Skeletons in the Closet was issued just a few months after the band had released Boingo Alive, a double album of "live in the studio" re-recordings of many songs from their back catalog.

In a 1988 article for the Los Angeles Times, Oingo Boingo frontman Danny Elfman stated that Skeletons in the Closet was issued by their former label A&M to directly compete with Boingo Alive, adding, "they’re looking for a way to scrape up a few bucks on a dead account."

However, A&M executive Tom Corson denied this claim, stating, "the band feels our release may harm sales of their album.

Corson added that several songs were removed upon request of the band, and that Elfman declined an offer to write the album's liner notes.

[1] All tracks are written by Danny ElfmanA music video compilation was also released by A&M alongside the album.