Oingo Boingo

            Oingo Boingo began as a musical troupe in the 70s, became a pop band in 1980 and disbanded in 1995. They made Halloween their own and had a loyal cult following in Southern California, where the band originated, though they never quite caught on in the rest of the country. Although their songs are featured in several movies from the 80s, they never became mainstream garnering only one Top 40 single and one gold album.

Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo:

            The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo were formed in 1972, incorporating music as well as theatrics into their act. They performed in various venues, primarily in Southern California and a few bootleg audio recordings are floating around. Probably the highlight of the group during their early days was winning The Gong Show in 1976. However, their performance of the soundtrack for the movie The Forbidden Zone would have longer lasting implications in launching lead singer/songwriter Danny Elfman’s film score composing career.

Oingo Boingo:

            The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo became a pop band in 1980 with the release of their four song EP simply titled Oingo Boingo. The group also chose this to be their name, dropping the “mystic knights” part. Their first full-length album Only a Lad, was released in 1981. The title cut had also been featured on their EP. With their first album, Oingo Boingo set some precedents that would define the band in the years to come including political/social satire/commentary and the horn section. The eccentricity, which has become the standard description of Oingo Boingo, did not really show itself until their follow-up album, Nothing to Fear, in 1982. Dead Man’s Party was the album that put Oingo Boingo on the map, relatively speaking. The title cut, "Just Another Day" and the theme to the movie Weird Science (their only Top 40 hit) were Oingo Boingo’s biggest hits and helped the album go gold. Oingo Boingo was not able to duplicate the success of Dead Man’s Party although they continued to release albums until the mid-90s.

Disbanding:

            Oingo Boingo decided to disband in 1995. Their farewell concert was held appropriately enough on Halloween in Los Angeles (Universal Amphitheater). After 17 years, the group decided to go their separate ways. Several members had their own side bands and Danny Elfman/Steve Bartek had their film compositions/orchastrations. Most ska bands list Oingo Boingo as a major influence on them as well as other bands today who choose to be not quite mainstream/a little quirky. If there was a band that showed you did not have to have strings of number 1 hits or platinum albums to be influentional, it is Oingo Boingo.

Discography:

Oingo Boingo EP (1979)
Only a Lad (1980)
Nothing to Fear (1982)
Good for Your Soul (1983)
Dead Man's Party (1985)
Boi-ngo (1987)
Boingo Alive: Celebration of a Decade 1979-1988 (1988)
Best of Oingo Boingo: Skeletons in the Closet(1989)
Dark At The End Of The Tunnel (1990)
Best O' Boingo (1991)
Boingo(1994)
Farewell: Live from the Universal Amphitheatre(1995)
Anthology(1999)
20th Century Masters: Millennium Collection(2002)