Dissolution and Suicide of Darby Crash
The end of the band came when Darby replaced Don Bolles with his friend Rob Henley on drums. Crash became increasingly impatient with Don Bolles' antics and fired him.
Shortly after the Germs split, Darby and Pat went on to form the short-lived Darby Crash Band. Circle Jerks drummer Lucky Lehrer joined the band on the eve of their first (sold-out) live performance, when during sound-check, Darby kicked out the drummer they'd rehearsed with. The band, described by Smear as "like the Germs, but with worse players," played only a few gigs to lukewarm reaction before splitting up.
Shortly after that, Crash contacted Smear about a Germs "reunion" show, claiming it was necessary to "put punk into perspective" for the punks on the scene. However, Smear has said Crash told him privately he wanted to earn money for heroin with which to commit suicide. Since Darby had described this scenario many times in the past, Pat did not take him seriously.
On December 3, 1980, an over-sold Starwood hosted a final live show of the reunited band, including drummer Don Bolles. At one point, Darby told the amazed kids in the audience, "We did this show so you new people could see what it was like when we were around. You're not going to see it again".
Crash committed suicide December 7, 1980, at age 22. Unreported at the time, Crash had overdosed on China white heroin in a suicide pact with close friend Casey Cola, who ended up surviving. She insists that he did not intend for her to live, nor did he change his mind at the last minute and intend for himself to live. As he lay dying, he attempted to write "Here lies Darby Crash" on the wall, but did not finish. Outside the world of Germs' fans, news of Darby's death was largely overshadowed by the murder of John Lennon the next day. A local news station mistakenly reported that Darby had died from taking too many sleeping pills.
Read more about this topic: Germs (band), History
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