OI, OI, OI!
Fuck a mod,
Fuck a mod,
Fuck a mod today.
How much fun it is to fuck a mod until he's dead.
Kick him in the head,
Beat him in the balls,
Jump up on his head.
How much fun it is to fuck a mod until he's dead.
Kick a mod,
Kick a mod,
Kick a mod today.
How much it is to kick a mod until he's dead.
Kick him in the head,
Beat him in the balls,
Jump up on his head.
How much fun it is to fuck a mod until he's dead.
Kill a mod,
Kill a mod,
Kill a mod today.
How much fun it is to fuck a mod until he's dead.
Kick him in the head.
Beat him in the balls.
Jump up on his head.
How much fun it is to fuck a mod until he's dead.
Fuck a mod,
Fuck a mod,
Fuck a mod today.
How much fun it is to fuck a mod until he's dead.
Kick him in the head,
Beat him in the balls,
Jump up on his head.
How much fun it is to fuck a mod until he's dead.
("Fuck the Mods" - The Exploited, 1980)
The Singles Collection (1994)
5.5
Army Life / Fuck the Mods / Crashed Out / Exploited Barmy Army / I
Believe in Anarchy / What You Gonna Do / Dogs of War / Blown to Bits (live)
/ Dead Cities / Hitler's in the Charts Again / Class War
/ SPG (live) / Cop Cars (live) / Y.O.P. / Attack / Alternative / Troops
of Tomorrow / Computers Don't Blunder / Addiction / Rival Leaders /
Army Style / Singalongabushell / Punk's Not Dead (live) / Sex and Violence
(live)
Sheer
poetry. The Exploited couldn't have been formed at any other moment in history.
In the aftermath of the Winter of Discontent and the election victory
of Thatcher's conservative party, Britain had become the ideal breeding ground
for a generation of fiercely anti-establishment punks (The Exploited, G.B.H.,
Discharge, etc) that on the one hand functioned as spokespeople for the working
class's disgust, but on the other hand also wanted to be seen as the "real
punks", as opposed to the first generation of punks that had already given
up the fight and had been replaced by a generation of post-punk bands that
turned inwards for inspiration. As such, these bands became so outspoken and
crassly provocative that they almost became a parody of punk's initial outrage
and indignation. The Sex Pistols functioned as the blueprint, but whereas
that seminal band soon collapsed under its own fictitiousness (was there ever
any chance of surviving for these Monkees of the punk age?), this new batch
of bands took their mission serious and stressed everything your parents would
love to hate about them. They were really pissed-off, dead-serious about things
(their particular take on humor consisted of beating up whoever could be seen
as their nemesis, in the above case middle-class kids) and prone to violence:
to this day, The Exploited's reputation is coloured by riots and hostility.
Like Johnny Rotten, Exploited front man Wattie Buchan wore swastika's on stage,
the difference being that the latter didn't seem to do it out of snotty purposes.
I've never found explicit proof of racism in their lyrics, but several bands
(mainly foreign bands) testified that playing with them could be hell - as
The Exploited encouraged their fans to be hostile towards these bands. The
music that accompanied these feelings of rage and disgust was equally crass.
Though not extremely fast or brutal, The Exploited's racket is definitely
a crude one, usually consisting of just a few bashed out chords (their seminal
song "Punk's Not Dead" only had two) and coarsely shouted lyrics that were
usually simple, simplistic and, well, catchy, in a way. They didn't expect
too much from their fans, singing along to the songs as if they were hooligan
chants would do. The Singles Collection collects all their singles
and B-sides from what many consider their best and most productive period
(1980-1983), during which they appeared in the charts several times, had quite
an influence on punk and fashion culture (the Mohawk-cut, remember?) and even
made it to BBC's Top of the Pops. Actually, their first songs were
included on a 1980 compilation called Oi! The album, but these songs
would also pop up on later releases. The first few recordings were heavily
indebted to The Sex Pistols' ragin' mid-tempo punk and mainly dealt with Wattie's
experience in the army ("Army Life"), beating people up ("Fuck the Mods,"
which is mainly remembered because the lyrics are set to the "Jingle Bells"-melody)
and their anti-authoritarian stance ("I Believe in Anarchy"). The line-up
that was introduced by the end of 1980 and stayed active throughout 1981 is
usually considered the "classic" one, with Wattie on vocals, Dru Stix on drums,
Gary McCormack on bass and Big John (he was really big) on buzzsaw
guitar. In the beginning the music was mainly served to augment Buchan's fierce
propaganda, but later on it would be more influenced by the speed and fury
of American hardcore (and is it me, or are the vocals to "Crashed Out" a rip-off
of Keith Morris' performance on Black Flag's "Nervous Breakdown"?). While
some of the earliest songs are decent tributes to the Pistols ("Army Life)
or the Ramones ("What You Gonna Do"), some of 'em were actually annoyingly
stupid. "Exploited Barmy Army," for instance, is a rambling drag with silly
countdown (that nonetheless became one of the band's most beloved songs),
but also tracks like "Dogs of War" and "Blown to Bits" hardly pass the test
of time. In fact, I'd even argue that in their first decade, they only put
out two satisfying releases, the first being their second full-length Troops
of Tomorrow (1982), the second one the "Dead Cities"-single. Focusing
on social malaise and unrest instead of simply yelling silly slogans, it's
The Exploited at their most valuable and righteously venomous. The two songs
that accompanied the single were the tacky "Hitler's in the Charts Again"
and "Class War" (where the band comes closes to D.O.A.-terrain) and they too
are a lot "better", musically and lyrically. The later material witnesses
them shift more and more towards hardcore thrash, a direction they'd continue
throughout the 80's until they didn't have very much in common with their
initial approach anymore a decade down the road. Even though they were already
legends in their own days, there's hardly enough quality material to back
this up, as the music pales when compared to what the other greats (Discharge,
G.B.H.) were putting out at the time. Their attitude (well, Wattie's) could
be completely moronic, as they indulged in ridiculing bands that were too
smart/wordy for them (Crass) or didn't have enough true punk attitude
(The Clash), but what the hell did you expect from a band that released a
song called "Sex and Violence," that basically consisted of an endless repetition
of the words "sex" and "violence"? What is that? Avant-garde? The unquestionable
dedication and occasionally impressive energy were definitely an asset (and
still are, as these guys just won't give up), but you could also say that
about parents who beat up their children. "It's for their own good, sir!"
Some of the music is quite fine (a guilty pleasure even), but in the end,
I still consider them a bunch of bloody wankers. The kind that gave punk a
bad name.
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