Featured Artist: Peter Furler
Peter Furler was born in Mclaren Vale, South Australia back in 1966, the third of six children. Peter formed the band Newsboys in 1985 with friends George Perdikis, Sean Taylor and John James. Furler was originally the band's drummer but became their lead singer after the departure of John James 1997.
In 1994, following various lineup changes, Newsboys released their fifth album 'Going Public' which went on to win a Dove Award for Rock Album of the Year and produced three number 1 hits including 'Shine' which won the 1995 Dove for Rock Recorded Song of the Year and was listed by CCM Magazine in the top ten of the 100 Greatest Songs in Christian music.
As well as being part of the successful band, Peter Furler with Dale Bray and Wes Campbell founded Inpop Records, an independent contemporary Christian music record label which signed artists such as Tree63 and Ian Eskelin.
After two decades of touring with Newsboys, following multiple Grammy nominations and Dove awards, sales of five RIAA Certified Gold records, over 7 millions albums sales and 25 Number 1 hits, Peter Furler stepped down as front man of the Newsboys, handing over the reigns to new front man Michael Tait.
Since leaving one of the biggest bands in the world what did he decide to do? "I didn't have a clue what I was doing next, and [I] loved that," Peter says. "I'd been doing 100+ shows a year, writing, then finishing a record for more than a decade. It was good, but it was a merry-go-round that was never going to stop." Peter explains. "I had a definite yearning to get back to nature, to express myself creatively, to do something just for the joy of it."
This month Peter Furler releases his debut solo album On Fire. Producing all the tracks with Seth Mosley (Me In Motion), Furler and Mosley also traded parts playing most of the instrumentation heard on the album, but also bring in Furler's long-time collaborator, Steve Taylor, as well as John Painter (Flemming and John), Jimmy Abegg (Ragamuffin Band) and fellow former Newsboys member Phil Joel. British Christian DJ Andy Hunter brings his brilliant programming on the songs 'Psalm 23' and the bonus track, 'Water To Wine'.
The Peter Furler story has had many different chapters, but this new solo chapter looks like being his most intriguing yet.
