Preventing Germs: How glandular fever curtailed Belinda Carlisle’s hardcore punk career
When it comes to cultish punk acts that came and went in a flash, there aren’t many more significant than the seminal Los Angeles outfit, the Germs.
Best known for their one and only album, GI, released in 1979, the Germs are the sort of band who are frequently cited as being an inspiration for countless future hardcore acts that emerged from the US in the 1980s and ‘90s, such as Minutemen, Black Flag and Melvins. Emulating the raucous nature of British punk groups from the same era, their early shows were characterised by complete chaos, with a propensity for reaching riotous levels of atmosphere.
Belinda Carlisle, on the other hand, is barely ever associated with this world. Known for having worldwide pop hits with ‘Heaven is a Place on Earth’ and ‘I Get Weak’, and also for her role fronting new wave outfit the Go-Go’s alongside co-founder Jane Wiedlin, imagining Carlisle as a bratty countercultural figure is difficult when the immediate image of her that is conjured up is so heavily associated with commercial sheen and polished production.
Even though the Go-Go’s were ostensibly playing a style of music that could be considered a logical offshoot of punk music, and had a style that saw the members present themselves in a slightly watered-down punk aesthetic, it’s still tough to picture Carlisle even poking her head into this world, and yet, her first taste of being in a band came when she was recruited as the drummer for the Germs in 1977.
Joining the lineup alongside vocalist Bobby Pyn, who would later be known as Darby Crash, future Foo Fighters guitarist and touring member of Nirvana Pat Smear, and newly-recruited bassist Lorna Doom, Carlisle completed an early incarnation of the band when she responded to an advertisement requesting two girls with no ability to play their instruments to join the burgeoning outfit. Quickly adopting the more befitting stage name of Dottie Danger, Carlisle became an integral part of establishing the band’s sound.
However, her time with the group wouldn’t last long, and while the band were preparing for their first show with their fully-formed lineup, Carlisle contracted glandular fever, rendering her unable to perform. With Becky Barton, also known as Donna Rhia, serving as the last-minute replacement who played a total of three shows with the band, Carlisle never returned to the band in an official capacity, but remained close friends with the group.
Despite never having shown her skills, or lack thereof, on the drums for the Germs, she can be heard introducing the band as “sluts” on their Germicide live album, recorded at the Whisky a Go Go in West Hollywood in 1977, and she occasionally roadied for the band at early shows.
It was only as a result of her career with the Go-Go’s that Carlisle completely removed herself from all involvement with the Germs, although she would later express her concerns at the excessive use of heroin taking place within the band’s ranks as a reason for distancing herself from them. The Germs would eventually disband in 1980, with Darby Crash dying by suicide on December 7th the same year, a day before John Lennon’s death, although their legacy in certain circles continues to this day.
Had Carlisle been able to perform at the band’s first show, it’s unclear whether she would have remained a member of the band and had a completely different career trajectory, failing to form the Go-Go’s and not releasing worldwide smash hits, but in her effort to prevent the spread of her own germs, she failed to establish herself in the Germs’ quest to spread themselves.
