1st pressing LP available 7/2/2021 - Sold Out!

2nd pressing LP available 3/4/2022 - Sold Out!

3rd pressing LP available 11/04/2022 - Sold Out!

4th pressing LP available 5/16/2023 - Sold Out!

CD available 8/27/2021 - Back in stock!

Before becoming a world-renowned film composer, Danny Elfman fronted the band Oingo Boingo. The group emerged from the surrealistic musical theatre troupe The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo, in which Elfman would eventually become the leader. Reducing from a 15-piece troupe to an 8-piece band, Oingo Boingo was formed in 1979. With a style that initially mixed Punk, Ska, Rock and New Wave, Oingo Boingo stood out from the traditional guitar/bass/drums by incorporating a 3-piece brass section to accompany their quirky, frantic rhythms.

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After a promotional demo EP got them noticed, Oingo Boingo were signed to IRS records who re-released a revised version of the EP on 10" vinyl in 1980. The song Only A Lad received attention by legendary L.A. radio station KROQ, and helped generate a large fan base in southern California. The song was re-recorded and became the title of the debut full length album. Originally released by A&M records in 1981, Only A Lad fit alongside other contemporaries of the day, including Devo and Suburban Lawns, with the high energy, herky-jerky and complex arrangements. The video for the opening track Little Girls was played on MTV and other video shows of the day, bringing further attention due to the subject matter. Elfman has said that much of his early material was written after reading newspaper articles and are presented from a character's point of view. A radical reworking of The Kinks' hit You Really Got Me was edited and planned for a single release, though never materialized. The wacky Nasty Habits displays a rhythm that would become an Elfman trademark, crossing over into his debut film score for the 1985 comedy Pee Wee's Big Adventure.

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Remastered from original master tapes from the Universal Music tape archive, Only A Lad receives its first reissue in over 30 years. Released July 2021, the '40th Anniversary' vinyl edition is initially presented on limited edition colored vinyl in two different variations. The September 2021 CD reissue will see the album expanded to include the debut EP on CD for the first time.

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1. Little Girls
2. Perfect System

3. On The Outside
4. Capitalism
5. You Really Got Me
6. Only A Lad
7. What You See
8. Controller
9. Imposter
10. Nasty Habits

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CD Bonus Tracks:
11. Only A Lad (Original Version)
12. Violent Love
13. Ain't This The Life (10" Version)
14. I'm So Bad
15. Ain't This The Life (12" Version)