St. Anger: Darby Crash

HE WAS Johnny Rotten and Sid Vicious rolled into one. A befuddled punk prophet with a brilliant mind whose rise was as shocking as his fall. As lead singer of the Germs, Darby Crash presided over the birth of the L.A. punk scene in 1977 and signalled its demise with his suicide three years later. His was a vision of chaos that would never come to pass. But in their brief three-year career, the Germs released one fiery punk classic in the 1979 Joan Jett-produced album G.I. and a handful of raucous singles.