Serious

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

About the song
By the time the single for "Serious" 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 (11 places lower than their second single, "Careless Memories").

Music video
The black and white video, set at a circus, was directed by the duo Big TV!, and featured 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 was released on the Greatest DVD in 2004, taking advantage of the multiple angle feature available on certain DVD players.

B-sides, bonus tracks and remixes
The single suffered from lack of a remix for the title track, as EMI opted to use a slight edit of the album track instead. To compensate, the label tried to satisfy fans' appetites with bonus material. The single's b-side, "Yo Bad Azizi", was an experimental track built around a lyric from "Is There Something I Should Know?": "You're about as easy as a nuclear war" had mutated into "Yo Bad Azizi as a nuclear war." This was reportedly prompted by a fan's letter asking lyricist Simon Le Bon what "yo bad azizi" meant.

The bonus b-side on the 12" and CD was a remix of "All Along The Water" entitled "Water Babies". Due to pressing errors, some copies of the CD contained 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 "The Violence Of Summer", an uninspired Capitol Records decided to include two fade cuts of Liberty album tracks as a sweetener.

Due to the overwhelming 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 was credited as "Ferry Corsten featuring Simon Le Bon"

Chart positions

 * #6 in Japan
 * #48 UK Singles Chart

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
 * EMI tried a couple of gimmicks with the 12" to drum up interest including gatefold sleeve (12 DDG 15) and a laser etched one-sided disc with free poster (12 DDS 15).

CD: Parlophone CD DD 15 (UK)

 * 1) "Serious (single version)"  – 3:56
 * 2) "Yo Bad Azizi"  – 3:03
 * 3) "Water Babies"  – 5:35
 * Some copies of the CD single erroneously included "All Along The Water" instead of "Water Babies" as the second b-side.

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
 * 4) "First Impression (fade)"  – 1:43
 * The fades are literally the first 90 seconds or so of the album cuts.

Other appearances
Apart from the single, "Serious" has also appeared on:

Albums:
 * Liberty (1990)
 * Greatest (1998)
 * Singles Box Set 1986-1995 (2005)

Personnel
Duran Duran are:
 * Simon Le Bon - vocals
 * Nick Rhodes - keyboards
 * John Taylor - bass guitar
 * Warren Cuccurullo - guitar
 * Sterling Campbell - drums