Oingo Boingo

Originally calling themselves The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo, the group was founded in Los Angeles, California in 1972 by Richard Elfman. Playing a theatrical, surrealistic, and avant-garde style of music, the group – sometimes 15 members strong – began as a street theater troupe. With the arrival of Richard’s brother Danny Elfman, the group’s music became more focused although they did not play a style of music that could be considered commercial in any way. They began playing a new style of music that mixed big band, world music, rock, and experimental. Richard Elfman left the troupe and became a filmmaker Former Strawberry Alarm Clock guitarist Steve Bartek joined the group in 1976 and, by 1979, Danny Elfman reconfigured the band into a proper ‘new wave’ band and shortened their name to Oingo Boingo. Beginning with the release of the Oingo Boingo EP in 1980, they became one of the most played bands in L.A. With massive support from local new wave radio station KROQ, Oingo Boingo became just as popular in Southern California as British bands like Depeche Mode. Although they didn’t chart, Oingo Boingo received plenty of airplay with songs like “Little Girls” (1981), “Private Life” (1982), “Grey Matter” (1982), and “Nothing Bad Ever Happens to Me” (1983). Their albums Only a Lad (1981), Nothing to Fear (1982), and Good for Your Soul (1983) were strong sellers on the West Coast, but the band were virtually unknown anywhere else. That changed when they signed with MCA Records and scored chart hits with the movie theme song “Weird Science” (1985), “Just Another Day” (1986), and “Dead Man’s Party” (1986). Although their popularity continued to grow on the West Coast of the US, their national success began to wane with albums like Boi-ngo (1987) and Dark at the End of the Tunnel (1990). Danny Elfman decided to shake things up and replaced some members of the band, renamed them Boingo and signed with Giant Records. The album Boingo was much darker and more serious than anything the band had released in the past, which didn’t connect with their audience. In 1995, Elfman announced that the band were going to split after a farewell tour and reverted back to the name Oingo Boingo for one final fling. After the band’s split, Danny Elfman went on to become one of the most successful film composers in the world. Still working alongside Steve Bartek as his arranger, he composed music for both film and television. He returned to rock music decades later but has vowed that Oingo Boingo would never reunite.

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