Forbidden Colours

Forbidden Colours is the vocal version of Ryuichi Sakamoto's theme from Oshima's film Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence. It reached the British top 20 in July and August 1983. After Japan broke up Sylvian did not write music until Sakamoto invited him to work on it. Sakamoto expected the vocal to follow the melody of the instrumental, but Sylvian found that impossible and wrote a counter-melody instead. He said that sonically the theme was incredible, and he loved the samples Sakamoto used.

Sylvian later recorded another version, which is a bonus track on the CD of Secrets of the Beehive and appears on A Victim of Stars 1982-2012. The instrumental theme inspired the mandolin part of R.E.M.'s Losing My Religion in 1991. In September 1999 a remix of the theme by Watergate, titled Heart of Asia, reached the top ten in Denmark and the UK.