Forbidden Colours
- This article is about the song. For the novel, see Forbidden Colors. For the concept in color theory, see Impossible colors.
| "Forbidden Colours" | ||||||||||||||||
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| Single by David Sylvian and Ryuichi Sakamoto | ||||||||||||||||
| from the album Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence O.S.T | ||||||||||||||||
| Released | 1983 | |||||||||||||||
| Recorded | 1983 | |||||||||||||||
| Genre | Electronic, New Age, world | |||||||||||||||
| Length | 4:13 | |||||||||||||||
| Label | Virgin Records | |||||||||||||||
| Writer(s) |
Ryuichi Sakamoto (music) David Sylvian (lyrics) | |||||||||||||||
| Producer(s) | Ryuichi Sakamoto | |||||||||||||||
| Ryuichi Sakamoto chronology | ||||||||||||||||
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"Forbidden Colours" is a song composed by Ryuichi Sakamoto with lyrics by David Sylvian. The song is the vocal version of the theme from the Nagisa Oshima film Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (in certain territories retitled Furyo) and was first released on the soundtrack album. "Forbidden Colours", also issued as a duet single on Virgin Records in 1983, was the second collaborative single release by Sylvian and Sakamoto, following 1982's "Bamboo Houses".
The title of the song is taken from Japanese writer Yukio Mishima's 1953 novel Forbidden Colors; although not directly related to the film, both works include exploration of homosexual themes.
In 1984 the track was re-recorded and released as the B-side to "Red Guitar", the lead single to Sylvian's first solo album Brilliant Trees and was later also included as a bonus track on certain editions of his 1987 album Secrets of the Beehive. Both Sakamoto and Sylvian have since recorded several interpretations of the song, both instrumental (under the title "Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence") and vocal. An orchestral version featuring vocals by Sylvian was included on Sakamoto's 1999 album Cinemage.
Formats and track listings
All music by Ryuichi Sakamoto; lyrics by David Sylvian on "Forbidden Colours", "Bamboo Houses" and "Bamboo Music".
- UK 7" Virgin Records VS 601 & 7" pic disc VSY 601
- "Forbidden Colours" – 4:42
- "The Seed and the Sower" – 5:00
- UK 12" Virgin Records VS 601-12
- "Forbidden Colours" – 4:42
- "The Seed and the Sower" – 5:00
- "Last Regrets" – 2:40
- UK 3" CD Virgin Records CDT 18 (released 1988)
- "Forbidden Colours" - 4.42
- "Bamboo Houses" - 5.26
- "Bamboo Music" - 5.38
Chart positions
| Chart (1983) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Irish Singles Chart[1] | 15 |
| UK Singles Chart[2] | 16 |
Personnel
- Ryuichi Sakamoto - keyboards, programming
- David Sylvian - vocals, lyrics
Production
- Ryuichi Sakamoto - producer
- Recorded and mixed by - Ryuichi Sakamoto, Seigen Ono, Shinichi Tanaka
- Recording assistant - Michio Nakakoshi
- David Sylvian - artwork, cover design
- Yuka Fujii - photography
Cover versions and appearances in other media
- 1985: R. Sakomoto also contributes with a Solo Piano version of "Forbidden Colours" on the Various Artists Solo-Piano Compalion "Piano One" (Private Music)
- 1986: The soundtrack of the video game International Karate by Rob Hubbard was inspired by Forbidden Colours
- 2000: German trance band Watergate scored a UK #3 hit with their song "Heart of Asia", which was based on the main melody to the instrumental version of the song.
- 2004: Maksim Mrvica made a piano version included in his album Variations Part I&II
References
- ↑ "Forbidden Colours". irishcharts.ie. Retrieved October 3, 2012.
- ↑ "David Sylvian And Riuichi Sakamoto - Forbidden Colours". chartarchive.org. Retrieved October 3, 2012.
External links
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