Life is tough in the world of rock and roll. As the artists get successful in the industry, the risk of losing them to tragic situations stands. It’s common for people from the rock scene to be victims of drug and alcohol consumption, which, in many cases, results in their deaths.
The heartbreaking thing is these people lose their lives at the peak of their careers. One of these tragic losses was Steve Clark, who passed away at a young age from an overdose following Def Leppard’s success with ‘Pyromania’ and ‘Hysteria.’ A short time before his band Sublime achieved massive success with their last album, Bradley Nowell also overdosed on drugs resulting in his untimely death.
Losing these musicians at the peak of their success makes one question what would happen if they were still alive. What wonders would they create? What made them fall so hard while they were rising to the top? Let’s now look at another example.
Well, in the case of the Germs’ Darby Crash, there are a few answers to some of those questions. Crash co-founded the Germs, known for the wild live shows that caused them to get banned from the clubs in Los Angeles. Some critics acknowledged his contributions to the band’s music style as ‘poetic art.’ Despite the hectic performances they gave and the violent audiences they had, the Germs and Darby Crash were in a future-promising position. But their way to the top was cut by Crash’s suicide on December 7, 1980.
He and his girlfriend, Casey Cola, intentionally overdosed on heroin to kill themselves. His girlfriend survived the incident, but Crash lost his life. His suicide did not come from a state of depression or addiction, though. Doing this was a plan Crash had had for a long time. Even though we cannot know his exact thought, he reportedly aimed to achieve some mystical immortality.
Getting inspired by David Bowie’s ‘Five Years’ and possibly his brother’s death caused by overdose, Crash prepared a plan of giving himself five years to achieve success, become a public figure, and take his own life away to make an impact. But not everything went according to his plan.
The musician’s death was overshadowed by John Lennon’s murder, which occurred a day after. Even though his death was not forgotten or ignored by the ones who loved him and his music, it did not bring as much noise as John Lennon’s. Still, it can be said that, in some way, he had the impact he wanted on the people. According to an article published by Ozy, Don Bolles, former drummer of the band, claims that Crash would not care about the coincidence, but he would be happy to see that we know that.
His words on the matter go:
“Darby absolutely wouldn’t have given a sh*t about that. But he’d be really glad that we’re talking about how he didn’t give a sh*t.”
As one of the tragic figures of untimely deaths in the world of rock, Darby Crash’s story was slightly different from the others. He planned almost everything that led up to his death. Although it was heartbreaking to lose a musician that could have given many precious materials and had tremendous success, Crash managed to impact his audience in one way or another as he had planned.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vfr1B6_Dt0M
