Running Wild is a German heavy metal band from Hamburg. Formed in 1976 as Granite Heart, the group originally consisted of vocalist and guitarist Rolf "Rock 'n' Rolf" Kasparek, guitarist Uwe Bendig, bassist Jörg Schwarz, and drummer Michael Hoffmann. Kasparek remains the only original member of the band, which now features guitarist Peter J. Jordan (since 2005), bassist Ole Hempelmann and drummer Michael Wolpers (both since 2015).
History 1976–1990 Running Wild was initially founded as Granite Heart in 1976 by Rolf Kasparek with guitarist Uwe Bendig, bassist Jörg Schwarz and drummer Michael Hoffmann. Schwarz was quickly replaced by Carsten Davis, although by 1979 both he and Hoffmann had left the group, which was then renamed Running Wild. With new bassist Matthias Kaufmann and drummer Wolfgang "Hasche" Hagemann, the band released its first demo Rock from Hell in 1981, before temporarily disbanding in the summer of 1982 after just five shows in two years. Kasparek and Hagemann reformed Running Wild in the autumn with new guitarist Gerald "Preacher" Warnecke and bassist Stephan Boriss, releasing a string of demos during 1983 and 1984. The band's debut full-length album Gates to Purgatory was issued later in 1984.
After touring in promotion of Gates to Purgatory ended in the summer of 1985, Warnecke left Running Wild. Kasparek recorded the majority of guitars on the band's second album Branded and Exiled, before Michael "Majk Moti" Kupper arrived in place of Warnecke, adding three guitar solos. The new lineup released Under Jolly Roger in 1987, before Boriss and Hagemann were replaced around July or August by Jens Becker and Stefan Schwarzmann, respectively. Live album Ready for Boarding and studio follow-up Port Royal followed in 1988, after which Iain Finlay replaced Schwarzmann, who left to join U.D.O. Finlay himself left shortly after the release of Death or Glory at the end of 1989, with former stand-in Jörg Michael temporarily taking his place for live shows during 1990. Kupper left towards the end of the year for "personal reasons".
1990–2002 At the end of 1990, Kasparek and Becker recorded Blazon Stone with new guitarist Axel Morgan and drummer Rudiger "AC" Dreiffen. This was followed later in 1991 by The First Years of Piracy, a collection of re-recordings of previous songs. This was the last album to feature Becker on bass and AC on drums, both of whom were fired after touring into the early months of 1992. They were replaced by Thomas "Bodo" Smuszynski and the returning Stefan Schwarzmann, respectively, who debuted together on Pile of Skulls later that year. In 1993, Morgan and Schwarzmann were fired, later joining with fellow alumnus Jens Becker to form X-Wild.
Running Wild released Black Hand Inn in 1994 with new guitarist Thilo Hermann and drummer Jörg Michael. This was followed by Masquerade in 1995 and The Rivalry in 1998, after which Michael left to focus on his other band, Stratovarius. He was replaced on tour by former Rage drummer Chris Efthimiadis, while Angelo Sasso was brought in for the recording of the band's next album, Victory. In January 2001, Kasparek announced that Smuszynski had been let go from the band. His replacement, Peter Pichl, was confirmed in August. The following month, it was announced that Hermann had also left the group, reportedly to "focus on his family life".
Since 2002 The band's next album, The Brotherhood, was released in February 2002 and featured a reduced lineup of Rolf Kasparek on vocals and all guitars, Peter Pichl on bass, and Angelo Sasso on drums. For the tour in promotion of the album, Kasparek and Pichl were joined by new guitarist Bernd Aufermann and drummer Matthias Liebetruth. Aufermann later revealed that he was "nothing more or less than the live guitarist" for the band, with all guitars on 2005's Rogues en Vogue performed by Kasparek. By March 2005, Aufermann had left the band, with Kasparek stating he was "not sure" who would take his place for future tour dates. For shows later that year, Peter J. Jordan took over as live guitarist. Running Wild remained inactive from 2006 to 2009, before it was announced in April 2009 that the band would play a final show on 30 July at Wacken Open Air before disbanding. Jan-Sören Eckert played bass at the show, which was released in 2011 as The Final Jolly Roger.
In October 2011, Kasparek announced that he was reforming Running Wild to record a new album, Shadowmaker. The album was released in April 2012 and featured Jordan playing guitar solos on four tracks, with Kasparek dubbing the album "a solo project". The pair continued to collaborate, releasing Resilient in October 2013. After a year off due to an injury, Kasparek returned in 2015 with a full lineup of Running Wild for its first shows since reforming, adding Ole Hempelmann on bass and Michael Wolpers on drums. This lineup has remained intact to date, releasing Rapid Foray in 2016 and Blood on Blood in 2021.
Members Current Image Name Years active Instruments Release contributionsRolf "Rock 'n' Rolf" Kasparekall Running Wild releasesPeter J. Jordanall Running Wild releases from The Final Jolly Roger (2011) onwardsOle Hempelmann2015–presentall Running Wild releases from Rapid Foray (2016) onwardsMichael Wolpersdrums
Former Image Name Years active Instruments Release contributionsUwe Bendig1976–1982Rock from Hell demo (1981)Michael Hoffmann1976–1979drumsnoneJörg Schwarz1976bassCarsten Davis1976–1979Wolfgang "Hasche" Hagemannall Running Wild releases from the Rock from Hell demo (1981) to Under Jolly Roger (1987)Matthias Kaufmann1979–1982bassRock from Hell demo (1981)Stephan Boriss1982–1987all Running Wild releases from the 1982 demo to Under Jolly Roger (1987)Gerald "Preacher" Warnecke1982–1985all Running Wild releases from the 1982 demo to Gates to Purgatory (1984)Michael "Majk Moti" Kupper1985–1990 all Running Wild releases from Branded and Exiled (1985) to Death or Glory Tour Live (1990)Jens Becker1987–1992all Running Wild releases from Ready for Boarding (1988) to The First Years of Piracy (1991)Stefan SchwarzmannIain Finlay1988–1990drumsAxel Morgan1990–1993Rudiger "AC" Dreffein1990–1992Thomas "Bodo" Smuszynski1992–2001all Running Wild releases from Pile of Skulls (1992) to Victory (2000)Thilo Hermann1993–2001guitarJörg Michael1993–1998drumsChris "Efti" Efthimiadis1998–2000 drumsnoneAngelo Sasso1999–2001 Peter Pichl2001–2009Matthias Liebetruth2002–2009Bernd Aufermann2002–2004 Live (2002)Jan-Sören Eckert2009 The Final Jolly Roger (2011)
Timeline
Lineups PeriodMembersReleases1976Rock 'n' Rolf Kasparek — lead vocals, guitar Uwe Bendig — guitar, backing vocals Jörg Schwarz — bass Michael Hoffmann — drumsrowspan="2" 1976–1979Rock 'n' Rolf Kasparek — lead vocals, guitar Uwe Bendig — guitar, backing vocals Carsten Davis — bass Michael Hoffmann — drums1979–summer 1982Rock 'n' Rolf Kasparek — lead vocals, guitar Uwe Bendig — guitar, backing vocals Matthias Kaufmann — bass Wolfgang Hagemann — drumsRock from Hell demo (1981)Band inactive summer–fall 1982Fall 1982–summer 1985Rock 'n' Rolf Kasparek — lead vocals, guitar Gerald Warnecke — guitar, backing vocals Stephan Boriss — bass, backing vocals Wolfgang Hagemann — drums1983 and 1984 demos Victim of States Power (1984) Gates to Purgatory (1984)Summer 1985–summer 1987Rock 'n' Rolf Kasparek — lead vocals, guitar Majk Moti — guitar, backing vocals Stephan Boriss — bass, backing vocals Wolfgang Hagemann — drumsBranded and Exiled (1985) Under Jolly Roger (1987)July 1987–summer 1988Rock 'n' Rolf Kasparek — lead vocals, guitar Majk Moti — guitar, backing vocals Jens Becker — bass, backing vocals Stefan Schwarzmann — drums, backing vocalsReady for Boarding (1988) Port Royal (1988)Summer 1988Rock 'n' Rolf Kasparek — lead vocals, guitar Majk Moti — guitar, backing vocals Jens Becker — bass, backing vocals Jörg Michael — drums Summer 1988–January 1990Rock 'n' Rolf Kasparek — lead vocals, guitar Majk Moti — guitar, backing vocals Jens Becker — bass, backing vocals Iain Finlay — drumsDeath or Glory (1989) Wild Animal EP (1990) Death or Glory Tour Live (1990)Early–late 1990Rock 'n' Rolf Kasparek — lead vocals, guitar Majk Moti — guitar, backing vocals Jens Becker — bass, backing vocals Jörg Michael — drums Late 1990–spring 1992Rock 'n' Rolf Kasparek — lead vocals, guitar Axel Morgan — guitar, backing vocals Jens Becker — bass, backing vocals AC Dreffein — drums, backing vocalsBlazon Stone (1991) The First Years of Piracy (1991)1992–1993Rock 'n' Rolf Kasparek — lead vocals, guitar Axel Morgan — guitar, backing vocals Thomas Smuszynski — bass, backing vocals Stefan Schwarzmann — drums, backing vocalsPile of Skulls (1992)1993–1998Rock 'n' Rolf Kasparek — lead vocals, guitar Thilo Hermann — guitar Thomas Smuszynski — bass, backing vocals Jörg Michael — drumsBlack Hand Inn (1994) Masquerade (1995) The Rivalry (1998)Spring 1998–January 2001Rock 'n' Rolf Kasparek — lead vocals, guitar Thilo Hermann — guitar Thomas Smuszynski — bass, backing vocals Chris Efthimiadis — drums Angelo Sasso — drums Victory (2000)August 2001–January 2002Rock 'n' Rolf Kasparek — lead vocals, guitar Peter Pichl — bass, backing vocals Angelo Sasso — drums The Brotherhood (2002)January 2002–summer 2004Rock 'n' Rolf Kasparek — lead vocals, guitar Bernd Aufermann — guitar Peter Pichl — bass, backing vocals Matthias Liebetruth — drums, backing vocalsLive (2002) 20 Years in History (2003)Late 2004–summer 2005Rock 'n' Rolf Kasparek — lead vocals, guitar Peter Pichl — bass, backing vocals Matthias Liebetruth — drums, backing vocalsRogues en Vogue (2005)Summer 2005–June 2009Rock 'n' Rolf Kasparek — lead vocals, guitar Peter J. Jordan — guitar Peter Pichl — bass, backing vocals Matthias Liebetruth — drums, backing vocalsJune–July 2009Rock 'n' Rolf Kasparek — lead vocals, guitar Peter J. Jordan — guitar Jan-Sören Eckert — bass Matthias Liebetruth — drums, backing vocalsThe Final Jolly Roger (2011)Band inactive August 2009–October 2011October 2011–June 2015Rock 'n' Rolf Kasparek — lead vocals, guitar Peter J. Jordan — guitar, backing vocalsShadowmaker (2012) Resilient (2013)June 2015–presentRock 'n' Rolf Kasparek — lead vocals, guitar Peter J. Jordan — guitar, backing vocals Ole Hempelmann — bass, backing vocals Michael Wolpers — drumsRapid Foray (2016) Crossing the Blades (2019) New Gems and Live Treasures (2021) Blood on Blood (2021)
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