The song, “Serious”, was originally recorded by Donna Allen in 1986

The Pop/R&B song “Serious” was written by Lou Pace (d.2008), Emridge Jones (d.2002), Gary King, Harry James King, Reginald White and Donna Allen (b.1958), who performed the song. It was released as her debut single in August 1986 and went to No.21 in her home country, No.5 on the R&B Chart and No.17 on the Dance chart. Internationally it was only a significant hit in the UK, where the song peaked at No.8.

In 1994, British dance act Strike – Matt Cantor, Andy Gardner and singer Victoria Newton – heavily sampled the song for their tune “U Sure Do”, which initially made No.31 in the late Summer, but following re-release in early 1995, the track reached a new high of No.4. It was also a commercial success across Europe and topped a number of Dance and Club charts, and was a top ten hit in Australia.

But which version is the best? DONNA’s original or STRIKE’s re-work?

Take a look at some of the other posts in this series and don’t forget to follow the playlist.