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Do any of you think there is a relation between the movie and the song? I’ve been listening to “Clowns of Death” and then just caught Batman Returns on tv, and I thought there might be some kind of a connection – they have similar imagery (especially in the last verse of the song and the Penguin’s plot to kidnap all the first born children sleeping in their beds). Bat. Returns was released in 1992 (according to this site), but I couldn’t find the date for the album that “Clowns of Death” was released on. Any ideas?
you’re meddling in things that shouldn’t be meddled with…
“Clowns of Death” wasn’t released until Farewell.
But… I think they had been playing it live well before Batman Returns came out and I also think Oingo Boingo was performing as The Clowns of Death in clubs around LA long before the movie.
Clowns are really scary! I think the imagery creates itself.-beth
Yup, Boingo performed as COD waaaaaaaaaaay before the movies. Pre-Pee-wee even.
The earliest version of the song that I have though coincides with the release of the last studio album (the one they cleverly did not title, but put their abbriviated name on confusing everyone into thinking that was the title and raising controversy over the dropping of oingo at the same time the horns disappeared) It’s a June 94 performance.
Jed the Fish references COD as a band name in the 83 US Fest intro. There’s an ’84 show at Reseda Country Club with the boys billed as COD that is floating around out there.
If anyone has any other performances as COD or earlier than 94 performances of the song COD, I’d love to know.
But it wasn’t commercially released until Farewell, right?
I know there are live recordings out there, but are there any studio versions?
-beth
it was just speculation i was completely uncertain about… that’s why I asked you guys – to help straighten it out!
Farewell was a live recording too, just an “official” one is all.
I’m pretty sure there is a Clowns of Death demo, but no, don’t think it was ever done full force studio.
Back to the original question though of if there was a connection between the song and the movie… I think it’s just that in some ways, Burton and Elfman think a lot alike. I won’t be so rude as to say they share a brain, but there may be a telepathic connection at least.
Plus it’s not entirely original to play on the whole parodox that soemthing that’s supposed to make people laugh scares the doodey out of a lot of people. “It” and “Killer Clowns from Outer Space” come to mind. I know there are tons of others too, but those popped in my head first.
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