At the height of his success in the 1970s, John Richardson had everything he thought he wanted.
The British drummer, best known as a founding member of the chart-topping band The Rubettes, had hit records, a comfortable home, financial security and the kind of recognition most aspiring musicians dream about. A self-taught musician from Essex, he had played on major international hits, including Carl Douglas’s Kung Fu Fighting, and helped The Rubettes achieve worldwide fame with Sugar Baby Love, which sold millions of records around the world.
He was also collecting Art Nouveau paintings and Art Deco furniture. On paper, he had made it.
Yet something was missing.
“I hated being poor,” says Richardson, who now goes by his spiritual name, Jayadev, during a Zoom interview from London. “I was very grateful when the chance of success came, and I worked hard for it. But after a year of success, I realised, ‘Oh my God, it’s not fulfilling.'”
Today, Jayadev reflects on that remarkable journey in the updated edition of his autobiography, The Rod and the Rose, which traces his path from rock-and-roll success and material wealth to spirituality and inner peace.
That realisation set him on a search that would change the course of his life.
He had always wanted to be a healer or a doctor, but, as he puts it, he was “too thick” for the chemistry and the study. Instead, while still working in music, he studied reflexology and massage, became a vegetarian, gave up drinking and began searching for something deeper.
“I prayed, ‘My dear Lord, could you send me a nice Christian who would explain these things for me?'”
The answer arrived in an unexpected form. A few days later, an Indian man knocked on his door. It was his next-door neighbour, but the houses had high walls and the two men had never met.
The man told Richardson he had heard he was looking for God.
Jayadev invited him into a healing room he had created at home, complete with a waterfall and calming music. He already considered himself spiritual. He cared about people, practised healing therapies and had embraced vegetarianism.
Then the visitor asked a simple question.
“What do you know about Krishna and Rama?”
“I said, ‘Well, I’ve seen those mad Hare Krishnas on the street dancing. That’s about it.'”
The neighbour began reading from the Ramayana.
“He read it to me and honestly, I can’t tell you — he had such an impact on me. That was it. My life was changed in a second. I just said, ‘This is what I want.'”
Nearly 50 years later, Jayadev still struggles to explain exactly why the ancient Indian epic affected him so deeply. “My heart just said, ‘This is it.'”
Later, through family connections and an interest sparked by George Harrison’s association with the Hare Krishna movement, he discovered the Bhagavad Gita.
As a musician and writer, he responded in the way he knew best — by turning scripture into music.
He composed a rock musical based on the ninth and tenth chapters of the Bhagavad Gita and eventually found himself connecting with devotees at a Hare Krishna temple in London.
What began as curiosity soon became a lifelong commitment.
His family embraced Sanatana Dharma, their home became a gathering place for spiritual seekers, and Jayadev immersed himself in mantra meditation and devotional practice.
“I had tasted what it was like to be adored by thousands of people, recognised on the street,” he says. “My false ego had had a good stroking and a lot of encouragement, and I still wasn’t happy. But this made me happy.”
For Jayadev, the heart of that transformation lies in chanting.
“Chanting God’s names,” he says without hesitation when asked what has brought him the deepest sense of happiness.
“The birth of our children, serving and helping others, and taking responsibility have brought great happiness. But beyond all that, when you chant and keep God in your heart, you get an experience of love. It’s so intense, so indescribably beautiful.”
Music, however, never left him.
In 2010, he founded the Mantra Choir, blending sacred chanting with contemporary musical arrangements and taking devotional music to audiences across Europe, Russia and the United States. Even today, he continues to perform and share spiritual teachings through music.
Life now looks very different from the glamour of the music industry. Jayadev is the primary carer for his wife following a stroke and helps support his family through ongoing challenges.
Yet he says his understanding of success has fundamentally changed. “Success is seeing God’s hand in everything. I try to be grateful for small mercies.”
Looking back, the journey from pop star to spiritual teacher no longer feels like two separate lives. Instead, it feels like a search that finally found its destination.
The answer, he says, arrived with a knock on the door from an Indian neighbour in East London.
He has not looked back since.
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