Today the Newsboys are considered to be one of, if not, the best Christian band in the world.  The five eccentric individuals tour from coast to coast and around the world.  But things have not always been so easy for the Newsboys.

                Founded in 1986 by Peter Furler, Wesley Campbell, John James, Steve Taylor, and Jonathan Geange, the Newsboys started writing music and singing in local pubs in Queensland, Australia.  They practiced in the garage with the worst conditions for playing music, but that did not bother the boys.  They just wanted to play their stuff and play their stuff is what they did.

                "We didnt start out as a Christian band.  We just played what was in our hearts." Duncan Phillips.

                That is all the Newsboys wanted to do from the start.  They were not out to be crowd pleasers.  They were there to please God.  The way they thought they could do that was by singing what they felt, and that is how they started.  They tried to reach the people in the local pubs by playing music that they would be accustomed to.  This meant they had to play Rock-n-roll, so that is what they played.

                They did anything that they could to get money to buy equipment whether it was selling snacks, doing work jobs, or anything else that they could do that would bring in money  They knew that all they wanted to do was share their faith through their music, and they knew that in order to do that they needed money.

                They decided together that the easiest way to sell their music would be to move to the United States, so in 1987 they came.  It was New Years Eve and they arrived in New York City.  Hey found that the recording studio that they were trying to use was closed for the New Years Holiday.  Cops came and took their fingerprints because they were suspicious as to why the band was there but they let them stay because there was nowhere else for them to go.

                Even though they had made it to America the Newsboys were still without money.  They put themselves on a limit of $1 a day so that they could get by.  They stayed in one bedroom in hotels and pushed both of the beds together in order to sleep eight men across.  They lived on fast food.

                They Newsboys got word of a huge event called Atlanta Fest and decided that they just had to sing there.  They called up the director and he told them that they had already booked all of the bands almost a year earlier.  But the director decided to let the band play for the setup crew the day before.

                However, the band had car trouble while trying to get to Atlanta but when they finally made it they put on an awesome show for the setup crew.  The crew started a petition to the board and before they knew it the Newsboys were on the schedule for the concert the next day.

                In 1988 they Newsboys decided to release their fist album, Read All About It. The album did alright but overall was a flop.

                The next year brought a major change to the band.  Jonathan Geange left the band and was replaced by Corey Pryor.  After the change they released their second album Boyz Will be Boyz. This album faired much better than their first.  They now knew what direction they were going, the Newsboys were up and running.

                Then in 1992 the Newsboys created their first successful album, Not Ashamed.   The album was simply amazing and the fans loved it. The title song from the cut is still one of their most famous today.

                1993 and 1994 brought even more changes to the band.  Corey Pryor and Steve Taylor both left the band and were replaced by Jody David on the guitars, Kevin Mills on the bass, and Duncan Phillips on the keyboard.  This led to the release of their next album Going Public.  This album contained the Newsboys Signature song Shine and many other hits like, Spirit Thing, Going Public, and Truth and Consequences.  It was nominated for Rock Album of the Year, and got the band a nomination for Group of the Year.

                Shortly after the release of Going Public Kevin Mills left the band.  Phil Joel replaced him on the bass, and Jeff Frankenstein, a young keyboard player who had been with the band for a tour, became a full member of the band.

                 Their next album, and one of their more popular, was Take Me to Your Leader.  This album was amazing, producing some of the fans most beloved songs such as, Take Me to Your Leader, God is not a Secret, Breakfast, Reality, and several others.  The album received three Doves and a Grammy.

                In 1997, the Newsboys released the single, Entertaining Angels.  This was very successful and is a song that every Newsboys fan holds dear to their heart.

                "Entertaining Angels is very special to me.  In my home in New Zealand, the TV did not stay on past midnight it just went fuzzy.  I remember many nights when it was just me, the fuzzy television, and God.  Those nights, I think were some of the most spiritually moving for me and that is what the song is talking about." Phil Joel

                In early 1998 lead singer John James decided to leave that band.  This brought Peter Furler to the spotlight.

                Later that year the release of their Step Up to the Microphone album took place.  The music and lyrics were written by Phil Joel and Peter Furler, and the album included the hit single, Entertaining Angels.

                In 1999 the band tried to bring back history with the release of Love Liberty Disco.

                The band took a couple of years off from releasing a totally new studio cut album but they did release in 2000, Shine: The Hits.  This included the new songs, Joy, Praises, and Who?.

                The Newsboys then decided to take off a couple of years while continuing to write music but not releasing another album.  They did however, continue to appear in concert performances.

               "I think that we still love to be on stage.  It is something new every time and we are still captivated by all of the fans that are actually there to see us play, so it is definitely not time to call it quits, but when we quit having fun and serving God, we need to hang it up." Phil Joel

                In 2002 the Newsboys released their first totally new album since 1999.  That album was Thrive.  The album was a major hit among the fans.  With the hit songs, Million Pieces (Kissin Your Cares Goodbye), Thrive, It Is You, Rescue and Lord (I Dont Know), the fans loved the new music.  It Is You went on to be the Song of the Year and they received several awards for the CD.

                Their debut of the album came live from the Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland, Ohio.

                "In a sense this tells us we have made it.  I mean this isnt what it is about but in a sense, we know that we have done something great!" -Duncan Phillips

                In late 2002 the Newsboys released another album, Newsboys: Remixed which remixed all of their biggest hits.

                In 2003 the band came out with their next CD Adoration: The Worship Album.  This album was amazing showing true devotion to God with the lyrics co-written by Peter Furler and Steve Taylor.

                The Newsboys continue to put on amazing shows and they love their fans, but more than that they love God.