"Serious" is a song by English new wave band

Duran Duran Duran Duran () are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer and bassist Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. With the addition of drummer Roger ...

. It was released on 5 November 1990 as the second single from their sixth studio album, ''

Liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

'' (1990), reaching number three in Italy and number 48 in the United Kingdom.

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 The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. This was the band's worst-charting single up until that point.

Music video

The black and white video, set at a

circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclist ...

, was directed by the duo Big TV! and features model

Tess Daly Helen Elizabeth "Tess" Daly (born 29 March 1969) is an English model and television presenter who co-presented the BBC One celebrity dancing show ''Strictly Come Dancing'' from 2004 to 2013; she has been the show's main presenter since 2014. ...

. 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? "Is There Something I Should Know?" is the eighth single by British pop band Duran Duran, released on 14 March 1983. The song was released as a stand-alone single and became the band's first UK number one record. It debuted in the number on ...

"; "''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-inch 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 US 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 "Violence of Summer (Love's Taking Over)" is a song by English new wave band Duran Duran, the first single from their sixth studio album, ''Liberty'' (1990). Having finished the 1980s with the ''Decade'' singles compilation, Duran Duran foun ...

" 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".

Track listing

UK 7-inch and cassette single # "Serious" (7-inch edit) – 3:56 # "Yo Bad Azizi" – 3:03 UK 12-inch and CD single # "Serious" # "Yo Bad Azizi" # "Water Babies" US and Canadian cassette single # "Serious" # "Yo Bad Azizi" # "Liberty" (fade—album edit) # "First Impression" (fade—album edit) ''

The Singles 1986–1995 ''The Singles 1986–1995'' is a box set by English new wave band Duran Duran. Comprising 14 CDs, it was released on 13 September 2004 by EMI and features the singles covering the era from '' Notorious'' (1986) to ''Thank You'' (1995). Backg ...

'' box set # "Serious" (single Version) – 3:56 # "Yo Bad Azizi" – 3:03 # "Water Babies" – 5:35 # "All Along the Water" – 3:47

Personnel

Simon Le Bon Simon John Charles Le Bon (born 27 October 1958) is a British singer. He is best known as the lead vocalist and lyricist of the new wave band Duran Duran and its offshoot Arcadia. Le Bon has received three Ivor Novello Awards from the British ...

– vocals *

Nick Rhodes Nick Rhodes (born Nicholas James Bates, 8 June 1962) is an English keyboardist and producer, best known as a founding member, keyboardist, and only continuous member of the band Duran Duran. He is also informally monikered as "The Controller ...

– keyboards * John Taylor – bass guitar *

Warren Cuccurullo Warren Bruce Cuccurullo (born December 8, 1956) is an American musician, singer-songwriter, restaurant owner and former body builder who first worked with Frank Zappa during the 1970s. He was also a founding member of Missing Persons in the 1980s ...

– guitar * Sterling Campbell – drums

Charts

Covers, samples and media references

In 2005, Dutch producer and DJ

Ferry Corsten Ferry Corsten (; born 4 December 1973) is a Dutch disc jockey, record producer and remixer from Rotterdam. He is well known for producing many pioneering trance tracks during the 1990s–2000s under his numerous aliases, including System F, Moon ...

sampled "Serious" for his single "

Fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition ...

." Le Bon re-recorded his vocals for the track, which is credited as "Ferry Corsten featuring Simon Le Bon". "Serious" is featured in 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 ''Grand Theft Auto V'' is a 2013 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the seventh main entry in the Grand Theft Auto, ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, following 2008's ''Grand Theft Auto IV'', and ...

'', but never made it to the finished game.

References

TM's Duran Duran discography (PDF file)
{{Authority control 1989 songs 1990 singles Capitol Records singles Duran Duran songs EMI Records singles Music videos directed by Big T.V. Song recordings produced by Chris Kimsey Songs written by Andy Taylor (guitarist) Songs written by John Taylor (bass guitarist) Songs written by Nick Rhodes Songs written by Roger Taylor (Duran Duran drummer) Songs written by Simon Le Bon