Serious (Duran Duran song)

"Serious"
Single by Duran Duran
from the album Liberty
B-side "Yo Bad Azizi"
"Water Babies"
Released 1 October 1990
Recorded Olympic Studios, London, 1989
Genre Pop rock, new wave
Length 3:56
Label EMI, Capitol - DD 15
Writer(s) Duran Duran
Producer(s) Duran Duran with Chris Kimsey
Duran Duran singles chronology
"Violence of Summer"
(1990)		 "Serious"
(1990)		 "Ordinary World"
(1993)

"Serious" is the 22nd single by the English rock band Duran Duran. It was released 1 October 1990 as the second single from the Liberty album.

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 #48 in the UK charts. This was the band's worst charting single up until that point (Eleven places lower than their second-ever single, "Careless Memories" in 1981).

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

The single suffered from a lack of a remix for the a-side, as EMI opted to use a slight edit of the album version instead. To compensate, the label tried to satisfy fans' appetites with bonus material. The single's b-side, "Yo Bad Azizi", is an experimental track 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 is a remix of "All Along The Water" entitled "Water Babies". Due to pressing errors, some copies of the CD contain the actual song "All Along The Water" (instead of the remix) as the bonus b-side.

In November, "Serious" was released in the USA. As "Yo Bad Azizi" had already been used there for the b-side to the single "Violence Of Summer", Capitol Records decided to include two fade cuts of Liberty album tracks as a sweetener, even though Capitol had already commissioned and received some remixes of the title track.

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 the singles came just days before filming began on the video for "First Impression".

Covers, samples, & 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 "Non-Stop Pop" station in Grand Theft Auto V, but never made it to the finished game.

Chart positions

Track listing

7": Parlophone DD 15 (UK)

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

12": Parlophone 12 DD 15 (UK)

  1. "Serious (Single Version)" – 3:56
  2. "Yo Bad Azizi" – 3:03
  3. "Water Babies" – 5:35

CD: Parlophone CD DD 15 (UK)

  1. "Serious (Single Version)" – 3:56
  2. "Yo Bad Azizi" – 3:03
  3. "Water Babies" – 5:35

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

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

MC: Capitol 4JM-44638 (US)

  1. "Serious (Single Version)" – 3:56
  2. "Yo Bad Azizi" – 3:03
  3. "Liberty (Fade)" – 1:36

Other appearances

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

Albums:

Personnel

Duran Duran are:

References


External links