Former Dead Kennedys singer Jello Biafra was hospitalised after suffering a stroke.
The 67-year-old punk had a hemorrhagic stroke caused by high blood pressure on Saturday (07.03.26) and described the moment he realised something was wrong, when he couldn’t use his arms and legs to stop himself from falling.
In a statement on his record label Alternative Tentacles’ Instagram page, he wrote: “I hopped out of my bed because I needed to pee, and my left leg just collapsed under me and I fell to the floor. I couldn’t even break the fall with my left arm because it wasn’t working either. I tried to hop back up again, and I couldn’t. I realised I had ‘fallen and I can’t get up!’ It was this point I thought, ‘Oh s***, I’m having a stroke!'”
He said he is now focused on rehabilitation, adding: “I still have a lot of great stuff in me, but right now I gotta lotta of rehabbing to do.”
Alternative Tentacles told fans he is receiving proper care, writing: “We are all just very thankful he is OK and getting the care that he needs. We will update you all as we are able.”
Biafra has not performed with the Dead Kennedys since leaving the band in 1986, and tensions between him and his former bandmates have continued.
Guitarist East Bay Ray recently commented on their long-running rift, saying: “It’s Biafra that turns down any offers for us to do something; we don’t have any problem. He got caught with his hands in the till and wants to blame us for getting caught, but he should never have put his hands in there in the first place.”
The dispute dates back to a 1998 lawsuit accusing Biafra of withholding royalties. He lost the case two years later and was ordered to pay outstanding royalties and punitive damages. He was also required to hand over the rights to most of the band’s back catalogue, allowing the remaining members to reissue their albums, including a 2022 edition of their debut Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables. Biafra has said the reissue was done “intentionally” behind his back.
Biafra has continued to make occasional live appearances. Last summer, he joined King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard onstage for a performance of the Dead Kennedys’ 1980 track Police Truck at the Field Of Vision festival in Buena Vista, Colorado.