Billy and the Boingers is a fictional heavy metal rock band from the comic strip Bloom County. The band was created by lawyer Steve Dallas during the peak of hair metal's commercial popularity, and originally called Deathtöngue. During congressional hearings on "porn rock," Dallas, being grilled by angry right wingers, completely caved into congressional pressure and announced the band had changed their name and image to the more wholesome "Billy and the Boingers." Heavy metal is a form of rock music characterized by aggressive, driving rhythms and highly amplified distorted guitars, generally with grandiose lyrics and virtuosic instrumentation. ... Bloom County was a popular comic strip by Berkeley Breathed which ran from December 8, 1980 until August 6, 1989. ... For information on the type of fish called Lawyer, see the article on Burbot. ... Steve Dallas was a fictional unscrupulous lawyer who never won a single case in the 1980s comic strip Bloom County, by Berke Breathed. ... Hair metal is a type of heavy metal music that arose in the late 1970s, in the United States, and was a strong force in popular music throughout the 1980s and early-1990s. ...

The members include: lead "singer and tongue-player" "Wild Bill" Catt, a drug-addled cat, the penguin Opus Croakus on "rhythm tuba", and Hodge-Podge the rabbit on drums. Late in its career, the rechristened Billy and the Boingers embarked on their first world tour, sponsored by Dr. Scholl's Odor Eaters, which consisted of a single gig: the "Moose Lodge" in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where they played such favorites as "Hari Kari for Barry" (a reference to Barry Manilow) and "Pimples from Heck." Bill the cat is a fictional cat-based character in the Bloom County cartoon strip. ... Opus the penguin is a large-nosed, existentialist penguin, a main character in the Bloom County comic strip series and later work by Berke Breathed. ... Hodge-Podge the rabbit is a fictitious character from Berke Breatheds comic strip Bloom County. ... This article is about the largest city of New Mexico. ... Seppuku with ritual attire and second Seppuku (wiktionary:切腹, せっぷく, from the kanji cut and stomach) is a Japanese word that means ritual suicide by disembowelment. ... Barry Manilow in 1975 Barry Manilow in 1987 Barry Manilow in 1990 Barry Manilow in 2004 doing a MJ imitation during Copacabana Barry Manilow (born Barry Alan Pincus in Brooklyn, New York on June 17, 1943) is an American singer and songwriter. ...

Important to the band was not only playing ability, but also being able to "grimace musically." Their first single, "Demon Drooler in the Sewer" (which sold with "Leper Lover") peaked at 1,012 on the Top 100 list. Later, their record deal with CBS Records fell through because of explicit lyrics on "Let's Run Over Lionel Richie with a Tank" that Steve Dallas was stupid enough to read to a record executive who was sitting right under his autographed picture of Ritchie. Bill got rich when "U-Stink-But-I-♥-U" got turned into a jingle for Wheat Thins — but he did not share the wealth. Consequently, when he lost his unsavory image after staying up all night and reading the Bible with a nun, the band informally disbanded and left him behind. Columbia Records is the oldest continually used brand name in recorded sound, dating back to 1888. ... Lionel Brockman Richie, Jr. ... The Bible (From Greek βιβλιος biblios, meaning book, which in turn is derived from βυβλος—byblos meaning papyrus, from the ancient Phoenician city of Byblos which exported papyrus) is a word applied to sacred scriptures. ... In general, a nun is a female ascetic who chooses to voluntarily leave the world and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent. ...

Most of the Deathtöngue saga is contained in the Bloom County collection Billy and the Boingers Bootleg, which included a flexi-disc containing what were apparently two songs by the band: "I'm a Boinger" and "U-Stink-But-I-♥-U".

• "I'm a Boinger", written by Dallas, is the apparent response of Billy and the Boingers after the name change. It was actually played by the Harry Pitts Band.

• "U-Stink-But-I-♥-U" is a song written by Bill the Cat. The song was played in reality by the band Mucky Pup. Bill the Cat later sold out to Wheat Thins -- they used his tune for a commercial. In return he became a millionnaire, which led to the disbanding of Billy and the Boingers.

See also

• Heavy metal umlaut, for the basis of the umlaut in the spelling of Deathtöngue