The original line-up consisted of Terry Buchan (vocals), Stevie Ross (guitar), Colin Erskine (bass) and Andy McNiven (drums).

Stevie Ross was briefly replaced by guitarist Stevey Hay (Hayboy), who died on 14 July 2013 after a successful career as a blues musician.

[citation needed] Stevie Ross continues to write songs and, in addition to solo performances, he also plays in The Station Road Band.

[citation needed] Influenced by 1970s punk rock music, such as that by the Sex Pistols,[3] the quartet developed a straightforward, no-frills sound characterised by speed and aggression.

[4][5] The B-side was titled Fuck the Mods / Crashed Out, and the record's back cover featured the message, "To all the Edinburgh punks and skins - keep on mod-bashing!!".

[4] They also released the studio EP Jesus Is Dead in 1986, followed by Live and Loud, a videography of the Exploited performing across Europe and the United States.

[15] The album's cover featured artwork from the American punk artist Pushead, who complained that he was neither paid nor credited for the work.

[17] In early 2003, the band released the album Fuck the System on Dream Catcher Records,[18] and in the following year, they toured the UK[19] and the US.

[20] On 14 October 2003, around 500 fans sparked a riot in Montreal, Canada after an Exploited concert was cancelled due to the band being denied entry into the country.

[25] In February 2014, Wattie Buchan suffered a heart attack on stage during a performance in Lisbon as part of the band's Taste of Chaos Tour with Hatebreed and Napalm Death.

[citation needed] The band signed a deal with Nuclear Blast Records, and it was planned that many of their albums would be reissued in March 2014.

[56][57][58][59][60][61] Originally playing street punk and oi!, The Exploited evolved into a crossover thrash band with their album Death Before Dishonour.

[48] The Exploited's influences include Sex Pistols, The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, the Vibrators, the Threats, Alternative, the Belsen Horrors, and Johnny Moped.

"[64] Glasper wrote: "For many, the Exploited were the quintessential second wave punk band with their senses-searing high-speed outbursts against the system, and wild-eyed frontman Walter 'Wattie' Buchan's archetypal orange mohican.

As a band with anarchist-themed lyrics, the Exploited's vocalist Wattie Buchan identifies as an anarchist[69] and has openly expressed disdain for politics.

In addition to the anti-social behaviour of the band and some of their fans, the Exploited would often cancel gigs at short notice in the 1980s, which led many venues to refuse to work with them.

[11] As of August 2017, the band's website includes a history that mentions some of the issues surrounding their gigs, such as a riot after a show at the Rainbow in Finsbury Park, London, when the Jam were playing nearby and Wattie incited fans to attack the Mods, and a statement made onstage in Argentina that the Falkland Islands are British forever.

[74] George Same has written about the fighting after the Finsbury Park gig in his book on modern music, Backward Moddy Boy.