Richard Kruspe

Kruspe married South African actress Caron Bernstein on 29 October 1999. The ceremony was Jewish, and Kruspe composed the music for it. He took the name Richard Kruspe-Bernstein during their marriage. Sometime in 2001, he moved from Berlin to New York to live closer to Bernstein. They separated in 2004. His last name is now back to its original form, as the divorce was finalized. In 2011, he left New York, because "it is not the right environment for the next part of my life", and moved back to Berlin. Kruspe was in a relationship with Margaux Bossieux, bassist of the all-girl New York punk band Dirty Mary. Bossieux was also involved in the recording of Emigrate's debut album.

During his early career, Kruspe also featured in releases by other bands such as First Arsch. Finally, Rammstein was formed in 1994, when Kruspe, who lived with Oliver Riedel and Christoph Schneider at the time, was looking for a new band in which to create a new style of music.

On 10 October 1989, before the fall of the Berlin Wall, Kruspe was riding on the subway. After coming back above ground, he found himself in the middle of a political demonstration. He was hit on the head and arrested just for being there, and thrown in jail for six days. Once out of jail, he decided to leave East Germany. Because of the Eastern Bloc, he entered West Germany through Hungary. When the Berlin Wall came down, he moved back east of Berlin.

In 1985, bored with the apathetic music scene in his hometown, Kruspe moved to East Berlin and lived on Lychener Straße, where he "made music all day". For two years, he lived in an apartment with a drum kit and a guitar, and made music by himself because he did not know anybody there. "It was a lonely time", according to Kruspe, but he used it to explore music.

Kruspe's first band, Das Elegante Chaos, was formed in the late 1980s. The band played live with other bands such as First Arsch (in which Till Lindemann was a drummer). In 1989, when Kruspe was 22, some songs were recorded by the band; these songs were later released in 2011 on the album Lyrik by Dachboden-Records. Seeking a more independent experience, Kruspe formed Orgasm Death Gimmick, which operated between 1991 and 1993; Orgasm Death Gimmick released three demo tapes, and a promotional tape through their label, Wydoks, before disbanding.

Richard Kruspe (born Sven Kruspe; 24 June 1967) is a German musician and guitarist of the German Neue Deutsche Härte band Rammstein, as well as the lead vocalist of the New York-based band Emigrate.