Deathtöngue

Heavy metal band started in Bloom County by Steve Dallas, featuring:

• Bill the Cat aka "'Wild' Bill Catt" - Electric tongue
• Hodge-Podge - Drums
• Opus aka "Opus Croakus" - Rhythm tuba
• Steve Dallas - Guitars, lead vocals

Reaction to their early singles, such as "Demon Drooler in the Sewer," "Guillotine Your Parents," and "Clearasil Messiah" was, shall we say, less than overwhelming, and, in a subsequent congressional hearing, Dallas abruptly changed the group's name to "Billy and the Boingers." While making the other band members unhappy, it didn't help their careers any; their one world tour only made it to Albuquerque, New Mexico. Finally, the band achieved some small success when Nabisco bought the rights to the song "U Stink But I ♥ U" and turned it into a cracker jingle.

It's safe to say that the band won't be profiled on VH-1 Behind The Music anytime soon.

Source: Berke Breathed, Classics of Western Literature: Bloom County 1986-1989

Since these songs are almost always mentioned in pairs, it wasn't hard to compile them all into a complete account of the singles and B-sides cut during this band's meteoric ascent to fame (and descent to the dandilion patch). Thus, the relocated discography:

• "Demon Drooler of the Sewer" single released with "Leper Lover" as B-side - peaked at Number 1,012 on the top 100
• Pimples from Hell EP: "Pimples from Heck" and "Clearisil Messiah"
• "Skateboarding to Satan" / "Guillotine Your Parents" B-side
• "Let's Run Over Lionel Ritchie With A Tank" with "Let's Guillotine Grandpa (and Dunk Grandma in the Soup)" as a B-side
• "Rudolph the Red Nosed Headbanger" / "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus so I Blew Him Away" 7-inch Christmas 1986 single
• "Heck's Bells" / "Love Rhino"
• "Hari Kari for Barry" / "Pimples from Heck" (bootleg, live, Dr. Scholl's Odor Eaters World Tour, April 10th, 1987, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 49th Annual Moose Lodge Banquet in the Hiawatha Room at Motel 6.)
• "Deathtöngue (The Devil Rises Tonight)" / "Skateboarding to Satan"
• "U Stink But I ♥ U" / "I'm a Boinger" (Billy and the Boingers bootleg)

On the flexidisc that came with each copy of the Billy and the Boingers Bootleg trade paperback (or, at least, came with the first edition), the song U Stink But I ♥ U was performed by the band Mucky Pup, and the song I'm A Boinger was performed by The Harry Pitts Band.

The 'liner notes' provided for the flexidisc appear to be a parody of the liner notes for Metallica's Master of Puppets. A comparison:

Billy and the Boingers Bootleg -

THANX TO: Milo B. (Don't worry, we'll replaster the basement...Awright!), Larry at Central leather and stud boutique, Esther at International Crabby Management (Kiss my principal tuckus, Victoria, eh?), Bill "Party Pony" Dickinson, Goober at Dino's Guitar Mart; also xtra freakin' yahooz to Don "Metalmaniac" Graham (Gummibears! Gummibears!), Lee "Clone Drone" Salem (We know wats in YER Anxiety closet!), Michael HoBO Fuchs (Bill ze Cat is comin to tinkle in yer dish!), Katie Mack...thanx fer the smiles and the groovy gams, babe. And thanks to the faithful Boingers Metalbashers who bought our last record. All 37 of you.
ROCK N' ROLL ROYALTIES FOREVER BABEEEE!

Excerpts* from Master of Puppets

THANX TO:...Andy "Lick my Syphilletic Piles" Battye...Russel "You're on glue, Mon" Majors...Joni (Get Receipts!)... Armored Saint (Handcuffs?!!)...Xtra special Yahoo to Mark W. (Gummibears!)...and Thanks to the faithful Bay Area Metallibashers...Also xtra fucken yahooz to...

I think you get the point.

Also, the bit about "rock n' roll royalties forever" in the Boingers notes seems a bit prescient of Metallica's later behavior in re Napster.

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*Due to the length of the liner notes and Metallica's tendency to be, uh, "overprotective" of their work.