Dead Man's Party
Studio album by
Oingo Boingo
ReleasedOctober 28, 1985
RecordedApril–August 1985
StudioSunset Sound Factory (Hollywood)
Genre
Length41:00
LabelMCA
ProducerDanny Elfman, Steve Bartek
Oingo Boingo chronology
So-Lo
(1984)		 Dead Man's Party
(1985)		 Boi-ngo
(1987)
Singles from Dead Man's Party
  1. "Weird Science"
    Released: 1985
  2. "Just Another Day"
    Released: January 28, 1986
  3. "Dead Man's Party"
    Released: April 29, 1986
  4. "Stay"
    Released: 1986

Dead Man's Party is the fifth album by American new wave band Oingo Boingo, released in 1985. The album contains the only two singles by the band to chart on the Billboard Hot 100: "Weird Science" at number 45, and "Just Another Day" at number 85.[1]

The album cover art is an homage to the Mexican holiday Día de Los Muertos.

Composition

Elfman stated that he wrote the album's lead single, "Weird Science", spontaneously in his car, after receiving a call from director John Hughes 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 [the band's] repertoire".[2]

In film and television

"Just Another Day" was featured as the opening theme for the 1985 film That Was Then... This Is Now.

The title track appears in the 1986 film Back to School.[3] It has also appeared in episodes of Chuck, Scorpion and Stranger Things.

"No One Lives Forever" appears in the Cannon Group films The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986) and Down Twisted (1987). It was later used in Casper: A Spirited Beginning (1997) and as the theme for the October 29, 2010 episode of Rachael Ray.

The song "Stay" became a hit in Brazil and was used as the theme song for the Brazilian telenovela Top Model, which increased the popularity of the band in that country and resulted in a Brazilian compilation album, Stay. It was also featured in Donnie Darko: The Director's Cut (2001),[4] as well as in Any Questions for Ben? (2012).

In addition to its appearance in the film of the same name, "Weird Science" was used again as the theme to the television series on the USA Network.

Reissue

In 2021, Rubellan Remasters issued a remastered version of Dead Man's Party on CD with seven bonus tracks.[5]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Danny Elfman

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Just Another Day"5:14
2."Dead Man's Party"6:23
3."Heard Somebody Cry"4:39
4."No One Lives Forever"4:16
Side two
No.TitleLength
1."Stay"3:39
2."Fool's Paradise"4:36
3."Help Me"3:47
4."Same Man I Was Before"3:26
5."Weird Science"6:10
Total length:41:00

2021 CD bonus tracks

No.TitleLength
10."Take Your Medicine"4:31
11."Just Another Day (Single Version)"4:01
12."Dead Man's Party (Short Version)"3:48
13."Weird Science (Single Version)"3:50
14."Stay (Stay Late Mix)"6:00
15."Dead Man's Party (Party 'Til You're Dead Mix)"8:36
16."Weird Science (Extended Dance Version)"6:30

Charts

Chart (1985–1986) Position
US Billboard 200 95
Australia (Kent Music Report)[6] 65

Personnel

Oingo Boingo

  • Danny Elfman – vocals, rhythm guitar
  • John Avila – bass guitars, vocals
  • Steve Bartek – guitars
  • Mike Bacich – keyboards
  • John Hernandez – drums, percussion
  • Sam Phipps – tenor saxophone
  • Leon Schneiderman – baritone saxophone, alto saxophone
  • Dale Turner – 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

  1. ↑ "Oingo Boingo | Billboard". Billboard. Archived from the original on 2017-11-16.
  2. ↑ "Danny Elfman on Oingo Boingo, film scores, and the Beatles almost ruining Batman". The A.V. Club. 27 October 2014.
  3. ↑ "Dead Man's Party by Oingo Boingo". Songfacts.
  4. ↑ Furn, Daniel (May 29, 2022). "The music of Donnie Darko: 20 years of the cult classic soundtrack". Radio Times. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
  5. ↑ Duquette, Mike (July 1, 2021). "It's a Dead Man's Party: Rubellan Plans CD, Vinyl Reissues for Oingo Boingo". The Second Disc. Retrieved August 19, 2021.
  6. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 222. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
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