Rick Brown was the singer in the innovative American psychedelic rock band The Misunderstood formed in the mid-1960s. They were discovered by John Ravenscoft (soon to be Peel) and with his help moved to London where they signed to Fontana.

They were admired by many including The Move and the Pink Floyd and were considered highly influential in the then-emerging genre. They only recorded a handful of songs before being forced to disband. Rick was then conscripted into the US Army to fight in Vietnam but deserted and fled to India via the UK with a false passport. He moved into a Hindu ashram, became a monk, and stayed for over 6 years before being forced to move to Nepal when the US Army were onto him.

While there he learned to speak Bengali and Hindi and read Sanskrit and Hindi. In 1979, after 12 years in exile, he returned to the US where he was granted amnesty as a conscientious objector and discharged from the Army. He now lives in Thailand where he deals in gemstones.

His story is fascinating and has many phases; from potential rock star to fugitive to Hindi monk to rediscovering active life from a different vantage. It is quite a tale…

You can watch the full interview with video though Cherry Red on YouTube