukers occupied for the next eight years, but Rat and his comrades returned to duty with 2017's Damned and Defiant, cut for the independent U.K. imprint Nunny Dave Records. The Killing Myself to Live EP was reissued in Europe in 2018 in a tandem package with Music for Losers, an EP from another British punk act, Sick on the Bus, which also featured guitarist Biff. A collection of early-'80s demos saw a belated release in 2019 by Nunny Dave as The Demos Anniversary Edition. 2020's Noisy Bastards! Live! collected a pair of live sets from the vaults, one from London's 100 Club in 1983 and the other from the Bensham Working Men's Club in Gateshead from 1986. In 2022, Cleopatra Records gave Damned and Defiant an American release on both CD and LP. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi