''Dead Man's Party'' is the fifth

album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

by American new wave band

Oingo Boingo Oingo Boingo () was an American new wave music, new wave band formed by songwriter Danny Elfman in 1979. The band emerged from a Surrealism, surrealist musical theatre troupe, The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo, that Elfman had led and wri ...

, released in 1985 by

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc. established in 1972, though MCA had released recordings under that name in the UK from the 1960s. The label achieved success in the 1970s through the 1980s, often by acquiring other ...

. The album contains the only two singles by the band to chart on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100: "

Weird Science Weird Science may refer to: * ''Weird Science'' (film), a 1985 film directed by John Hughes ** ''Weird Science'' (TV series), a television series based on the film ** "Weird Science" (song), the theme song to the film and the TV series by Oingo ...

" at number 45, and "Just Another Day" at number 85. The album was the band's first to be

certified gold Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

for sales of 500,000 units. The album cover art is an homage to the Mexican holiday

Día de Los Muertos The Day of the Dead () is a holiday traditionally celebrated on November 1 and 2, though other days, such as October 31 or November 6, may be included depending on the locality. The multi-day holiday involves family and friends gathering to pa ...

Composition

Elfman stated that he wrote the album's lead single, "

", spontaneously in his car, after receiving a call from director

John Hughes John Hughes may refer to: Arts and Entertainment Literature *John Hughes (poet) (1677–1720), English poet *John Hughes (1790–1857), English author *John Ceiriog Hughes (1832–1887), Welsh poet *John Hughes (writer) (born 1961), Australian au ...

about composing a song for his upcoming film of the same name. The song went on to become the band's most commercially successful single, which Elfman later regretted, as he believed it "just didn't feel like it was really a part of he band'srepertoire". Session outtakes include "Not My Slave" and "New Generation", both of which were released on the band's follow-up album, ''

Boi-Ngo ''Boi-Ngo'' (stylized as ''BOI-NGO'') is the sixth studio album by American new wave music, new wave band Oingo Boingo, released in 1987 by MCA Records. The tracks "Pain", "We Close Our Eyes" and "Not My Slave" were released as singles. Product ...

'', in 1987.

Reissue

In 2021, Rubellan Remasters issued a remastered version of ''Dead Man's Party'' on CD with seven bonus tracks.

Track listing

2021 CD bonus tracks

Charts

Personnel

Oingo Boingo *

Danny Elfman Daniel Robert Elfman (born May 29, 1953) is an American film composer, singer, songwriter, and musician. He came to prominence as the lead vocalist and primary songwriter for the new wave band Oingo Boingo in the early 1980s. Since scoring his ...

– vocals, rhythm guitar * John Avila – bass guitars, vocals * Steve Bartek – guitars * Mike Bacich – keyboards * John Hernandez – drums, percussion *

Sam Phipps Sam "Sluggo" Phipps (born on October 1st, 1953) is an American saxophone player, best known for being a member of the New wave music, new wave band Oingo Boingo. Early life Sam Phipps was born in Los Angeles, California. He played piano and tro ...

– tenor saxophone * Leon Schneiderman – baritone saxophone, alto saxophone *

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), American singer-songwriter, rock musician, and ...

– trumpet, trombone Technical * Danny Elfman – co-producer * Steve Bartek – co-producer * Michael Frondelli – mixing * Bill Jackson – engineer * David Leonard – engineer, mixing ("Weird Science") * Stuart Farusho – second engineer (recording) * Paul Levy – second engineer (recording) * Mike Kloster – second engineer (recording) * Judy Clapp – second engineer (mixing) * Charlie Pakkari – second engineer (mixing) * Laura Engel – studio production assistant * Wally Traugott – mastering * Larry Vigon – art direction, design * Jayme Odgers – art direction, photography * Celeste Williams – clay figure creation

References

{{Authority control 1985 albums Oingo Boingo albums MCA Records albums I.R.S. Records albums Albums produced by Danny Elfman Albums produced by Steve Bartek