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Serious (Duran Duran song)
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Wikipedia article
{{Infobox song
| name = Serious
| cover = Serious sleeve.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Duran Duran
| album = Liberty
| B-side =
* "Yo Bad Azizi"
* "Water Babies"
* "All Along the Water"
| released =
| recorded =
| studio = Olympic (London
| genre =
| length =
* 4:21 (album version)
* 3:56 (radio edit)
| label =
* EMI
* Capitol
| writer =
* Simon Le Bon
* John Taylor
* James Bates
* Warren Cuccurullo
* Sterling Campbell
| producer = Duran Duran with Chris Kimsey
| prev_title = Violence of Summer
| prev_year = 1990
| next_title = Ordinary World
| next_year = 1993
| misc =
}}
"'Serious'" is a song by English new wave band Duran Duran. It was released on 5 November 1990 as the second single from their sixth studio album, 'Liberty' (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. 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-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" 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" (fadealbum edit)
# "First Impression" (fadealbum edit)
'The Singles 19861995' 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 vocals
* Nick Rhodes keyboards
* John Taylor bass guitar
* Warren Cuccurullo guitar
* Sterling Campbell drums
Charts
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
*[http://www.ionpool.net/duran/discography.html TM's Duran Duran discography (PDF file)]
Category:1989 songs
Category:1990 singles
Category:Capitol Records singles
Category:Duran Duran songs
Category:EMI Records singles
Category:Music videos directed by Big T.V.
Category:Song recordings produced by Chris Kimsey
Category:Songs written by Andy Taylor (guitarist)
Category:Songs written by John Taylor (bass guitarist)
Category:Songs written by Nick Rhodes
Category:Songs written by Roger Taylor (Duran Duran drummer)
Category:Songs written by Simon Le Bon
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