Three things you probably already know about Oingo Boingo: it’s the 80s new wave band masterminded by lauded film score (and Simpson theme song!) composer Danny Elfman; they wrote the hit sond “Dead Man’s Party” and appeared performing it in the Rodney Dangerfield flick Back to School; and they wrote the theme song for Weird Science.
We’re guessing you may have missed this video from their not at all lauded 1982 sophmore album Nothing to Fear. As much as that album was panned critically “Private Life” was a stand out track. The band made a typically quirky video which didn’t get much play - they were mostly ignored by MTV until the video for “Nothing Bad Ever Happens” from their next album came around. I mean, MTV already had one Devo at that point so what were they going to do with a group of dudes from L.A. who formed to record the soundtrack for a John Waters movie?
At any rate, while watching this video do note Elfman’s stage make-up and theatrical presentation - before he formed Oingo Boingo he studied theater and symphony in France.
