Dead Man's Party (album)

Dead Man's Party is the fifth album by American new wave band Oingo Boingo, released in 1985 by MCA Records. 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 was the band's first to be certified gold for sales of 500,000 units.^[2] The album cover art is an homage to the Mexican holiday Día de Los Muertos.

Dead Man's Party
Studio album by Oingo Boingo
Released	October 28, 1985
Recorded	April–August 1985
Studio	Sunset Sound Factory (Hollywood)
Genre	New wave ska pop
Length	41:45
Label	MCA
Producer	Danny Elfman, Steve Bartek
Oingo Boingo chronology
So-Lo (1984) Dead Man's Party (1985) Boi-ngo (1987)
Singles from Dead Man's Party
"Weird Science" Released: 1985 "Just Another Day" Released: January 28, 1986 "Dead Man's Party / Stay" Released: April 29, 1986 "Stay / Heard Somebody Cry" Released: 1986

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".^[3]

Reissue

In 2021, Rubellan Remasters issued a remastered version of Dead Man's Party on CD with seven bonus tracks.^[4]

Track listing

Side one

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Just Another Day"	5:10
2.	"Dead Man's Party"	6:17
3.	"Heard Somebody Cry"	4:40
4.	"No One Lives Forever"	4:13

All tracks are written by Danny Elfman.

Side two

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Stay"	3:35
2.	"Fool's Paradise"	4:33
3.	"Help Me"	3:44
4.	"Same Man I Was Before"	3:23
5.	"Weird Science"	6:10
Total length:		41:45

2021 CD bonus tracks

No.	Title	Length
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)[5]	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. Willman, Chris (May 15, 1994). "Back to Boingo". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
3. "Danny Elfman on Oingo Boingo, film scores, and the Beatles almost ruining Batman". The A.V. Club. 27 October 2014.
4. 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.
5. 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.