Oingo Boingo was an American new wave band. They are best known for their influence on other musicians, their soundtrack contributions, and their high energy Halloween concerts. The band was founded in 1972 as The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo, a performance art group. From 1976 it 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-influenced New Wave octet and shortened their name to Oingo Boingo. Towards the... end of the 1980s, the band began shifting to a more guitar-oriented rock sound, and away from the use of horns and synthesizers. The band retired after a sold out farewell concert on Halloween 1995. 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.
more
| Career began: | 1972 |
| Career ended: | October 31, 1995 |
| Members: | Danny Elfman, William Winant, Matthew Bright, Warren Fitzgerald, Richard Gibbs, Bruce Fowler, Steve Bartek, Leon Schneiderman, Dale Turner, Kerry Hatch, Johnny "Vatos" Hernandez, Sam "Sluggo" Phipps, Richard Elfman |
| Hometown: | Los Angeles |
| Also known as: | The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo, Boingo, Ooingo Boingo |