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Punk icon Jelly Biafra recently provided a health update, as per theprp. It was disclosed in March of last year that the 67-year-old former leader of Dead Kennedys had a hemorrhagic stroke and would require a protracted recuperation. However, some positive news regarding his recuperation was posted on the Alternative Tentacles label’s Facebook page this past Saturday, May 02.
Jello update. Jello is progressing nicely. His speech has mostly come back in full, and cognitively, it’s like the stroke never happened. The left side is still weak but it is doing much better than it was. He has been living with me so I can care for him, but he is so much more self sufficient than he was, he will most likely go home this coming week. Thank you again for the outpouring of support. It has meant the world to him.
In 1978, Dead Kennedys was founded in San Francisco, California. During its first eight years of existence, the band was one of the key players in the American punk scene. Lead guitarist East Bay Ray, bassist Klaus Flouride, lead vocalist Jello Biafra, drummer Ted, and rhythm guitarist 6025 made up the band’s original lineup. 6025 left in 1979, and Ted left the following year after the group recorded their critically acclaimed debut album, “Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables” (1980). D. H. Peligro, who took Ted’s place as drummer in 1981, was the band’s longest-serving member until his passing in 2022. The Dead Kennedys released three more studio albums: “Plastic Surgery Disasters” (1982), “Frankenchrist” (1985), and “Bedtime for Democracy” (1986) after recording the EP “In God We Trust Inc”. (1981).
Biafra and East Bay Ray created the independent record label Alternative Tentacles, which released the majority of the band’s records. After Dead Kennedys broke up, Biafra kept up Alternative Tentacles. He also recorded and collaborated with other musicians, such as D.O.A., NoMeansNo, and his own bands, Lards and the Guantanamo School of Medicine. He also released a number of spoken word performances. Biafra lost a contentious lawsuit brought by his former Dead Kennedys bandmates in 2000 over composition credits and unpaid royalties, which was upheld on appeal in 2003. The band re-formed in 2001 without Biafra; since then, a number of singers have been brought in to fill the vocal role. Since “Bedtime for Democracy”, the Dead Kennedys have not put out any more studio albums, despite continuing to perform.
