Newsboys | |
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Newsboys in March 2009
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Background information | |
Origin | Mooloolaba, Queensland, Australia |
Genres | Christian pop, pop rock, CCM, Christian rock |
Years active | 1985–present |
Labels | Refuge, Star Song, Virgin,Sparrow, Inpop, Fair Trade |
Website | newsboys |
Members |
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Past members |
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Newsboys (sometimes stylised as newsboys) are a Christian pop rock band founded in 1985 in Mooloolaba, Queensland, Australia, by Peter Furler and George Perdikis. They have released 17 studio albums, 6 of which have been certified gold. Currently, the band consists of lead vocalist Michael Tait formerly of DC Talk, keyboardist and bassist Jeff Frankenstein, drummer and percussionist Duncan Phillips, and guitarist Jody Davis. In addition to performing music, the band have appeared in the films God's Not Dead and God's Not Dead 2.
The band was formed in Mooloolaba, Queensland in 1985 by two young men: Peter Furler and his school mate George Perdikis, practising in a garage in Surfers Paradise. Two other teens were added soon after: Furler's best friend, John James, and bassist Sean Taylor. The band's original name was The News, but once in the US they changed it to The Newsboys to avoid conflict with the US-based band Huey Lewis and the News. The band came to the United States in late 1987 after getting signed with Refuge Communications and released the album Read All About It in 1988 in the United States.
After signing with Star Song Communications, they released two more albums in 1990 and 1991: Hell Is for Wimps and Boys Will Be Boyz, with its first self-titled video. None of the band's first three albums garnered much attention, and the band's line-up changed with every release.
It wasn't until their 1992 album, Not Ashamed (containing a cover of the DeGarmo & Key song "Boycott Hell"), that the band gained notice in the Christian music scene with its second self-titled video that followed a year later. Steve Taylor, a singer-songwriter and producer, began a partnership with the band, producing the band's record and writing most of the lyrics for their songs. Furler remained the band's primary songwriter and beginning with this album began sharing lead vocal duties with James and continued to do so until James' departure.