Editing Germs (band) (section)

===Dissolution and suicide of Crash===
The end of the band came when Crash, who had become increasingly impatient with drummer Bolles' antics, fired him and replaced him with his friend and lover Rob Henley, a fellow heroin addict.<ref>Brendan Mullen, Don Bolles, Adam Parfrey, eds. Lexicon Devil: The Fast Times and Short Life of Darby Crash and the Germs, Feral House (2002).</ref>

Shortly after the Germs split, Crash and Smear formed 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 a soundcheck, Darby kicked out the drummer they had 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 Crash had described this scenario many times in the past, Smear did not take him seriously.<ref name=hoot/>

On December 3, 1980, an over-sold Starwood hosted a final live show of the reunited Germs, including Bolles. At one point, Crash 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".<ref name=hoot/> [[Rhino Entertainment|Rhino Handmade]] officially released this live set, previously unavailable in its entirety, as ''Live at the Starwood Dec. 3, 1980'' on June 14, 2010. Along with the CD, the release includes an 8½" × 11" replica of the original poster for the show, a reproduction of the handwritten set list and a four-page fanzine with photos and liner notes by [[Jonathan Gold]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rhino.com/shop/product/the-germs-live-at-the-starwood-12-3-1980 |title=The Germs &#124; Live At The Starwood (12/3/1980) |publisher=Rhino |access-date=July 27, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110902134052/http://www.rhino.com/shop/product/the-germs-live-at-the-starwood-12-3-1980 |archive-date=September 2, 2011 }}</ref>

Crash committed suicide on December 7, 1980, at age 22. Unreported at the time, Crash had overdosed on [[heroin]] in a [[suicide pact]] with close friend Casey "Cola" Hopkins, who ended up surviving. She later insisted 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. According to ''[[Spin magazine|Spin]]'', apocryphal lore has Crash attempting to write "Here lies Darby Crash" on the wall as he lay dying, but not finishing. In reality, he wrote a short note to David "Bosco" Davenport that stated, "My life, my leather, my love goes to Bosco".<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EdRggHm3lkoC&pg=PA106 |title=''SPIN'' |date=May 2001 |via=[[Google Books]]|access-date=2015-06-05}}</ref>

Outside the world of the Germs' fans, news of Crash's death was largely overshadowed by the [[Assassination of John Lennon|murder of John Lennon]] the next day. A local news station mistakenly reported that Crash had died from taking too many sleeping pills.