Felony - The Fanatic

[TheCinemastudio]

This Song Featured in the 1983 Film "The Lonely Lady" 

[TheFelonyGirls]

@zorvarious Wow, thank you. The lead singer is left handed. It was fun watching the "Fanatic" video again to catch that. Definately not spam. Grrr

[zorvarious]

I speak for all that love the band Felony. We miss you Jeffy. There it is.

[lasquid]

Classic KROQ and MV3 in Los Angeles!

[zorvarious]

I didn't know when I was cast in the Fanatic video that I would be in a cut with my husband Jeffrey. I was propped in the bar scene, lighted and waiting for direction. It was one take, no rehearsal. The Fanatic sound track started playing. When Jeffrey walked on to the set all I can say is "It was like Lawrence Of Arabia riding up to me on his steed, and his wish was my command."

[sks6689]

I had forgot about this hit , thanks for the post. sks.

[TheFelonyGirls]

Felony Halloween Trivia - Felony's lead singer Jeffrey Spry married his former wife Lucrecia, Halloween Eve, 34 years ago today. She appears with him in a short cameo in the bar scene of the "Fanatic" video. Grrrr we're jealous.

[F16lizard]

I guess that one guy is the head drummer....

[zorvarious]

The rumor goes that those head shaped drums were to Felony's drummer Artie Blea, like another persons cherished Lamborghini.

[iamspry]

@1stevesands I welcome you as a sister and friend . You never did anything wrong to me that I even need to forgive you for. I feel we have a clean slate and a common past with Jeffrey so call me . I would like to have you as a friend. Love, Danny Sands

[USA1749NY2SFnSD2Fork]

Fan me...

[zorvarious]

Lead Singer's Jeffrey Spry's birthday is July 31. Jeffrey would have turned 59 years old. ♫♫♫ ♥♫♫ ♪ ♥ Happy Belated Birthday Day Jeffrey ♥ ♪♪ ♫ ♫ ♥ ♫♫ ♪ ♥

[1sinister101]

i need a copy of this video!!! i havent seen it in years!!!

[zorvarious]

@1sinister101 Hi 1sinistter101, You can download Felony's video with the FireFox browser and Real Player. Run your mouse over the video while it's playing in the FF browser and a pop up download button will appear. Click on the button and your download will begin.

[joperbof]

1:56 to 2:40 is a get riff/breakdown. the rest of the song... meh!

[multigenremusicmvmnt]

to me,this song is more relevant than ever.maybe the term used today wouldn't be fanatic,

but i think of paparazzi.

people famous for being famous and the people that follow them.

either there are voyeurs or people who want to be seen.

[zorvarious]

One of my favorite clips of this video is when Jeffrey is looking through the opaque plastic skin at the band. It's has a sort of mysterious vibe to it.

[bestofthe80s90s]

The first time I saw Felony was July 14, 1983 at the Florentine Gardens in Hollywood. I still have my stamped ticket. The band was awesome. The group that opened for Felony was Betty Boop & The Beat. WOW I didn't know until now Betty Boop & the girl in this video are the same person and was married to the lead singer. That's so wack.

[russocomedy]

Thanks for posting this new wave rock alternative. Bands like Felony mark the end the of the Ed Sullivan variety era. In the search for new ideas, brothers Jeffrey Spirili and Joe Spirili, (Jeff Spry and Joe Spry) along with the artists who appear in this video were and are "independents", 'do-it-yourself, folks whose attitudes underlined the urgent need of that era: diversity. Their pioneering went beyond music into the comedy and the entire spectrum of entertainment as we know it today.

[iamspry]

Wow Do you all really have to live off Jeffrey like a leach? He has his rightful legacy that belongs to, like it or not, HIS WIDOW & CHILDREN! By changing the facts and helping others kick-start their music or work off of Jeffrey is an injustice to Jeffrey's true LIFE. Stop acting as if you know anything, there is a story I asked you to hear and you turned away. You know why? Because he left you. You're bitter!

[zorvarious]

Hi Krindernow, I hope all is going well with you. I want to thank you for broadcasting the "Fanatic". Your kind gesture means very much to all family, friends and fans of "Felony". Thanks again.

[iamspry]

Please allow Jeffrey's story to be told! There is much that follows after Felony hired the next group of players to come in! The eventual argument over who was going to sing! Joe telling everybody he alone wrote The Fanatic! If you EVER loved Jeffrey, Listen to what happened to him.....PLEASE! Tamara Rawlings Spry

[iamspry]

It's time we come together for Jeffrey and get the rest of the story of Brothers at War explained. In this way, a calm of love can come in and corrections can be made!

[LaPazNino]

One question: Did Freddie Mercury have a twin-brother? ;-)

[zorvarious]

@LaPazNino Freddie Mercury didn't have a twin brother or twin sister. My mother had a twin brother that died at birth. There was always and interesting and sometimes eerie tie between them, even though her twin died. Are you a twin?

[zorvarious]

Artie Blea drums. Artie had the most pristine record collection.  You could eat off his vinyl collection. I didn't know him well enough to talk about his music collection. Perhaps someone reading these posts that knew Artie, please would fill in.

[zorvarious]

Danny Sands, Felony's keyboard player was a loving father. He was a real human being. Danny has a wide beautiful smile and a loud laugh that is infectious. In the early years Danny opened the show and set the stage for all watching. We fell in love with Felony even more because Danny brought family and love to the stage through his playing. Mr. Sands tied it all together with the perfect ribbon. Danny is a heartfelt individual with a great gift to raise ones heart in celebration of life.

[Neenz69]

This a great song my husband John Milazzo has known Joe Spry and jeff spry a long time along with Luis Ruis who I call papa Lou ! We love you guys!

[zorvarious]

Going back to a much more innocent place in time. Joe Spry the guitarist was also a barber and loved to make everybodys hair as curly as possible:-) I believe Joe loved his wife and his family and his friends very much. He loved black and white cats and a must mention love, his Rex Bogue double neck guitar.

[zorvarious]

Great song. The Fanatic concept hit the mark and brought the bewitching charm of lead singer Jeffrey Spry, guitarist, Joe Spry, keyboardist, Danny Sands and bassist Luis Ruis to the music world. I would definatley watch this video again and not for comparison but for what was really happening in music in the 80's.

[BigBri991]

Good song. Horrible editing. Complacent concept. Even for an 80's video this was unwatchable.

[SuperAdjudant]

I am the fanatic :)

[zorvarious]

to be continued...

[zorvarious]

Lead Singer Jeffrey Spry loved "The Three Stooges." His cats were named Christmas and Fairytale. Jeffrey loved rabbits, mean spirited dogs, board games cooking, caring for the weak and a good fight.

[ansteckend]

classic mtv.

[illmsg77]

Old KROQ stuff brings back good memories. Im an old man!!!!!

[TheIdolkiller]

The Charlie Sheen theme song

[letigreferoce]

SEARCH "INCH - THE FANATIC" FOR AN ALTERNATE VERSION

[Musique2BeDreamer]

what the hell is this video???

[krindenow]

Wow! What an amazing story. Thanks for sharing.

[supadupascupa]

Mountain. He even played at Garvanza elementary for my graduation from the 6th grade ! I was the son of a rock star ! It was really cool. After the Fanatic they started writing new material including a song called Only Time Will Tell which I don't know what happened to that cause it was great. They even rented a cabin in Wawona in Yosemite in the fall of 83. I remember riding up with Steve Sands in a rental Truck with gear. Yosemite was cool !

[supadupascupa]

Felony continued with the Gangster theme until 80 or 81. The logo for the was a revolver with FELONY written across the barrel. Jeff had a likewise tattoo on his chest as well. The Fanatic and the album with it were produced in 82 I don't remember the studio it was recorded in( i was only 12 and Jeff was being a father and kept me sheilded from the music bizz reality. But I remember when it came out on KROQ and his interviews on KROQ him playing on Dick Clark and the huge 1983 show at Magic

[supadupascupa]

And many other places in LA and it's suroundings. Rehearsel places included Monrovia Theatre(now gone) First Film(now the brewery at 1984 N. Main St in LA and supposedly a morgue ! Before Felony Jeff was in a band The New Order He married Lucrecia Russo on Halloween of 1977 at which that time Felony had came up with The Gangsters of Rock which they did a great mock up at the 1st anniversery halloween ball in 1978. Songs included Lucky Strike, Little Boy Fauntleroy and Gangsters of Rock.

[supadupascupa]

The band members were Jeff Spry vocals Danny Sands keyboards(used prophet 5 Yamaha CP80 and Arp string ensemble or Omni) Joe Spry guitar(had a Rex Bogue doubleneck at one point. Luis Ruis bass and Artie Blea drums. Before Luis the bass player was Doug Burleson( spelling might be off). Steve Sands Danny's brother was also involved with sound I believe at the time and even Jack Spry the oldest brother was around as well. They played places like the Starwood(or Stardust) Palladium, Golden Bear

[metermatch]

@supadupascupa I think your spelling for Doug is correct. I worked with him in 1992 at the LA County Agricultural Commissioner office. Nice, laid back kind of guy.

[supadupascupa]

Lots beautiful memories. Jefferey was my stepdad from 1977 to 1985. He was married to my mom Lucrecia BEFORE he married Tamara in 1986. They split up in the summer of 83 but he still played an active role in my life for another year and a half. I spent Xmas 84 with Tamara and her daughters. I have alot of wonderful memories from the rehearsals at the old Monrovia Theatre to the Magic Mountain show to spending time at the Yosemite cabin hiking the trails with Danny.

[GarageRockRadio]

I was in LA in the early 80s and I remember seeing Felony do this live on a local TV show. Always loved the song, and the Valley Girl movie too!

[iamspry]

Hi Im Tamara Spry Jeffreys' wife I need fan support now! Jeffrey's music has been stolen from us and is being made a joke of disrespect.

Join me on FaceBook Tamara Rawlings Spry /Felony I need everyone's support!

Lucy...call on me

[1stevesands]

@iamspry THERE IS NOTHING TO STEAL,YOU ARE LOOKING UP A DEAD HORSES ASS!!!!! 

[robert9400]

RIP!! Great Song!!

[ministry138]

Truly '80s vintage, thanks for posting!!

[jeffreylynngeorge]

AMEN! @ caldm

[PHARRAOH]

i remember playing (GORF) at the arcade and hearing this. eighties kicked ass. 90's sucked and the 00's totaly swallow!

[helbick]

this guy always reminded me of val kilmer

[dannyhood66]

..Didn't this singer pull some stunt like hold up the 7elevin on sunset blvd and then 10min later jumped on stage to do a show at the Roxy..Whats up Danny sands if your out there? !aH

[lucybellzoe]

We sure did.....remember MV3?? ahhh good ol' tv.

[mrbubbles4q]

Felony played at my Junior high school ... and High school dance. They played cover songs. They got VERY lucky. right place , right time. I wonder how much they made with this one song... or how much they lost..

[1stevesands]

@mrbubbles4q

Felony Never played a cover tune ever, you got your bands mixed up bro!

[mrbubbles4q]

@1stevesands ya OK like they played a Jr high dance and played thier own songs . give me a break! They would not of played a "dance" if not playing covers. Cuz nobody would know thier originals.

[Dilberto88]

Thanx for uploading this hard-to-find, almost forgotten video, from an Eighties one-hit band. I saw them live in 1982 and loved the drummer's customized Linn2000 electronic drum set!

[gr8gonzos]

dude! you dont realize ive been looking for this song since '83, i heard it on the First Wave channell on XM last nite at 2am i used to listen to it out of Phoenix and i never heard it again after i left the west coast, i have tried and tried to find this song to no avail, thanks for bringing old memories back i was almost in tears

[redflare221]

Wow...you never, ever hear this song on the radio. In fact, this is the first time I've ever seen the video to this song.

[bamsocal]

y'all need to give up!!! I am the champion of the 80's music!!!!

[Skulldini]

@bamsocal Hey why compete ? This music needs all the bolstering that it can get, ya know ?  Most idiots think that 80's music was nothing but Madona, Micheal Jackson, Def Lepard and Bon Jovi,.. FUCK THAT !! THIS aught'a be the REAL classic stuff of that decade, and we need to see to it that the cool music of our generation doesn't recede into obscurity !

[bamsocal]

@Skulldini what can I say, dude? u r totally right!! And I must say that I had a few too many beers when I wrote that! LOL It was late.... I was posting 80's song's to my Facebook and said that same quote, "y'all need to give up!!! I am the champion of the 80's music!! Dude! I'm totally with you about the BS 80's songs over the 80's we don't get to hear much!!! This song is an example of my opinion... when do you ever hear a song like this on an 80's compulation?! ;)

[diamondmotors]

Valley Girls...Fer Sure!

[airshipgeo]

I've been thinking about "The Fanatic" and Felony for years. The only time I saw them was on American Bandstand in the early '80s. I grew up in St. Louis city. There was no cable access at the time, only in the county. I'm seeing a lot of these early videos for the first time. Thanks for posting!

[bryjag1965]

they did the sountrack to graduation day, check it out

[perpetual61]

I had this song on my mind but didn't know the name of the group took the chance and typed Fanatic. Thanks for making my day. There's nothing like Cool 80's Music to make you feel young again.

[nuwavegurl]

Long Live the 80's indeed. I'd prefer this song over the bullshite that's dominating the airwaves these days!

[1stevesands]

I was Felony's soundman for 9 years

[micktheMaag]

@1stevesands J effrey Scott Spry committed suicide on March 9, 1992. Jeffrey Scott Spry leaves behind his wife Tamara & daughters Desirae & Natasha Spry.... so what happened to Jeff he had a great chance...

[Dashland13]

I ALWAYS loved this group. I don't ever remember seeing the video back in the 80's. Thanks for posting it!

Was there a video for "Kristine"?

[fosbury68]

1:35

Impressive use of curtain and smoke.

[jlmarc01]

Very nice, he always looked like a star

[breath888]

Thanks for posting this!  I used to love this song and was just thinking about it today.

[jacktheknifeify]

I'm pretty good with faces and my bro showed me a picture of a girl on a psychic site that looks almost like the vamp in this video except for she's blonde now, she's still f****** gorgeoous.

[supadupascupa]

@jacktheknifeify The girl on the psychic site is the same one in the video. Thats my mom and she still looks great at 55 !

[unionjack67]

Jeff's brother (Joe) is lead singer for Kanawormz now. He teamed up with John Avila, Fred Mandel, and Michael Leasure

[bultaco111]

wow... the band just popped into my head today and I looked them up. I was in Split Image, an LA band signed to Allied Artists records from '83 to '86. We rehearsed in the old Pabst Brewery building in LA. Felony rented out the 5th floor and built rehearsal spaces to bands.. we rented a space from them. We saw them almost daily. Jeff was ALWAYS "on" he was always dressed like he was a star, always looked great and acted like a star.

[1robeyfan]

Awesome song and video from the early 80's. Thanks for posting.

[manofiron8]

I first listened to this Band in Long Beach California in a small Bar off Pacific Coast Highway. It was way cool the Gig was across the street from a all Girls College!

[ilene888]

RIP Jeff

[mushumushushoe]

God I'd forgotten about this song, just a barr repeating every now and then when something made me think of it. So I about scared the bejesus outta my friend when I saw this and started screaming. Man, I'm so favoriting this...

[castingvaldes]

Jeff was absolutely not gay. He was a nice, cool and absolutely gorgeous guy who defended me once in a very uncomfortable circumstance, for which I will always be grateful. I knew him and Joe when they were in school and lived a bit north of the Castaic area, but lost track of them after that. Until recently had no idea he had passed away. :( He is missed, and my deepest sympathies go out to his wife and family.

First time I saw Val Kilmer in a film, he so reminded me of Jeff.

[unionjack67]

Joe lives in Northern California now in the Redding area

[castingvaldes]

thank you for replying; hope he and the rest of the family are well.

[davidkk61]

The girl in the video is Lucretia,she and jeff the lead singer were married,Jeff also has a daughter.Guess that puts the gay thing to rest.Joe the guitar player has Kanawormz now, check out their videos on here.

[7609haywire]

Yes... I remember MV3...we didn't have cable and this was the coolest thing to MTV. Barely had reception on the VHS channel, but after 26 odd years I remember this band! Too cool.

[sewardlilly]

could be freddie right?

[annexkatherine]

I love this video. They used to play this on MV3 all the time.

[MaskRaiders]

Val Kilmer in Felon & YouTube's Felony, "The Fanatic". Is this chance or "The Twilight Zone"???

[toltec19]

80's in a nutshell

[daren1454]

right on! i'm from so cal and i've been looking for this video for years!!!! i was 14 and they were popular in van nuys and canoga park area. LONG LIVE THE EIGHTIES.

[caldm]

Valley Girl... What a Movie!!!..Those of us who grew up in the early 80's know we had the best Music, Movies and Videos when MTV played great stuff like this...Long live the 80's!!

[shadowself1120]

MV3 on Channel 9

[nuwavething]

@shadowself1120 i danced on that show in 1982.now everyone knows im old.oh well at least i lived in the 80s and had fun.

[toxicwasteoid]

this>everything from the 90's and on, except right said fred's "im too sexy"

[waninghope]

Oustanding 80s poses and head turns in this video at :16 seconds lol. Check out The Motels Suddenly Last Summer 2:25 to 2:32! Best cheez, Dramatic 80s head turns with vapid, enigmatic looks. All hail children of the 80s Forever!!

[winterangel6522]

Love this song!! I am

the Fanatic of 80's ;-)

[soutache]

KROQ Rock of the 80's Oh how well I remember!

[bockybalboa]

I thought this was Val Kilmer pre "Top Secret"

[zorvarious]

Good Eye Bocky, Val Kilmer & Jeffrey Spry were auditioned for the lead role of Jim Morrison in Oliver Stone's, 1991 film "The Doors." Jeffrey and Val met at the audition; Jeff said , "Val's a nice guy."

[zorvarious]

That's The Rumor...

[iconicide]

They played live on some show or another. Saturday Night Live? I remember those drums, shaped like heads.

[eddieg671]

Thanx for posting this classic vid. I am The Fanatic.

[liveup5]

Mainstream,over played and over popular 80's music sucked. Gems like this song,were the real 80's hits.

[russocomedy]

The actress is Lucrecia Sarita Russo. This video was done in L.A. She's a member of SAG/AFTRA. She's totally into cinema arts and sciences, still acting and performing. She works out of the San Francisco office.

[zorvarious]

In memory of lead singer, Jeffrey Scott Spry, died March 9, 1992. We all miss you Jeffrey.

[clemtorres]

Good 80's vido, have'nt  seen or heard this one since thin.

[valerierowe69]

Does anyone know if the girl in this video is Hollywood's Le Conte Jr. High school student, Lucy Russo?

[supadupascupa]

@valerierowe69 Yes she went to LeConte JR and it is the same person. I went to the same school years later in 83-84

[abney20]

do you happen to have another song by Felony??? It's called "I'm No Animal", and it was featured on Friday the 13th Part 6: Jason Lives

i love that song

[russocomedy]

Nice. Like to see more of their work. Who is that beauty? She shows up in just a few frames. More footage of her would've added more appeal to the vid.

[daren1454]

i was 14, valley girl 1982, phases in canoga park; back when in was a new wave club. nice to see this video, been trying to find it for a long time now.

[jmsdnstn]

Bad ass song! I love the part with the piano! But a pretty shity video! And the lead singer is a gay as hell and can't act worth a shit!

[micktheMaag]

@jmsdnstn be nice... i am sure we dont and wont ever see a video with u in it...

[sigue04]

Thanks for posting - I love this!