then released another single, "Barmy Army", which ascended the independent charts and remained there for 53 weeks, peaking at #4. Their single "Dead Cities" reached #31 on the UK Charts. Their single "Exploited Barmy Army" peaked at #4 on the Independent/Indie chart.

In March 1981, the band signed to Secret Records and spent a month recording their debut album, Punks Not Dead. The Exploited released the single "Dogs of War", which peaked at #2 on the Independent