The Heartbreakers continued to reform for occasional shows, but Rath bowed out in 1985 and did not return. After a short stint as a member of Iggy Pop's band he retrained as a psychologist and began working as an addiction counsellor. He'd been working with his own band, Billy Rath's Street Pirates, until his illness forced him to move into a care home. He left the facility to be with his family in his final days.