For two seasons we’ve all enjoyed Stranger Things, thinking it’s an amazing sci-fi horror homage to the ’80s, but we have some shocking news to share with you–there is reason to believe the show is based on actual events. Because our crack research team has unearthed a forgotten track that was clearly inspired by dark happenings in Hawkins, Indiana. This song isn’t merely a harmonious recap of how things there got flipped upside down, it perfectly encapsulates everything we love about ’80s music videos.

And once you hear this super catchy number it will live in your head like the Shadow Monster in Will Byers. That’s why we here at Nerdist are happy to present to you the long-lost classic “Stranger In My Town.” (Download the song for free here!)

There don’t seem to be many folks who remember the band Bingo Bango, as the trio doesn’t even have its own Wikipedia page (yet). But the music video for their infectious ditty about the strange monsters who invaded a small town features enough vintage ’80s elements that, much like the hit Netflix series, it stands as the ultimate tribute to the decade.

The reason we’re now sure Stranger Things is more of dramatic-telling of real events is that this video is full of characters and elements that seem to come straight from the show itself. If we didn’t know any better we’d almost think this was a spot on parody of a spot on parody. But obviously it’s not. Even if it does include an animated Demogorgon playing a saxophone solo.

With Stranger Things being such a cultural phenomenon, how did no one remember this song? Seems like a pretty big oversight. But now that it’s back in the public’s consciousness, we have a feeling it’s never going to leave again. And to celebrate the number making it back into the limelight, we’ve brought in the band Bingo Bango to answer a few questions about their timeless hit.

Q: How did you guys meet?

Eddie: We originally met in New York playing some shows at Danceteria with our individual projects at the time. We didn’t really become a band until we met again in Los Angeles months later. Marty and I had known each other for a while and I finally poached Max when he was filling in as a tour drummer in some dodgy punk project called “Slime Time”.  The rest is history I guess.

(Max and Marty laugh)

Q: I know you guys are veiled in a shroud of mystery but the fans want to know, who ARE Bingo Bango?

Eddie: I think Bingo Bango is the…I don’t know (laughs). It’s the answer, it’s the medicine, it’s the sort of finger on the pulse of what our fans want.

Marty:  If anything I’d say Bingo Bango is a direct tap to the source. It’s rock and roll from the future, it’s something you’ve never heard.

Max: Yeah, what he said. (Laughs)

Q: You’ve been picking up some serious steam this past decade, so do you guys have any wild fan stories? Any strange gifts?

(All three laugh)

Eddie: Yeah we’ve been on tour for a few months now and we’ve gotten some…interesting things.

Marty: We like strange though.

Max: Someone gave us a cat one time at a meet and greet.

Q: A cat? Like a live cat?

Max: Oh yeah! He’s our tour cat, we love him to bits. We named him Eddie Jr. because he’s a lot to handle.

Eddie: Hey now!

Q: What do you say to critics who have been saying that New Wave music is just a fad?

Eddie: New wave isn’t a fad in the same way that punk wasn’t a fad. It’s a movement. The industry may change but I think our music is here to stay because it’s more than the flair believe it or not. Our lyrics and our music is complex and emotional, and those emotions are everlasting.

Marty: I think anything you can move your hips to is more than a fad.

(Max dances in the room)

Q: I heard rumors that Devo was trying to rip you guys off with a different ode to Stranger Things. Do you have anything you’d like to say to them?

Marty: Everyone has read about that in the papers. There really isn’t much else to say. Kind of a rude situation we’d all prefer to forget about.

Eddie: All I can say is that we don’t need stupid hats to get attention.

Max: Yeah Eddie’s hair is more than enough.

(They all laugh)

Q: The Demogorgon playing a saxophone is the most advanced graphic I have ever seen in a music video, but who is actually playing the saxophone?

Eddie: Hey haha yeah thanks! That Demogorgon was something else wasn’t it? Our label hired some company to do it, some machine whisperer at (snaps) I can’t remember what the company was called-

Marty: LMI? IML?

Eddie: Yeah something like that. Anyways the sax is played by this kid we met on tour named Kenneth Gorelick.

Max: Weird kid.

Eddie: Very weird kid, but he had this killer cover of “Dancing Queen” by ABBA and this big big hair and we asked him to record it then and there mostly to watch him rock out with his curls to our song. Turned out for the better.

So kudos to Bingo Bango and everyone who helped make the video for “Stranger In My Town.” (You can find all the amazingly talented people who worked on it below).

This is so catchy it’s never going to be a stranger in our minds again.

What’s your favorite part of this music video? The neon instruments? The kickass sax? Tell us what you liked best in the comments below, and download the song for free here!

CAST:

Freddy Scott as Eddie Idol
Jason Nguyen as Max Maximum
Andrew Bowser as Marty Casale
Darin De Paul as The Narrator

Bingo Bango appears courtesy of WE DB Records

CREW:
Directed by Andrew Bowser
Produced by Jason Nguyen
Music Producer Freddy Scott
Vocals by Freddy Scott

Saxophone performed by Ricky Hopkins
Additional Keyboards performed by Ben Darwish

Edited by Andrew Bowser
Lyrics by Freddy Scott, Andrew Bowser, and Jason Nguyen

Executive Producer Jason K. Corey
Executive Producer Andy Shapiro

Director of Photography Connor Heck
1st AC Sean Goode
Gaffer Kevin Cho
Key Grip Faisal Shah
Best Boy Electric Chad Narducci
Best Boy Grip Josh Andersen
Key HMU Lili Kaytmaz
Costume Designer Cherokee Neas
Production Designer Adam Nungester
Art Assistant Lindsey Perry
Set Photographer Josh Thomas
Production Manager Erik Kozura
Production Coordinator Katy Hampton
Key Set PA Zac York
Production Assistant Moe Jalali
Production Assistant Jon Odate
Site Rep Brian Boehner

VFX Supervisor Matt Caron
Title Animation, Graphics & Compositing Charles Shattuck
Graphics & Compositing Caleb Drewel
Demogorgon Animation Kial Natale

Shot at Fat Eye Studios

Stay in Hawkins with more Stranger Things stories!

• Details about Stranger Things 3.
• The hidden connection between Eleven and Hopper.
• Stranger Things meets Perfect Strangers.