''Oingo Boingo'' is the debut EP by American new wave band

Oingo Boingo 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 ye ...

, released in 1980.

Background

The EP was originally recorded as a promotional record—known as the ''Demo EP''—distributed by the band on 10-inch vinyl prior to being signed by a record label. It was largely produced by Michael Boshears, with the exception of "Only a Lad," produced by Jo Julian. It was limited to 130 copies, each sleeve hand-painted by the band's team. The Demo EP and EP logos were designed by Charlie Unkeless. Sean Riley brought his artistic talents, and they collectively painted the covers using airbrushes, stencils, water sprayers, and mesh bags. They were able to create 130 separate signed and numbered covers. The EP was then picked up by

I.R.S. Records I.R.S. Records was an American record label founded by Miles Copeland III, Jay Boberg, and Carl Grasso in 1979. I.R.S. produced some of the most popular bands of the 1980s, and was particularly known for issuing records by college rock, new wave ...

and released publicly as the ''Oingo Boingo'' EP, with the track "Forbidden Zone" (recorded for the then-unreleased movie of the same name) replaced by a

ska Ska (; ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a walki ...

-inflected cover of

Willie Dixon William James Dixon (July 1, 1915January 29, 1992) was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was proficient in playing both the upright bass and the guitar, and sang with a distinctive voice, but he ...

's "Violent Love". An edited version of "Forbidden Zone" was later released on the film's soundtrack album, but the complete original recording, as included on the ''Demo EP'', has never been re-released. ''Oingo Boingo'' was initially issued on 10-inch vinyl, but later reissued on 12-inch vinyl and cassette. The reissue replaced "Ain't This the Life" with a new recording. The song "Only a Lad" was subsequently re-recorded for the band's first album, ''

Only a Lad ''Only a Lad'' is the full-length debut album by American new wave band Oingo Boingo, released in 1981, following their self-titled EP. Composition Music The album's musical arrangements, by vocalist Danny Elfman and guitarist Steve Bartek, com ...

'' (1981). The cover features an illustration of a cat by artist

Louis Wain Louis William Wain (5 August 1860 – 4 July 1939) was an English artist best known for his drawings, which consistently featured anthropomorphized large-eyed cats and kittens. Later in life, he was confined to mental institutions and struggle ...

Track listing

All songs written by Danny Elfman, except "Violent Love", by

. Side one #Only a Lad – 4:18 #Violent Love – 2:38 Side two #Ain't This the Life – 3:30 #I'm So Bad – 3:56

Personnel

Oingo Boingo *

Danny Elfman Daniel Robert Elfman (born May 29, 1953) is an American film composer, singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the singer-songwriter for the new wave band Oingo Boingo in the early 1980s. Since the 1990s, Elfman has garnered internation ...

– lead vocals *

Steve Bartek Steve Bartek (born January 30, 1952, in Garfield Heights, Ohio) is an American guitarist, film composer, conductor, and orchestrator. He is best known as the lead guitarist in the band Oingo Boingo and for his orchestration work with composer Da ...

– guitars *Kerry Hatch – bass guitar *Johnny "Vatos" Hernandez – drums *Leon Schneiderman – baritone and alto saxophones * Sam "Sluggo" Phipps – tenor and soprano saxophones *

Dale Turner Dale Turner may refer to: * Dale Turner (cricketer), Australian cricketer * Dale Turner (trumpeter), American trumpet player with the American new wave band Oingo Boingo * Dale Turner (songwriter) Dale Turner is an American singer-songwriter, ...

– trumpet, trombone Additional musicians *David Eagle – drums (12-inch version of "Ain't This the Life") Technical *Michael Boshears – producer, engineer; mixing ("Only a Lad") *Jo Julian – producer ("Only a Lad")

References

{{Boingo 1980 debut EPs Oingo Boingo EPs I.R.S. Records EPs