Legendary Punk Bassist Lorna Doom of The Germs Has Died

Lorna Doom, bassist of legendary punk band The Germs, has passed away at the age of 61, according to the Brooklyn Vegan. Although her cause of death remains to be unknown to the public, her former Germs drummer Don Bolles confirmed in Facebook post early Wednesday morning of her passing. He wrote, “she left this mortal coil today around 1” in a Facebook commen

Born as Teresa Ryan, Doom joined the punk band in mid-’70s when the lineup at the time include vocalist Jan Paul Beahm (Darby Crash), guitarist Georg Ruthenberg (Pat Smear) and drummer Belinda Carlisle – who would soon become the lead singer of the Go-Go’s. As the band developed their style, the lineup fluctuated here and there until they recruited drummer Don Bolles and released their debut and only record GI on Slash Records in 1979, with the iconic Joan Jett as the producer.

Shortly after the release and touring of their album, the band’s lead singer Darby Crash killed himself in 1980 at the age of 22, leading to the band to split. Around this time, the band was also prominently featured in Penelope Spheeris’ 1981 punk documentary The Decline of Western Civilization.

The band had a brief reunion in the mid to late 2000s after Lorna Doom, Pat Smear and Don Bolles was united by actor Shane West for a Germs reunion show. This show was spawned by West’s performance as Darby Crash in the Germs biopic What We Do Is Secret, named after a track of the band’s. West ended up becoming the lead singer for the band as they toured after their long hiatus.

It’s heartbreaking to hear the news of Doom’s passing, even longtime fans and musicians have sent out their tributes to the punk bassist. Punk musician Laura Jane Grace tweeted out, “I can still see the ‘Germs burn’ on my wrist from when I was 14 years old. Few bands had as big of an impact on me.”