Member Since: 21/09/2007
Band Website: www.running-wild.net
Band Members: Current line-up :
Rock?n?Rolf Kasparek - vocals, lead & rhythm guitar
Touring band:
Peter Pichl - bass (Yargos)
Peter Jordan - guitars
Matthias Liebetruth - drums (ex-Victory (Ger))
Former/past member(s)
Guitars:
Uwe Bendig (1976-1982)
Gerald "Preacher" Warnecke (1982-1985)
Majk Moti (1985-1990)
Axel Morgan (X-Wild) (1990-1993)
Thilo Hermann (ex-Holy Moses, ex-Faithful Breath, ex-Glenmore, ex-Risk) (1994-2001)
Bernd Aufermann (Angel Dust (Ger)) (2002-2005)
Bass:
Jfrg Schwarz (1976)
Carsten David (1977)
Matthias Kaufmann (1978-1982)
Stephan Boriss (1982-1987)
Jens Becker (Grave Digger, ex-Roland Grapow (Guest), ex-Crossroads (Guest), X-Wild) (1987-1992)
Thomas Smuszynski (ex-U.D.O., ex-Darxon, ex-Axel Rudi Pell) (1992-2001)
Drums:
Michael Hoffmann (1976-1978)
Wolfgang "Hasche" Hagemann (1978-1987)
Stefan Schwarzmann (Krokus, ex-Helloween, ex-Paradox, Accept, ex-U.D.O., ex-Voice, ex-Cronos Titan, ex-X-Wild) (1987-1988, 1991-1992)
Iain Finlay (1988-1989) (ex-Justice (Ger), ex-Demon Pact)
Jfrg Michael (Stratovarius, Saxon, House of Spirits, Grave Digger, Axel Rudi Pell, Unleashed Power and Tom Angelripper, ex-Avenger (Ger), ex-Rage (Ger), ex-Mekong Delta, as guest in Beto Vazquez Infinity, Laos, Schwarz Arbeit, Headhunter (Ger)) (1990, 1993-1998)
Mr. A.C. (1990-1992)
Influences:
HISTORY : PORT ROYALIn December 1654 the Lord Protector of England, Oliver Cromwell, sent an invasion force under the commands of Admiral Penn and General Venables to capture the Caribbean island Hispaniola. At that point in time Hispaniola was under Spanish control and the Spaniards were soon warned about the forthcoming attack. When the English forces tried to capture the city of Santo Domingo, they failed miserably. Scared of the furious consequences by returning home empty-handed Penn and Venables immediately headed west for the smaller island Jamaica. Here they faced only poor resistence and soon Jamaica was captured as a consolation price to appease Lord Cromwell.It didn’t last long until the construction of a fort situated at the tip of the sand spit separating Kingston Harbour from the Caribbean was taking place. The Passage Fort – later renamed Fort Cromwell – could control all access to the harbour through the narrow entrance. A small community mainly consisting of mariners, merchants, craftsmen and prostitutes developed around the fort and the community was known as The Point or Point Cagway. After the restoration of Charles II and the monarchy in England in 1660, Point Cagway was renamed Port Royal. The fort was quite logical renamed Fort Charles.Although Port Royal’s main purpose was to serve as a defensive fortification, guarding the entrance to the harbour, it assumed much greater importance. Located within a well-protected harbour combined with its flat topography and deep water close to shore, large ships could easily be serviced, loaded and unloaded in Port Royal. Due to the trading opportunities several businessmen were attracted to the place. Merchants, craftsmen and even ships’ captains established themselves in Port Royal to take advantage of the economical prospects. As Jamaica’s economy grew largely between 1655 and 1692, Port Royal proved to be the fastest growing town founded by the English in the New World. As a result Port Royal became the most economically important English port in the Americas.Together with Port Royal’s early development between 1660 and 1671, officially sanctioned privateering was a common practice. In 1689 close to half of the 4,000 inhabitants were involved in this kind of trade. Though the buccaneer era greatly enriched Port Royal, England was supposed to end it due to the regulations of the 1670 Treaty of Madrid. Nevertheless privateering and piracy managed to survive in some extent into the 18th century. Port Royal’s economical glory was indeed a combination of plunder and trade.After 1670 the connection between England and Jamaica (especially Port Royal) improved. The trade market was expanded by slaves, sugar and various raw materials. Port Royal soon proved to be the mercantile center of the Caribbean. The harbour became a huge part of an expansive trade network which included trading as well as looting of coastal Spanish towns throughout Spanish America. During this period Port Royal was a wealthy city of merchants, artisans, ships’ captains, slaves and, of course, notorious pirates, who gave Port Royal its "the wickedest city in the world" reputation.In 1692 estimated 6,500-7,000 inhabitants were living in Port Royal. Many of the city’s 2,000 buildings were made of brick, which was a sign of wealth. Some of the buildings were 4 stories tall. In 1688 the number of ships, which were porting in New England was 226. No less than 213 of these ships came to Port Royal. Unlike other places Jamaica used coins for currency instead of commodity exchange. The social life and welfare in general in Port Royal was remarkably different in connection to the other towns in New England. The attitude was very tolerant. One of the differences was that a diversity of religious expressions and lifestyles was allowed in Port Royal. All the other towns in New England were religious ordered in some direction. Port Royal was clearly the most successful town in the English New World.Until 1692 Port Royal was Jamaica’s only legal port of entry, and its merchants controlled the economic affairs of the island. The merchants invested the profits from the looting and trading in financing and developing of emerging plantations. This was supposed to be the transition of the economic power from the merchants to the plantation owners. But the transition was never completed, because of a huge catastrophe.Shortly before noon on 7 June 1692 most of Port Royal was destroyed by a disastrous earthquake and sank into Kingston Harbour. An estimated 2,000 persons were killed instantly, and another 3,000 citizens died of injuries and disease in the following days. Almost immediately salvage and outright looting began, and it continued on and off for years. Following the earthquake Port Royal underwent a dramatic revival, but only to fall again when it was ravaged by fire in 1703. Port Royal as it once was disappeared for the last time in 1722 following a severe storm, a hurricane and two further earthquakes.Today Port Royal is a poor fishing village, and it’s hard to imagine that it once was the largest and most economically important English settlement in the Americas. It’s now a lonely and isolated place at the end of a long sand spit. There are approximately 1,800 "Port Royalists" today as the citizens prefer to call themselves. Port Royal’s mighty era lies virtually untouched beneath the water’s surface, since archaeologists have decided not to demolish the historical evidence of a unique past. Rather, time has frozen on the bottom of the sea, and there life in the past is revealed as it once was lived.
Sounds Like:
Record Label: GUN records
Type of Label: Major