Vocal/Guitar --- Rolf Kasparek
Guitar --- Thilo Hermann
Basse --- Thomas Smuszynski
Drums --- Jorg Michael

1976
Buccaneer Rock'n'Rolf Kasperak leaves port for the first
time with a crew of students. If not exactly the seven seas,
now and then they cross the secret Isle of the Bathtub.
1982
Running Wild cuts its first demo-tape and spreads the heavy
tidings of the Metal-pirates throughout the seaport town of
Hamburg, Germany.
1983
The tracks Iron Heads and Bones to Ashes put the fear
and horror in the NOISE sampler DEATH METAL .
1984
NOISE finally pays tribute to what's unique about the
Elbe River Buccaneers by producing their debut album,
GATES TO PURGATORY. More than 20,000 dubious-looking
disciples follow the pirates' call. They're doubly
thrilled over the 12 Maxi WALPURGIS NIGHT. On tope of
the title track, they get to hear the song Satan .
For technical reasons both songs get cut from the GATES
TO PURGATORY album because mastering records
(for the
history buffs: the forerunner of the CD) doesn't allow for
more than 17 minutes of playing time per side if there's
an audible sound loss. The first 8000 copies of WALPURGIS
NIGHT are sold out in a few weeks. The original line-up
borders on the legendary: Capt'n Rolf
(vocals, guitar),
Preacher
(guitar, backing vocals), Stephan
(bass),
Hasche
(drums), now land-rat for the Rock-Factory in
Ludwigsburg. Then more: Soldiers of Hell , from the
GATES TO PURGATORY LP, is the first song for which Rolf
creates a two-track guitar solo. It was a lot of work,
admits the Capt'n. Almost every note was figured out
ahead of time.

PRISONER OF OUR TIME , one of the few RW songs that
wasn't penned by Rolf, but by the guitarist, Preacher,
sets the mood over the next ten years for the definitive
climax to every RUNNING WILD show.1985RUNNING WILD brings
their second LP, BRANDED AND EXILED, safely ashore.
The tour with SINNER becomes a full-scale German cruise.
Majk Moti replaces the guitarist, Preacher, when he

(nomen est omen) decides to finish his religious studies.
It's the typical RW-style in action: driving rhythms,
hymn-like refrains, fierce guitar-lines, and Rock'n'Rolf's
one of a kind mouthpiece. With Marching To Die , Rolf
writes one of his most demanding texts: The lyrics are
about the rise of the neo-fascist movement, explains Rolf.
Something that bothers all of us in the band.
Some small problems crop up in the drum section:
There's a part at the beginning where Hasche doesn't
keep the rhythm. He can't get the feeling together for that
section, and muddles it up because he breaks the rhythm over
and over again. But we left it that way.
1986
RUNNING WILD hits a nerve: they perform as the first
independent band to back-up and international major act.
Watching the explosive RW stage show take control, M?tley
Cr?e tries hard not to keel over. In the summer the
Rock'n'Rollers from Hamburg set sail again, and have some
great tours in the USA. Manfred Eisenbl?tter, the Metal-Pope
of the German Press-world, invents the legendary expression
Rennenden Wilds
(Running Wild). Instant cult!
1987
UNDER JOLLY ROGER goes on sale. The drummer, Hasche, and
bassist, Stephan, leave the band in May and get replaced
by Jens Becker and Stefan Schwarzmann.Then, more in shape
than ever before, the RW-flagship sets sail for its European
Tour. It drops in Budapest and gives a concert for 5000
excited fans. Talking about UNDER JOLLY ROGER, Capt'n Rolf
comes to the point with the band's musical philosophy:

At the beginning of our career out reputation in Hamburg's
music scene was rotten. If you wanted to prove yourself the
your pieces had to be broken up a lot, technically. And songs
had to be complicated. All that's fine, but the fans didn't
like it. What we did was write simple songs with three or four
main riffs, and with a catchy refrain. That way the fans could
groove or sing along. The title track of the album developed
into a Metal-hymn that styled the band's stage concept and
total image over the next five years. Diamonds of the
Black Chest was originally meant to be composed as the
soundtrack for a film: One of those low-budget American
adventure movies. I don't remember the name. But it didn't work
out anyway , grinned the boss.
1988
The cut and re-mixed '87 Tour material reaches the public as the
live album READY FOR BOARDING. England's Metal-bible, KERRANG,
gives it the seal of approval with the highest rating: a 5K! In
London's Marquee , Rolf and Company make the walls shake for
their enthusiastic English fans. Their fourth studio production,
PORT ROYAL, released at the end of the year, sells over 50,000
copies. Stefan Schwarzmann gives his seat to Ian Finlay when he
defects to U.D.O.
1989
It's two new releases in one season again: first the album
DEATH OR GLORY and, weeks later, the 12 Maxi BAD TO THE BONE

(with searing texts against the political party, the Republicans
and the older Nazi-followers). During the recording sessions for
DEATH OR GLORY, the band playfully records the AC/DC hit,
Sin City , but it doesn't fit in the pirate concept. Then
Europe's taken by storm again. A human volcano of 30,000 fans
erupts in Prague's soccer stadium. During the autumn tour,
Rock'n'Rolf, already a long-term inhabitant of Hamburg's
Hafenstrake, takes a political stand before RW delivers
Bad to the Bone : There's a new German party whose leader says
he's proud to be able to enter the SS by free choice. He doesn't
call him a Nazi. He's a democrat! That's a contradiction!
For me, someone like that's nothing but a goddamn liar!
1990
The mini-LP WILD ANIMAL is released. The DEATH OR GLORY TOUR,
with it 2000 plus fans in every crowd, becomes a winner par
excellence. Stefan Schwarzmann leaves the pirate ship again,
replaced by J?rg Micheal this voyage. RW's drum-roadie, AC,
is promoted to the new drummer on deck. And Axel Morgan takes
over for the now-gone Majk Moti. To expect more success in
Germany seems as down-to-earth as expecting a nomination
for the category of 'Monsters of Rock'. Why not? This band
has headline quality. This was the musical forecast that
appeared in the May edition of METAL HAMMER, followed by a
report on the superb line-up of sets at the Open Air Festival
in Neunkirchen, including Alice Cooper and Extrabreit. The
writer Matthias Breusch puts it this way: I've known that if
they wanted to, those guys could blow away EVERYBODY. Home again
in Hamburg, the RW's sold out show at The Docks leaves more than
500 fans waiting outside. Since the summer, the Swiss journalist,
Dane Kurtz, handles all fan-related matters. Four times a year
appears a fan-magazine and merchandising articles at reduced
prices, along with lists of rare recordings, a ticket service,
and more. Rolf himself anoints his fan-club ultra professional .
1991
Rock'n'Rolf spins the Metal-wheel and steers straight ahead onto
BLAZON STONE and his Best Of Compilation; two albums that reach
the land over rough waters. THE FIRST YEARS OF PIRACY is, of course,
more than the usual Best Of intermezzo. It's a musical resume of
a special class: From July through August RUNNING WILD locks itself
in 'Studio M' where it cuts new versions of classics from the band's
'first years'. As a motto for the album, Rolf explains: Today we'd
do it all a little differently. With the track Walpurgis Night
the album offers a brilliant and long version of an out-of-print
rarity, a song which, since the 1984 Maxi release, sells for up to
300 DM a vintage copy. As a brand new Maxi-single from the current
works, from BLAZON STONE comes the killer tack, LITTLE BIG HORN.
Not to mention the bonuses, Billy The Kid and the Thin Lizzy
classic, Genocide , penned by Phill Lynott. The winners of the
METAL HAMMER Award are invited to 'Studio M' in Machtsum to
sing the chorus track for Heads or Tails : head or tails, which
way will you choose now - die or live / surrender or fight /
wild and free / together we will stand - strong and proud we
claim our rights The following tour with RAVEN and CROSSROADS
brings together more than 2,500 faithful RW-servants. And
RUNNING WILD basks in the greatness of their set design.
The drummer, AC, sits on the bow of a mock sip from the Middle
Ages. All the back-lineequipment is cleverly hidden by the
surrogate walls of 'Port Royal'. Then come the various pyrotechnic
props, supported by a perfectly worked out light and laser show.
Bit by bit, our shows are taking on a maiden quality,
says Rolf with pride. Of course, a few technical defects had to be
ironed out before the tour. But before the start in Osnabr?ck,
everything falls into place, and RUNNING WILD mounts the stage
with nine new songs for their fans - without neglecting their
'Best Of' collection. In German, BLAZON STONE translates to
'Wappenstein' and refersto an insignia which stands for freedom.
A special version of the insignia was manufactured by a designer
in Hamburg.
1992
For PILE OF SKULLS the RW band welcomes a new recruit onboard,
Thomas Smuszynski
(bass, ex-U.D.O.). They also welcomed the
return of Stefan Schwarzmann and skipper the single LEAD OR GOLD
ashore. Rock'n'Rolf rephrases what's already a rather extreme cover
for the album Three emblems are chiseled into the door of a grotto:
a cannon behind two crossed sabres symbolic of the militia, a crown
symbolic of the ruler of the nation, and a pontifical hood which
symbolizes the church. These three institutions - the militia,
the ruling class, and the church - are responsible for the pile
of skulls that accumulate in front of the grotto. The underlying
theme of the album is the machinery of corruption seem through various
ages of mankind. For the Japanese market, RUNNING WILD records
as a bonus-track Beggar's Night . During that summer's recording
session the studio's air conditioning stops working, leaving Rolf
and his men in a boiling 60 degree Celsius pressure cooker.
We had to re-tune our guitars every five minutes, recalls the Capt'n.
1993
The staging for the PILE OF SKULLS TOUR goes to the limit: a stage
turned into a cave, lighting equipment turned into eerie signposts,
and drummer's stand that looms overhead on a giant skull. In the
meantime pyro-technical props set the standard for RUNNING WILD
shows. The fall guy is the drummer, Stefan Schwarzmann. 72 hours
before the tour starts, he has to drop out altogether because of a
torn ligament in his left arm. The substitute drummer, J?rg Micheal,
is ready to fill his shoes. At the last minute, the 'schwarze Mann'

(the black man) get the job for himself.
1994
For the first time since PORT ROYAL
(1988), RUNNING WILD doesn't work
with the studio producer, Jan Nemec. To get some fresh air into their
ever-ready sails, Rolf and crew dock at the 'Horus Sound' studio in
Hannover, where sound engineer, Charlie Bauerford, already waits for
the band. On the drums the seasoned J?rg Micheal signs up again.
The first single, The Privateer , comes out on the 3rd of March,
along with the two non-album tracks: Dancing on a Minefield and
Poisoned Blood . Despite a tough fight in the studio with his allergy,
Rolf pulls off his vocals parts in time for the release date.
BLACK HAND INN hits the market with headlines: during its premiere
broadcast the tower of Cologne's EMI press-network collapses. A
coincidence? Who knows? Either way, Capt'n Rolf grins and introduces
his band's fresh blood - the guitarist Thilo Hermann
(ex-Risk). By now
RUNNING WILD drummer, J?rg Micheal, has mastered the high seas as well.
The story behind the recording is the burning of a so-called wizard
in the 16th century. Even today, there's a mystical aura about this
'Phantom of the Black Hill'. In Rolf's version of the story, the allegory
tells us more about how religion and politics often hush up the truth.
The success of the Spring Tour belongs to a class of its own. And Rolf
says what he knows best: Bands that never disappoint the fans, and give
the kids what they expect, never have problems filling the halls
the next tour. Once again RUNNING WILD delivers an almost two-hour
program. For the first time in years they perform Genghis Khan .
1995
Without a new album, RUNNING WILD fills the bill at the
'SUMMER METAL MEETINGS' with GAMMA RAY, RAGE, and other, staged at the
Hall of the Republic. On the 30th of October the fans hungry for the next
load of songs won't be disappointed by MASQUERADE: the newest pirate
masterpiece showcasing a well trained crew with Rock'n'Rolf, J?rg Micheal,
Thomas Smuszynski, and Thilo Hermann. It's further proof that the
captain and his right-hand men are fired up to do nothing but serve
and record. The RUNNING WILD ships pulls into the sound-port and slams
the last metallic touch on their new release with engineer Gerhard
'Anyway' W?lfe at the 'Horus Sound' studios in Hannover. They sail off
again - with eleven new and merciless acts of pure Metal, packaged
under the title MASQURADE. The track starts the steady pounding of The
Contract/The Crypts of Hades , and ends with a 6 minute and 15 second
storm entitled Underworld . What's the motto? Give-it-gas Ahoy!
1996
Twenty Years of Piracy! On its MASQUERADE TOUR the RW band is celebrating
its birthday. Two decades of German Heavy Metal that make RUNNING WILD it's
own buccaneer-monument!