What We Do Is Secret

Darby Crash (born Jan Paul Beahm) (A.K.A. Bobby Pyn) (September 26, 1958 – December 7, 1980) was an American punk musician who, along with long time friend Pat Smear, co-founded The Germs.

Crash had a troubled childhood: The man he grew up believing to be his biological father left the family and his older brother, Ryan Heinke, died of a drug overdose. When in his teens, his sister revealed in an argument that his biological father was really a Swedish sailor named William Björklund. Crash attended IPS (Innovative Program School), a school within University High School in Los Angeles. The IPS program was a notoriously free-form academic program that combined elements of est and Scientology.

Before the Germs, he and Pat Smear called themselves "Sophistifuck and the Revlon Spam Queens," but had to shorten this name because they didn't have enough money to put the full name on a t-shirt. For a short period up until the acclaimed Whiskey A-Go-Go gig, Belinda Carlisle was a member of the band. She appears on the first track of the live CD, where she introduces the band as "sluts". After a short stint under the name Bobby Pyn, he changed his name to Darby Crash. The Germs became an important Los Angeles-area punk band, known for their chaotic live shows. The Germs soon dominated the L.A. punk scene. They can be seen in the 1981 film The Decline of Western Civilization, directed by Penelope Spheeris. Crash discussed taking drugs onstage to avoid feeling injuries from fan violence and "creeps out there with grudges".

After Crash broke up the Germs, he moved to England briefly. In England, Crash became close friends with Adam Ant of Adam & the Ants and also found his way to the now popular hairstyle, "the Mohican" (AKA the Mohawk). Crash hated calling this hairstyle a "Mohawk," labeling it degrading to the tribal hair of the Native Americans. He brought this style to the U.S. and upon his return formed the short-lived Darby Crash Band. Crash led a double life as a closeted homosexual according to friends and those who intimately knew him, such as many performers from the LA punk scene. Shortly after a celebrated live reunion with the Germs, Crash committed suicide with an intentional heroin overdose on December 7, 1980. The suicide was part of what a female friend thought to be a suicide pact, yet Crash purposefully injected her with a normal dose, saving her life. Crash's death drew scant attention, as John Lennon was murdered a day later. His legacy has carried on past the release of The Germs (MIA): The Complete Anthology in 1993.

Darby Crash is interred in the Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.

Shane West may not have been the first person that jumps to mind when thinking of candidates to portray deceased punk rocker Darby Crash of The Germs, but he certainly surprised us (and the crowd) when he joined the reunited rockers on-stage last year.

Now the resulting biopic “What We Do Is Secret”

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