Gospel Music 101: Who are the Newsboys? Music highs & musical chairs but still 'In the Hands of God'

July 9, 12:11 PMNashville Gospel Music & Entertainment ExaminerKathryn Darden

Previous Next

1 comment Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Nashville Gospel Music & Entertainment Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

Newsboys photo, Wikipedia

Who Are the Newsboys?

Gospel artists Newsboys, known for their Christian pop-rock music stylings, have also gained some notoriety for their ongoing game of musical chairs. Formed in Australia in 1985 by bassist Sean Taylor, vocalist John James, and drummer Peter Furler, the Newsboys grew to become one of the most popular and best-selling gospel music groups of the past two decades. The band started to grab attention in the U. S. when they covered DeGarmo & Key's hit song "Boycott Hell" in 1992.

Newsboys Music Chairs

In 1994, the game of musical chairs began in ernest when Jody Davis & Duncan Phillips joined the group. 1994 was also the year the Newsboys released Going Public, which featured the smash hit "Shine." 1996 saw the addition of Philip Joel Urry (Phil Joel) and Jeff Frankenstein to the group as well as the release of Take Me To Your Leader.  Founding member and vocalist John James left the group in 1997, which is when Peter Furler became the lead vocalist, performing on a long string of Newsboys hits for the next decade. You can read some of the Newsboys' story in their book Shine: Make Them Wonder What You've Got, which was published in 1992. Since then several well-known gospel artists have been a part of the Newsboys, including fellow Aussie Paul Coleman (Paul Coleman Trio), Michael Tait (DC Talk), and Jody Davis (former Newsboy).

Newsboys In the Hands of God

As the Newsboys continue to reinvent themselves, they continue to reinvent and rediscover the music that has made them popular around the world. Their most recent project, In the Hands of God, released May 5, 2009 on Inpop Records. While Michael Tait, who joined the Newsboys as lead vocalist in March of 2009, contributes background vocals on the album, Peter Furler remains the lead vocalist on In the Hands of God.

It will be interesting to see what the future holds for the Newsboys, and you can continue to Read All About It here!

All dates from Wikipedia

 Gospel Music 101: What is gospel music?