Oingo Boingo
| Oingo Boingo | |
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| Background information | |
| Also known as | The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo Clowns of Death Mosley & The B-Men Boingo |
| Origin | Los Angeles, United States |
| Genres | New wave,ska |
| Years active | 1972–95 |
| Labels | I.R.S., A&M, MCA, Giant |
| Associated acts | Doug & The Mystics, Food for Feet, Psychotic Aztecs, Tito & Tarantula |
| Past members | Leon Schneiderman Dale Turner Sam "Sluggo" Phipps Danny Elfman Steve Bartek John "Vatos" Hernandez Josh Gordon Kerry Hatch Richard Gibbs John Avila Michael Bacich Carl Graves Warren Fitzgerald Doug Lacy Marc Mann Austin "Danger" Hodge |
Oingo Boingo /ˈɔɪŋɡoʊ ˈbɔɪŋɡoʊ/ was an American new wave band, best known for their hits "Dead Man's Party" and "Weird Science". They are noted for their soundtrack contributions and high energy Halloween concerts, as well as their mixture of styles, including ska, pop, rock, and world music. The band was founded in 1972 as The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo, a performance art group. The band was led by songwriter/vocalist Danny Elfman, who has since achieved success as a composer for film and television.
The group's format changed twice. In 1979, it reshaped from a semi-theatrical music and comedy troupe into a ska-influencednew wave octet and shortened their name to Oingo Boingo. In 1994 the band shortened their name again to Boingo, following a shift away from the use of horns and synthesizers in favor of more guitar-oriented rock that began in the late 1980s. The band retired after a farewell concert on Halloween 1995, for which they reverted to their earlier style and to the name Oingo Boingo.
The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo, formed in late 1972 by Richard Elfman, was a musical theater troupe in the tradition of Spike Jones and Frank Zappa, performing an eclectic repertoire ranging from Cab Calloway covers to instrumentals in the style of Balinese gamelan and Russian ballet music. The name was inspired by a fictional secret society on the Amos 'n' Andy TV series called The Mystic Knights of the Sea. Most of the members performed in whiteface and clown makeup, and a typical show contained music ranging from the 1890s to the 1950s, in addition to original material. This version of the band employed as many as 15 musicians at any given time, playing over 30 instruments, including some instruments built by bandmembers. While this Richard Elfman-led incarnation of the group performed live, it did not issue any recordings.
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