Although frequently likened to Devo across their run because of shared tastes for eccentric new wave sounds, theatrical stage antics, and singularly memorable group monikers, Oingo Boingo never matched the broader commercial breakthrough achieved by their counterparts. They did, however, cultivate a fiercely loyal audience, particularly within their native Los Angeles. The ensemble did not begin as a conventional band; instead, film director Richard Elfman assembled its core in the 1970s to supply music for his surreal, John Waters-inspired project Forbidden Zone. He recruited younger brother Danny Elfman on vocals and guitar, Steve Bartek on guitar, and drummer Johnny “Vatos” Hernandez. Initially billed as the Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo, the outfit shortened its name to Oingo Boingo in 1979. Eager to perform before the film wrapped, the musicians took to stages around Los Angeles, where an expanding lineup helped them attract a sizable following among the local punk and new wave crowds. Danny’s prior years in France, spent with a theater collective and studying orchestral composition, lent the group a distinctive stylistic range that set it apart both sonically and visually from other area acts.
When the Forbidden Zone soundtrack finally appeared in 1980, it captured the group’s unruly musical energy and marked their first official release. That same year they issued the four-track 10 Inch EP on IRS Records, by which point their sound and presentation had become far more streamlined. A subsequent deal with A&M Records yielded several notable early-eighties new wave albums: Only a Lad in 1981, whose title track gained traction on influential L.A. station KROQ; Nothing to Fear in 1982; and Good for Your Soul in 1983, which produced the early MTV favorite “Nothing Bad Ever Happens.” Even as live shows and recordings drew on numerous supporting players, Danny Elfman stayed the clear creative center, finding time in 1984 to release the solo album So Lo. The move to MCA quickly proved advantageous: 1985’s Dead Man’s Party became their biggest commercial success and eventually earned gold certification in the United States, the band made a cameo in the Rodney Dangerfield comedy Back to School, and they contributed the theme song to John Hughes’s teen film Weird Science.
Further efforts such as 1987’s Boi-ngo, 1988’s Boingo Alive, 1990’s Dark at the End of the Tunnel, and 1994’s Boingo failed to replicate that chart momentum yet preserved the group’s dedicated cult following. Meanwhile, during the mid- to late eighties Danny formed a close working relationship with director Tim Burton, beginning a steady stream of film scores that included Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure, Beetlejuice, Big Top Pee Wee, Batman, Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Mars Attacks!, Sleepy Hollow, and the Planet of the Apes remake. As a result, Elfman emerged as one of Hollywood’s most sought-after composers, earning Grammy, Golden Globe, Emmy, and Oscar nominations for his work across numerous films and television projects. With his attention now centered on scoring, Oingo Boingo disbanded in 1995 following a farewell concert at Los Angeles’s Universal Amphitheatre; the performance was later issued as the CD and video Farewell. Additional retrospectives arrived in the form of 1992’s Best O’ Boingo and the 1999 double-disc Anthology, while two collections of Elfman’s screen music appeared as Music for a Darkened Theater, Vol. 1: Film & Television Music in 1990 and Music for a Darkened Theater, Vol. 2: Film & Television Music in 1996.
