Musician Jeremy McCoy Discusses Allegations Against Michael Tait

Studio and tour musician Jeremy McCoy has recently come forward, claiming familiarity with what he calls the “cocaine benders” of Michael Tait, the former frontman of Newsboys. McCoy expressed his choice to overlook these issues.

Having played bass for various notable artists and bands, including The Fray and One Republic, McCoy shared details about Tait’s alleged drug use during the recording of the 2010 Newsboys album Born Again. At that time, McCoy was brought on to play bass for the song “Save Your Life,” but Tait was absent when it came time for the vocals.

“The following week, the producer told me Michael was off on another one of his cocaine benders, disappearing for a few days,” McCoy recalled.

Despite Tait’s troubling behavior, McCoy noted that former Newsboys singers received leniency from management. Tait, for instance, was credited as a writer on the song “The Enemy,” which appeared in the band’s 2013 release Reboot. McCoy mentioned that he and two co-writers were the original authors of this track.

“When the label reached out for my writer info, they mentioned the writing credit would be split,” he explained. “I said Tait wasn’t the writer, but they told me he claimed he was.”

This situation caused the royalties to be divided four ways instead of three.

“I never got any response from the label, and Tait ended up taking 25% of the song’s credits,” McCoy stated.

Additionally, McCoy described how the final version of the song utilized his original demo, yet Tait had recreated the vocals for the studio version.

“We were shocked when we got the finished track—it was essentially just our demo, but it didn’t give us any recognition,” McCoy said. “I insisted they at least credit my co-writer, Fred.”

With 26 years in the Christian music scene under his belt, McCoy expressed disbelief at how the industry’s players seemed unaware of Tait’s actions.

“I don’t know anyone in the industry who hasn’t heard about him. It’s unrealistic for these enablers to pretend they didn’t know what was happening. It’s frustrating,” he said, acknowledging the broader problem in the Christian music industry.

In June, Tait admitted to living a double life in a statement released by Dctalk. He faced multiple allegations of sexual misconduct after various victims came forward, including one woman who claimed Tait had assaulted her after administering medication without her consent.

Newsboys’ management, including Wes Campbell, has categorically denied any claims of awareness regarding Tait’s behavior. Tait himself has also refuted these allegations when confronted.

Meanwhile, Christian songwriter Corey Asbury remarked on social media that it seemed everyone was aware of Tait’s misconduct after the allegations surfaced, raising concerns about the authenticity of various artists in the industry.