Oingo Boingo () was an American new wave band formed by songwriter Danny Elfman in 1979. The band emerged from a surrealist musical theatre troupe, The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo, that Elfman had led and written material for in the years previous. Their highest-charting song, "Weird Science", reached No. 45 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
Oingo Boingo were known for their high-energy live concerts and experimental music, which can be described as combining elements of music such as art, punk, ska, rock, pop, jazz, and world, amongst other genres. The band's body of work spanned 17 years, with various genre and line-up changes. Their best-known songs include "Only a Lad", "Little Girls", "Dead Man's Party" and "Weird Science".
The band had experienced multiple line-up changes, with Leon Schneiderman and Dale Turner being the band's only constant members, though Sam Phipps, Danny Elfman, Steve Bartek, and John "Vatos" Hernandez had also been with the band for most of their history. As a rock band, Oingo Boingo started as a ska and punk-influenced new wave octet, achieving significant popularity in Southern California. During the mid-1980s, the band adopted a more pop-oriented style, until a significant genre change to alternative rock in 1994. At that point, the name was shortened to simply Boingo and the keyboard and horn section were dropped. The band retired after a farewell concert on Halloween 1995, for which they reverted to the name Oingo Boingo and readopted the horn section.
History
The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo (1972–1979)
The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo began as a street theater troupe in Los Angeles, founded by Richard Elfman. The name was inspired by a fictional secret society on the Amos 'n' Andy TV series called The Mystic Knights of the Sea. The earliest version of the band employed as many as 15 performers at any given time, playing over 30 instruments, including some instruments built by band members.
Richard's brother Danny Elfman joined the band in 1974 and later became its leader. The group gradually moved away from its street theater origins and transformed into a dedicated musical theater act. The group performed an eclectic repertoire, ranging from Cab Calloway covers to instrumentals in the style of Balinese gamelan and Russian ballet music and, later, original songs by Danny Elfman. Guitarist Steve Bartek joined in 1976 as musical co-director. That year, the troupe appeared on the TV talent contest program The Gong Show, which they won.
I.R.S. and A&M years (1979–1984)
In 1979, Danny Elfman reformed the group as a dedicated rock band, under the new name Oingo Boingo, at which point most existing members left. Steve Bartek and a brass trio of Dale Turner, Sam "Sluggo" Phipps, and Leon Schneiderman continued with the new band. Various reasons were given for the restart as a rock band, notably Danny's emerging musical interests, and reducing the need for transportation and set-up of multiple stage sets and props. Elfman stated the shift was inspired by ska revival bands such as the Specials, Madness, and the Selecter, new wave bands like XTC, Devo, and Fun Boy Three, as well as the "energy and speed" of punk.
For some early gigs during the reformation, the band used the shortened name The Mystic Knights – in the animated short Face Like a Frog, by Sally Cruikshank, the song "Don't Go in the Basement" is credited to that name. The name Oingo Boingo was settled on in 1979, at which point their early song "I'm Afraid" appeared on the Rhino Records Los Angeles rock and new wave "up and coming" compilation, L.A. In.
That same year, the band self-funded a promo EP record, known as the "Demo EP", for distribution to radio stations and recording industry A&R representatives to help land a contract. The effort paid off, as the record caught the attention of I.R.S. Records, who released a revised version of the EP in 1980: the Oingo Boingo (EP).
The band had now coalesced as an octet: Danny Elfman on lead vocals and rhythm guitar; Steve Bartek on lead guitar; Richard Gibbs on keyboards; Kerry Hatch on bass; Johnny "Vatos" Hernandez on drums; and Leon Schneiderman, Sam "Sluggo" Phipps, and Dale Turner on horns. Early success for the group came in 1980 with the song "Only a Lad" from the eponymous EP. The song aired frequently in Los Angeles on KROQ-FM, and complemented the station's then-unusual new wave format.