Bad Brains Siinger Reveals Torture From Rare Disease On Top of Financial Issues

Bad brains' singer H.R. is suffering like no one should be. It's tragic, and yet he's fighting on and keeping his music career alive.
Every 15 minutes, the singer cannot resist screaming - from the pain in his brain. Who lives like this?

However, that has become H.R.'s tragic routine as the captivating lead singer of the well-known hardcore band Bad Brains. SUNCT headaches, a painful form of a rare head condition, have plagued H.R. since 2014 and leave him feeling all but devasted.

According to H.R., who spoke to Rolling Stone, he has sharp, stabbing pains every couple of minutes in my brain for a couple of hours. Then it disappears, and then it reappears. Again, this is not something anyone should experience. The 67-year-old, who was born Paul Hudson, spends most of his days curled up in bed, fearing the approach of the next wave since the pain is so excruciating.

As a result of his SUNCT headaches, which stand for Short-lasting Unilateral Neuralgiform with Conjunctival Injection and Tearing, H.R. underwent brain surgery in 2017 to try to relieve the agony. Instead, it left him in debt, which was made worse by the fact that the headaches made him postpone his 2023 tour.

H.R., though, won't be deterred. After postponing the tour, he admits, "I was a little lethargic and despondent, but I just kept my head up and rose above it." After Paul "H.R." Hudson, his brother Earl Hudson on drums, Darryl Jenifer on bass, and Dr. Know on guitar joined together to establish what would become Washington, D.C.'s most explosive hardcore band in 1977, BAD BRAINS STRUCK LIKE A LIGHTNING BULLET. Bad Brains' all-Black band was a trailblazing first, paving the way for numerous artists to come.

It was a combination of punk, reggae, and heavy metal. The 1982 self-titled debut by Bad Brains, also known as The Yellow Tape or Attitude: The ROIR Sessions, is widely regarded as one of the first examples of hardcore punk music. It featured fast-paced songs like "Sailin' On" and "Attitude" in contrast to abruptly slow reggae tracks like "Jah Calling" and "I Luv I Jah." But another rowdy punk-rock anthem from the album, "Banned in D.C.," best captured the band's philosophy-at least at the moment.

The band's frontman's hyperactivity and the similarly erratic crowds caused them to be informally "banned" from almost every club in Washington, D.C., which is when the song was written. In 1981, Bad Brains moved to New York City and started frequenting places like CBGBs and 171-A Studios in Alphabet City.
Albums like 1983's Rock for Light (produced by Ric Ocasek of The Cars), 1986's I Against I, and 1989's Quickness further cemented Bad Brains' place in punk-rock history as the group's reputation started to increase.