Serious (Duran Duran song)

"Serious" is the 22nd single by English rock band Duran Duran. It was released 1 October 1990 as the second single from the Liberty album, reaching number three in Italy and number 48 in the United Kingdom.

"Serious"
Single by Duran Duran
from the album Liberty
B-side
  • "Yo Bad Azizi"
  • "Water Babies"
  • "All Along the Water"
Released1 October 1990
RecordedOlympic Studios, London, 1989
Genre
Length
  • 4:21 (Album version)
  • 3:56 (Radio edit)
Label
Songwriter(s)Simon Le Bon, John Taylor, James Bates, Warren Cuccurullo and Sterling Campbell
Producer(s)Duran Duran with Chris Kimsey
Duran Duran singles chronology
"Violence of Summer"
(1990)		 "Serious"
(1990)		 "Ordinary World"
(1993)
Music video
"Serious" on YouTube

About the song

By the time the single was released, interest in the Liberty album had already waned. Poor promotion, including a decision not to tour in support of the album, led the single to stall at number 48 on the UK Singles Chart. This was the band's worst-charting single up until that point.

Music video

The black and white video, set at a circus, was directed by the duo Big TV! and features model Tess Daly. The video is a favourite among fans for the relaxed, natural attitude among the band members as they play their instruments, sometimes prompting each other into laughter. A multi-angle version of the video is available on the Greatest DVD in 2003, taking advantage of the multiple angle feature available on certain DVD players.

B-sides, bonus tracks and remixes

No remix of "Serious" was ever released; a minor edit of the album version was used on the single release. The single's primary b-side, "Yo Bad Azizi", is an experimental song built around a lyric from "Is There Something I Should Know?"; "Yo bad azizi as a nuclear war", a corruption of "You're about as easy as a nuclear war" due to the way vocalist Simon Le Bon sings the line. This was reportedly prompted by a fan's letter asking Le Bon what "yo bad azizi" meant.

The bonus b-side on the 12" and CD versions is "Water Babies", a remix of Liberty album track "All Along the Water". Due to pressing errors, some copies of the CD contain the original album version instead of "Water Babies".

For the USA single release, two fade cuts of other Liberty album tracks were also added as b-sides, as "Yo Bad Azizi" had already been released on the American "Violence of Summer" single.

Due to the commercial failure of the "Serious" single, plans for future singles were shelved. The third single in the USA was to have been the rocker "First Impression", while Europe were to have gotten the album's title track, "Liberty". EMI's decision to cancel both singles came just days before filming began on the music video for "First Impression".

Format and track listing

7": Parlophone. / DD 15 United Kingdom

  1. "Serious" (7" Edit) – 3:56 (a.k.a. "Single Version")
  2. "Yo Bad Azizi" – 3:03

12": Parlophone. / 12 DDG 15 United Kingdom

  1. "Serious (Single Version)" – 3:56 (a.k.a. "7 inch edit")
  2. "Yo Bad Azizi" – 3:03
  3. "Water Babies" – 5:35
  • This version is the 12" gatefold sleeve.
  • 12 DDS 15 is a laser etched one-sided disc with free poster.

CD: Parlophone. / CD DD 15 United Kingdom

  1. "Serious (Single Version)" – 3:56 (a.k.a. "7 inch edit")
  2. "Yo Bad Azizi" – 3:03
  3. "Water Babies" – 5:35
  • Some copies of the CD single erroneously include "All Along the Water" instead of "Water Babies" as the second b-side.
  • This misprint can easily be distinguished because the time of duration is indicated as: 3:47.

CD: Capitol Records. / DPRO-79299 (Promo) United States

  1. "Serious" (Edit) – 3:56 (a.k.a. "7 inch edit" & "Single Version")
  2. "Serious" (Album Version) - 4:19

MC: Capitol Records. / 4JM-44638 United States

  1. "Serious (Single Version)" – 3:56 (a.k.a. "7 inch edit")
  2. "Yo Bad Azizi" – 3:03
  3. "Liberty" (Fade) (Album Edit) – 1:36
  4. "First Impression" (Fade) (Album Edit) - 1:43

CD: Part of "Singles Box Set 1986-1995" boxset

  1. "Serious (Single Version)" – 3:56 (a.k.a. "7 inch edit")
  2. "Yo Bad Azizi" – 3:03
  3. "Water Babies" – 5:35
  4. "All Along the Water" – 3:47

Personnel

Charts
Chart (1990) Peak
position
Germany (Official German Charts)[1] 69
Italy (Musica e dischi)[2] 3
UK Singles (OCC)[3] 48

Other appearances

Apart from the single, "Serious" also appears on:

Albums:

Covers, samples, and media references

In 2005, Dutch producer and DJ Ferry Corsten sampled this track for his single "Fire", which is credited as "Ferry Corsten featuring Simon Le Bon".

On the soundtrack of the 1994 independent movie "Twogether".

The song was planned to appear on the "Los Santos Rock Radio" station in Grand Theft Auto V, but never made it to the finished game.

References
  1. "Offiziellecharts.de – Duran Duran – Serious". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
  2. "Top 3 Singles in Europe" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 7 no. 45. 10 November 1990. p. 17. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
  3. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
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