About a billion years ago, when the earth was young, dinosaurs still roamed the earth, and cavemen were still trying to figure out how to make fire, Peter Furler was fifteen years old. Fifteen and in Australia, a drummer who wanted a band so that he could get out of the cave and stop using his five siblings’ heads as instruments.
Even in Australia school was a horror, and Peter decided to skip out on roast tyrannosaurus for a better lunchtime hobby. He and a fellow named George Perdikis hid in a classroom and jammed to whatever they could manage to play. Peter managed to snag his first band mate by telling him he had a ten piece drum set, which was not actually true.
Two other deranged and bored teenagers were recruited into the outfit—John James and Sean Taylor. They called themselves ‘The News.’ (They added “boys” to the name afterwards.) They played anywhere that wouldn’t kick them out—which was what some towns wanted to do to the Furler family after the band began practicing in their garage. On one occasion the neighbors dumped sugar in the Furler’s car as a warning. The pubs the band solicited were a little friendlier—they only threw beer bottles when they didn’t like what was playing.
In Paradise Island, Gold Coast, two brothers were running a club for new and emerging talent. They were tipped off that the relentless Newsboys would make an interesting attraction, and the band found themselves for hire. The band was given an option between payment with the wining and dining and the best gear available after a dinner at a fast food joint. The ‘boys took the fast food. Steve and Wes Campbell, the brothers, soon packed the band under their management and took them to America.
In America the ‘boys were an instant hit. First thing, they were arrested for suspicious behavior outside a locked recording studio where they were about to begin the recording for their first album, “Read All About It”. After explaining their side of the story and being fingerprinted, the band was released. They returned to Australia after the recording was under their belt and were welcomed with open arms.
George Perdikis decided to take a marriage over the lofty band career, so the band hired Jonathan Geange as his replacement. They headed back to America in 1990 to put together a second album, “Hell is for Wimps”. It was harder than they hoped; they ended up living off of $0.99 meals from 7-11—one a day, each. They moved into Atlanta, Georgia and filmed their first music video for “Simple Man”. Then Geange left them created 3rd Above with his two sisters, which left the band without a guitarist again. They decided to add Corey Pryor on the keys and Vernon Bishop on the guitar. Shortly after, they made their third album, “Boys Will Be Boyz”, along with a video titled the same.
For the next album/video duo, “Not Ashamed”, Peter teamed up with lyricist and fellow artist Steve Taylor. After the recording, members of the band seemed to drop like flies. Corey Pryor and his wife Danielle returned to Australia to form a band named “Sozo”. Vernon Bishop, between the CD and video, decided to slink off and play for Kim Boyce, leaving a vacancy. Rumor has it: the band filled the position with Jody Davis when they saw him on a street corner with a sign, “Will play for food.”
While Duncan Phillips, an old rival drummer from Australia, was visiting Nashville to get some gear, he ran into Peter and was somehow blackmailed into the band on the keyboards. (Evidently embarrassing photos of Duncan will circulate if he ever decides to leave the band.) Both he and the newly hired bassist, Kevin Mills, were there for the video shoot.
They recorded “Going Public” in 1994, which was the first of their albums to go gold.
Jeff Frankenstein was a driver for an airport assigned to take them to their show. While chatting to Peter, it slipped out that Jeff was a keyboardist and Peter took his number. A year later, Jeff’s college career was interrupted by an opportunity to take a job with Newsboys. He had three days to learn the music before they roasted him alive before 60,000 people. Duncan moved to percussion.
Kevin Mills took a job with White Heart and ended their manager. Kevin died December 3rd, 2000 in a motorcycle accident.
When in New Zealand the year before the band had become acquainted with their opening act, Drinkwater. They knew the group had recently dispersed. Picking up the phone, they contacted Phil Urry, Drinkwater’s former guitarist and singer, and asked if he could play the bass. He said yes. He then hocked one of his guitars, got a bass, and learned how to play it on the long plane ride to America. He barely passed the audition. The band obviously figured out he was a horrible liar. He joined them on the Going Public tour and then recorded “Take Me to Your Leader” with them. After that, Phil adopted a stage name, Phil Joel (Joel is his middle name), just in time for the filming of the Newsboys’ original movie, “Down Under the Big Top”.
Then John James was voted off the island—actually, he just decided headed back to Australia to spend more time with his wife and children. Perhaps the space suits and UFOs from the former tour had worn him through. Whatever the reason, Duncan took the drums, forcing Peter to the front. “Step Up to the Microphone” was recorded in 1998, soon after the changes, and it was the first record in several years to be done without the help of Steve Taylor. They went on tour and filmed “One Night in Pennsylvania”.
By some stroke of genius, or perhaps a bolt of lightning struck the bus, the band created “Love Liberty Disco”. They went on a tour in an inflatable air dome with a circular stage, 100 pound disco ball, and other assorted insanities. Then one of the disco balls tried to smush Peter into a Peter Furler Pancake while in Oklahoma. He managed to finish the song he was on before being rushed to the hospital.
The band decided to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth, so three of them had children, each a year apart. All girls. Phil and Jody both decided to release solo albums during these years, resulting in “Watching Over You” and “Jody Davis” respectively. Peter and Wes opened a record company named Inpop Records, which Phil signed to. God threw a dodge ball at the band when Jody’s little one-month old, Bethany, stopped breathing and was rushed to the hospital. She was kept in intensive care for a month before being released. Her health remained unstable.
The band put out, “Shine: the Hits” and re-released their “One Night in Pennsylvania” movie on DVD during all this. They opened “Festival Con Dios” in 2001, an event that would last for three years.
In 2002, newsboys released “Thrive” and filmed a DVD of their release show at the Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. While touring for that album they released “Newsboys: Remixed”. Phil also released his second solo album, “Bring it On.”
After arguing with Sparrow Records and losing horribly, the band reluctantly began work on their fastest selling album to date, “Adoration: the Worship Album”. Shortly after the release, Jody left the band to take care of his daughter, Bethany. He and his wife moved to Yuma, Arizona. Taking his place was Bryan Olesen, a member of a band named Casting Pearls, who Peter had been interested in adding to the Inpop roster. While Bryan continued to live in Lincoln, Nebraska to be near his own band, he worked closely with the Newsboys.
Then came round two of Newsbabies. In 2004, Phil, Duncan, and Bryan each were blessed with a child. This time Duncan was the only one with a girl.
“Devotion” rolled out in 2004 and the band went on a tour. Fifteen shows in a row sold out. The next year newsboys began a lot of international traveling, including a show in Marrakesh, Morocco and one in Jerusalem, Israel. They signed to Inpop Records, and Phil and his wife began a new ministry named “Deliberate People”. Phil independently put out a third album with that name, which he re-released nationally on Indelible Records September 12th, 2006. The band also opened a fan club called “The Breakfast Club.”
When the beginning of 2006 flew in, Bryan flew the coop to devote his time to now Inpop-signed Casting Pearls. Paul Colman was dragged out to coffee with Peter, supposedly to die a horrific death, and was instead offered a job. He took the job and began during the 2006 Winterjam Tour.
The latest newsboys record, “Go”, released Halloween, 2006, and was followed by a world tour. The album had a multitude of release dates: October 25th, 2005; February 2006; June 20th, 2006; September 2006; and November 21st, 2006.
The band still says that the best is yet to come.