Oingo Boingo () was an American rock 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 previously led and written material for. Oingo Boingo was known for their high-energy live concerts and experimental music, which can be described as combining elements of music such as new wave, art, punk, ska, 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", which is also their highest-charting song, reaching No. 45 on the US Billboard Hot 100. The band experienced multiple line-up changes, with Elfman, Leon Schneiderman, Dale Turner, Sam Phipps, Steve Bartek and John "Vatos" Hernandez being the constant members for most of their history. 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 before delving further into rock in 1994. At that point, the name was shortened to simply Boingo...
Extract from Wikipedia: “Oingo Boingo” (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Vinyl
Members
26 people from MusicBrainz
- 1972–1979Marie-Pascale Elfman — lead vocals, original
- 1972–1979Richard Elfman — original, percussion
- 1972–1980Matthew Bright — bass guitar, original
- 1972–1995Leon Schneiderman — alto saxophone, background vocals, baritone saxophone, original, percussion
- 1972–1995Dale Turner — background vocals, guitar, original, percussion, trombone, trumpet
- 1973–1995Sam "Sluggo" Phipps — background vocals, clarinet, flute, percussion, sopranino saxophone, tenor saxophone
- 1974–1995Danny Elfman — guitar, lead vocals, percussion, sitar, trombone, violin
- 1976–1995Steve Bartek — accordion, background vocals, guitar, percussion
- 1978–1995Johnny "Vatos" Hernandez — drums (drum set), percussion
- 1979–1984Kerry Hatch — background vocals, bass guitar, bass synthesizer, percussion
- 1980–1984Richard Gibbs — background vocals, keyboard, percussion, synthesizer, trombone
- 1984–1987Mike Bacich — background vocals, keyboard
- 1984–1995John Avila — accordion, background vocals, bass guitar, bass synthesizer, percussion
- 1988–1991Carl Graves — background vocals, keyboard, synthesizer
- 1994–1995Warren Fitzgerald — guitar
- 1994–1995Doug Lacy — accordion, percussion, trombone
- 1994–1995Marc Mann — keyboard, sampler
- —Bill Folwell
- —Bob Frazier
- —Brad Kay
- —Charlie Unkeless
- —Gene Cunningham — original
- —Jeff Breeh
- —Miriam Cutler
- —Todd Manley
- —William Winant
Discography
48 releases from MusicBrainz · ★ 5 in my collection
Albums (10)
- 1981★Only a Lad
- 1982Nothing to Fear
- 1983★Good for Your Soul
- 1985★Dead Man’s Party
- 1987★BOI-NGO
- 1990Dark at the End of the Tunnel
- 1994★Boingo
- 2010Forbidden Boingo, Volume One
- 2010Forbidden Boingo, Volume Two
- 2010Marching in Time
EPs (3)
- 1979Demo EP
- 1980Oingo Boingo
- 1985Weird Science
Singles (20)
- 1976You Got Your Baby Back
- 1980Ain't This the Life
- 1982Private Life
- 1983Wake Up (It's 1984)
- 1984Bachelor Party
- 1985Just Another Day
- 1985Stay
- 1985Weird Science
- 1985Weird Science
- 1986Pain
- 1986Stay / Dead Man's Party
- 1987Not My Slave
- 1987We Close Our Eyes
- 1989Flesh and Blood
- 1990Out of Control
- 1990Skin
- 1990When the Lights Go Out
- 1994Hey!
- 1994Insanity
- —All the Pieces
More: singles, compilations, live & other releases
Lives (9)
- 1988Boingo Alive
- 199313 January 1993, Universal Amphitheatre, Los Angeles
- 1996Farewell: Live from the Universal Amphitheater
- 1996Selections from Farewell: Live from the Universal Amphitheatre
- 2022On The Line (Live 1985)
- 2023Dance Macabre (Live 1994)
- 2024What Do I Care
- 2025In the Shadows (Live L.A. '84)
- —1980-08-17: Whiskey a Go Go, West Hollywood, CA, USA
Soundtracks (1)
- 1983Forbidden Zone: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Compilations (5)
- 1989Skeletons in the Closet: The Best of Oingo Boingo
- 1990Stay
- 1991Best o’ Boingo
- 1999Anthology
- 200220th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection: The Best of Oingo Boingo