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Cover of Oingo Boingo by Oingo Boingo
Cover: Oingo Boingo

Song · Oingo Boingo

“Only a Lad” by Oingo Boingo

From the EP Oingo Boingo (1980)

“Only a Lad” by Oingo Boingo appears on 24 radio countdowns from 6 stations between 1980 and 2023. It was first released in 1980 on the EP Oingo Boingo. Its best result is #6 on the KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1989). In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #11 alternative song of 1980, #743 alternative song of all time and #207 of the '80s.

24countdowns
6stations
#6best position
0#1 finishes
1top 10 finishes
1980–2023years charted

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Only A Lad

Video from YouTube (Oingo Boingo - Topic). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"Only a Lad" comes from Oingo Boingo's self-titled 1980 EP, and it's Danny Elfman's show from start to finish: he wrote the words and music and sings lead with a wild-eyed yelp. Around him the band is a tight, twitchy new wave machine, Steve Bartek on guitar and Kerry Hatch on bass, with a horn section of Sam "Sluggo" Phipps and Leon Schneiderman on saxophones and Dale Turner on trombone punching holes in the rhythm. Jo Julian produced, and Michael Boshears engineered and mixed with Jim Cypherd also engineering. It's nervy, crowded and fast, the sound of a band that already knew exactly how strange it wanted to be.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1980 11 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1980 106
1983 71 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 1983 91
1984 91 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 1984 91

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1988 28 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1988) 496
1988 101 Live 105 Live 105 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1988) 501
1989 35 91X 91X Top 191 Songs of the 1980s (1989) 191
1989 6 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1989) 495
1991 283 Live 105 Live 105 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1991) 302
1992 101 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1992) 500
1992 171 Live 105 Live 105 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1992) 299
1994 83 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1994) 497
1994 263 Live 105 Live 105 Revolutionary 500 (July 1994) 500
1995 166 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1995) 500
1996 249 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1996) 500
1998 211 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1998) 488
1999 253 91X 91X Fat 500 Songs of All-Time (July 1999) 500
1999 382 107.7 The End The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1077
2002 111 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) 2002
2003 75 91X 91X Top 91 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 91
2003 290 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) 2044
2006 426 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2006) 500
2008 475 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2008) 500
2022 59 X96 X96 Top 500 Alternative Songs of All Time 500
2023 15 91X 91X Top 91 Songs of The Last 40 Years 91

Also listed as: Only A Lad.

Charting alongside it in 1980

Best songs of 1980 →
  1. 1And the Cradle Will RockVan Halen
  2. 2Another One Bites the DustQueen
  3. 3Whip ItDevo
  4. 4Don't Stand So Close to MeThe Police
  5. 5Once in a LifetimeTalking Heads
  6. 6You Shook Me All Night LongAC/DC

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