Newsboys facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Newsboys
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Newsboys in 2011
(Left to right) Phillips, Davis, Tait, Frankenstein |
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Founded: Mooloolaba, Queensland, Australia
Currently Based: Nashville, Tennessee, United States |
| Genres |
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| Years active | 1985–present |
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| Members |
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| Past members |
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Newsboys is a Christian rock band. It was started in 1985 in Mooloolaba, Australia. Two friends, Peter Furler and George Perdikis, formed the band. Now, the band is based in Nashville, Tennessee, USA.
Newsboys has released many albums. They have 17 studio albums, and 6 of them have sold enough copies to be "gold certified." This means they sold over 500,000 copies!
As of 2025, the band members are Adam Agee (who sings and plays bass), Jody Davis (electric guitar), Jeff Frankenstein (keyboards), and Duncan Phillips (drums). None of the original founding members are still in the band.
Besides making music, Newsboys has also appeared in movies. You can see them in God's Not Dead, God's Not Dead 2, and God's Not Dead: A Light in Darkness.
Band History
The Early Years (1980s)
The band began in 1985 in Mooloolaba, Australia. Peter Furler and George Perdikis started it. They practiced in a garage on the Sunshine Coast. This area is famous for surfing. Soon, two more teens joined: John James and Sean Taylor.
Newsboys came to the United States in late 1987. They signed a record deal with Refuge Communications. Their first album, Read All About It, came out in the US in 1988.
Growing Success (1990s)
After signing with Star Song Communications, they released two more albums. These were Hell Is for Wimps (1990) and Boys Will Be Boyz (1991). Their first few albums did not get much attention. The band's members also changed often.
In 1992, their album Not Ashamed helped them get noticed. Steve Taylor, a singer and producer, started working with them. He helped produce their music and wrote many song lyrics. Peter Furler also sang lead vocals with John James.
In 1994, the band released Going Public. This was their fifth album and their first big success. It won a Dove Award in 1995 for "Rock Album of the Year." The album had four No. 1 hit songs. The most famous one was "Shine." "Shine" also won a Dove Award. Many fans think "Shine" is the band's most famous song.
Their next album, Take Me to Your Leader (1996), was also a hit. New members Phil Joel (bass) and Jeff Frankenstein (keyboards) joined. This album had more No. 1 songs like "Reality" and "Let It Go." It also had the popular song "Breakfast." This album led to the Newsboys' first movie, Down Under the Big Top.
In late 1997, lead singer John James left the band. Peter Furler, who played drums, became the new lead singer. Duncan Phillips, who played keyboards, moved to drums. From 1998 to 2003, the band members stayed the same. They were Furler, Phil Joel, Jody Davis, Jeff Frankenstein, and Duncan Phillips.
Their first album after John James left was Step Up to the Microphone. It sold well and had four No. 1 hits. One of these was "Entertaining Angels." This song won a Dove Award for "Short Form Music Video of the Year."
In 1999, the band released Love Liberty Disco. This album had a different, more disco sound. It still had hit songs like "Beautiful Sound." Also in 1999, Peter Furler helped start Inpop Records. This is a record label for Christian music.
New Sounds and Changes (2000s)
In 2000, Newsboys went on the Festival Con Dios tour. They also released a "greatest hits" album called Shine: The Hits. This album included four new songs, and two of them, "Joy" and "Who?", became No. 1 hits.
In 2002, they released Thrive. This album had two No. 1 singles. "It Is You" became one of their biggest hits. Newsboys also recorded "In the Belly of the Whale" for the movie Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie.
After "It Is You," Newsboys released two worship albums: Adoration: The Worship Album (2003) and Devotion (2004). In late 2003, Jody Davis left the band. Bryan Olesen became the new guitarist. In 2006, Olesen left, and Paul Colman joined as guitarist.
More hit songs came in 2006, like "I Am Free" and "Wherever We Go." On October 31, 2006, Newsboys released GO. This album had popular songs like "Something Beautiful." In December, Phil Joel announced he was leaving the band.
On January 5, 2009, Paul Colman left the band. At the same time, it was announced that Jody Davis would return! Jody said he was "thrilled to be returning to the band."
In 2009, Peter Furler decided to step back from touring. He wanted to focus on writing songs and producing music for the band. So, a new lead singer was needed. On March 9, 2009, Michael Tait, from the band dc Talk, became the new lead singer.
Newsboys released the album In the Hands of God on May 5, 2009. Steve Taylor helped write all the songs. Peter Furler made his last guest appearance with the band in September. After this, no original members were left in the band.
The Tait Era and Beyond (2010s-2020s)
The first album with Michael Tait as lead singer was Born Again, released on July 13, 2010. It was their highest-charting album, reaching No. 4 on the Billboard 200 chart. In 2011, their song "City to City" was used in the trailer for the Disney Pixar movie Cars 2.
God's Not Dead was released on November 15, 2011. The band also released a live album called Live in Concert: God's Not Dead. In 2013, they released their 16th studio album, Restart.
The band appeared in the movie God's Not Dead in 2014. Michael Tait said the movie was "powerful" because it tried to show God's existence. Duncan Phillips added that the movie "raises a lot of questions."
In 2015, Newsboys started the "We Believe God's Not Dead Tour." Their album Love Riot came out in 2016. The band also appeared in the 2016 film God's Not Dead 2.
In late 2017, it was announced that Peter Furler and Phil Joel would join Newsboys for the "Newsboys United Tour" in 2018. They also worked on an album called United, which came out on May 10, 2019. Their last tour date with Furler and Joel was in August 2021.
The band released their twentieth album, Stand, on October 1, 2021.
On March 29, 2023, Adam Agee joined the band as the fifth member. He used to be in the bands Stellar Kart and Audio Adrenaline. The band also released a new song with Agee called "He Lives."
In 2024, Newsboys started releasing a two-part album called World Wide Revival. World Wide Revival Part 1 came out on July 19, 2024.
On January 16, 2025, Michael Tait announced he would be stepping down as lead singer. Adam Agee then became the new lead vocalist.
Band Members
Current members
- Jody Davis – electric guitar, acoustic guitar, backing vocals (1992–2003, 2009–present)
- Duncan Phillips – drums (1997–present), percussion (1993–present), keyboards (1993–1997)
- Jeff Frankenstein – keyboards, electric vocals (1994–present), synth bass, background vocals (2007–present)
- Adam Agee – background vocals (2023-2025), electric guitar, acoustic guitar, Bass guitar, lead vocals (2025–present)
Former members
- Peter Furler – lead vocals (1997–2009, 2018–2021), guitar (1996–2009, 2018–2021), co-lead and backing vocals, drums (1985–1997)
- George Perdikis – guitar (1985–1987)
- Sean Taylor – bass guitar (1986–1992)
- John James – lead vocals (1986–1997)
- Phil Yates – guitar (1987–1990)
- Corey Pryor – keyboards (1989–1990, 1991–1993)
- Jonathan Geange – guitar (1990–1991, 1992)
- Vernon Bishop – guitar (1991–1992)
- Kevin Mills – bass guitar (1992–1994)
- Phil Joel – bass guitar, vocals (1994–2006, 2018–2021)
- Bryan Olesen – guitar (2004–2006)
- Paul Colman – guitar (2006–2009)
- Michael Tait – lead vocals (2009–2025)
Timeline
Major Tours
Newsboys has been on many tours over the years. Here are some of their major tours:
- Boyz Will Be Boyz Tour (1991)
- Nu Skool Jam Tour (1991)
- Going Public Tour (1994-1995)
- Take Me To Your Leader Tour (1997)
- Step Up to the Microphone Tour (1999)
- Love Liberty Disco Tour (1999-2000)
- Festival Con Dios (2001)
- Winter Jam (2002)
- Thrive It's All In World Tour (2002)
- The Adoration Tour (2002-2005)
- Winter Jam (2006)
- The GO Tour (2007-2008)
- The Way We Roll Tour (2009)
- Join the Tribe Tour (2009)
- Winter Jam (2010)
- A Very Merry Christmas Tour (2010)
- Winter Jam (2011)
- Born Again VIP Experience Tour (2011)
- The Story Music Tour (2011)
- God's Not Dead Tour (2012-2013)
- Restart Tour (2013)
- Winter Jam (2014)
- The Reason Tour (2014)
- We Believe God's Not Dead Tour (2015)
- The Rock & Worship Roadshow (2016)
- Love Riot Tour (2016-2017)
- Jesus Freak Cruise (2017)
- Big Church Night Out (2017)
- Newsboys United (2018)
- Winter Jam (2019)
- United and Surrounded Tour (2019)
- Jesus Freak Cruise (2019)
- Greatness of Our God Tour (2019)
- Greatness of Our God Tour (2020)
- Step Into the Light Tour (2021)
- Stand Together Tour (2022)
- Let the Music Speak Tour (2023)
- Always Only Jesus Tour (2024)
- Worldwide Revival Nights (2024)
Discography
Albums with John James as lead singer
- Read All About It (1988)
- Hell Is for Wimps (1990)
- Boys Will Be Boyz (1991)
- Not Ashamed (1992)
- Going Public (1994)
- Take Me to Your Leader (1996)
Albums with Peter Furler as lead singer
- Step Up to the Microphone (1998)
- Love Liberty Disco (1999)
- Thrive (2002)
- Adoration: The Worship Album (2003)
- Devotion (2004)
- Go (2006)
- In the Hands of God (2009)
Albums with Michael Tait as lead singer
- Born Again (2010)
- God's Not Dead (2011)
- Restart (2013)
- Hallelujah for the Cross (2014)
- Love Riot (2016)
- United (2019)
- Stand (2021)
- Worldwide Revival Pt.1 (2024)
Awards and Recognitions
Newsboys has won and been nominated for many awards for their music.
Grammy Awards
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Not Ashamed | Best Rock/Contemporary Gospel Album | Nominated |
| 1994 | Going Public | Best Rock Gospel Album | Nominated |
| 1996 | Take Me To Your Leader | Best Rock Gospel Album | Nominated |
| 2003 | Adoration: The Worship Album | Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album | Nominated |
Dove Awards
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Going Public | Rock Album of the Year | Won |
| 1994 | "Shine" | Rock Recorded Song of the Year | Won |
| "Shine" | Short Form Music Video of the Year | Nominated | |
| 1997 | Take Me To Your Leader | Recorded Music Packaging of the Year | Won |
| 1999 | "Entertaining Angels" | Short Form Music Video of the Year | Won |
| 2004 | n/a | Group of the Year | Nominated |
| 2015 | "We Believe" | Pop/Contemporary Song of the Year | Nominated |
Billboard Music Video Awards
- 1999 Award for Best Christian Contemporary Music Video
- "Entertaining Angels"
International Angel Awards
- 1995 Award for Video
- "Shine"
- 1999 Award for Video
- "Entertaining Angels"
Nashville Music Awards
- 1999 Award for Favorite Christian Contemporary Music Album
- Step Up to the Microphone
SESAC Awards
- 2000 Award for Christian Songwriter of the Year
- Peter Furler
See also
In Spanish: Newsboys para niños
