Song:Weird Science
Album:Best O' Boingo
The theme from the 1985 film Weird Science was the biggest hit for Oingo Boingo. Though in their early days Oingo Boingo was praised for being quirky and offbeat, it wasn't until they embraced a more commercial sound that they had success in the mid-80s. They started out in 1972 as the Los Angeles street theater group The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo founded by Richard Elfman. His brother Danny Elfman joined in 1974. He turned them into a band and shortened the name to Oingo Boingo. Guitarist Steve Bartek joined in 1976. Elfman wrote all the songs. Bartek wrote the arrangements. They started out performing all kinds of music. Elfman turned them into a new wave band in 1979. A 1980 EP got them a deal with I.R.S. Records and the single Only a Lad was played on Los Angeles new wave radio station KROQ. Mainstream commercial success would be more elusive. After three acclaimed but unsuccessful albums on A&M, Elfman considered disbanding Oingo Boingo. Instead he signed with MCA and decided the band's music would be more commercial. At this point, Oingo Boingo was Elfman, Bartek and session musicians. The album Dead Man's Party was released in 1985. The video for the theme from the 1985 film Weird Science went into heavy rotation on MTV. It reached #45 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album was certified Gold. After Weird Science director and writer John Hughes called him, Elfman wrote the song in his head while driving home. And once he got home, he recorded a demo. He says he hates the video. But I guess the bottom line is it was successful. One would think that this would launch Oingo Boingo into the mainstream. But this was when Elfman and Bartek scored the 1985 film Pee Wee's Big Adventure. And that led to scoring all of Tim Burton's films. Elfman is one of today's most successful composers. Oingo Boingo took a back seat to that and eventually split up in 1995. This comp is a good intro to their music. Here's the video for Weird Science by Oingo Boingo.
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