Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (instrumental)
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| "Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Template:Infobox song/link by Ryuichi Sakamoto | ||||
| from the album Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence O.S.T | ||||
| B-side | "Sowing the Seed" | |||
| Released | September 1983 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | Script error: No such module "hms". | |||
| Label | Virgin | |||
| [[Songwriter|SongwriterTemplate:Pluralize from text]] | Ryuichi Sakamoto | |||
| [[Record producer|ProducerTemplate:Pluralize from text]] | Ryuichi Sakamoto | |||
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"Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence" is a 1983 instrumental by the Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto, recorded for the 1983 film Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence. Sakamoto also recorded a vocal version, "Forbidden Colours", featuring the English singer David Sylvian. In 1999, a remix by Watergate, "Heart of Asia", was successful in the UK and Denmark. In 2024, the German band Kraftwerk covered "Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence" in tribute to Sakamoto after his death in 2023.
Reception
According to the Guardian film critic Peter Bradshaw, "Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence" is one of the most famous film themes of the 1980s, with an "inspirationally catchy westernised pop take on Japanese music".[1] It inspired the mandolin part of the 1991 R.E.M. song "Losing My Religion".[2]
Charts
| Chart (1983) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[3] | 88 |
| Chart (2016) | Peak position |
|---|
Forbidden Colours
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| "Forbidden Colours" | ||||
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| Template:Infobox song/link by David Sylvian and Ryuichi Sakamoto | ||||
| from the album Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence | ||||
| B-side | "The Seed and the Sower" (by Sakamoto) | |||
| Released | Script error: No such module "Date time".[4] | |||
| Recorded | 1983 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | Script error: No such module "hms". | |||
| Label | Virgin | |||
| [[Songwriter|SongwriterTemplate:Pluralize from text]] | Ryuichi Sakamoto (music) David Sylvian (lyrics) | |||
| [[Record producer|ProducerTemplate:Pluralize from text]] | Ryuichi Sakamoto | |||
| Ryuichi Sakamoto singles chronology | ||||
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Sakamoto created a vocal version, "Forbidden Colours", with the English singer David Sylvian. It reached the top 20 of the UK singles chart in July and August 1983.[5]
After Sylvian's band Japan broke up, he did not write music until Sakamoto invited him to work on "Forbidden Colours". Sakamoto originally expected Sylvian's vocal to follow the instrumental melody, but Sylvian found this impossible and instead wrote a counter-melody. Sylvain said of Sakamoto's theme: "Sonically it was incredible. I loved all the samples that he was using ... Sound design was a big part of it for us, and what Ryuichi as producer did was extraordinary with that particular piece of music."[6]
Sylvian later recorded another version, which is featured as a bonus track for the CD version of Secrets of the Beehive.[7] It also appears in Sylvian's 2012 compilation album A Victim of Stars 1982–2012.[8]
Chart positions
| Chart (1983) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[3] | 29 |
| Iceland (Dagblaðið Vísir)[9] | 1 |
Watergate remix
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| "Heart of Asia" | |
|---|---|
| Template:Infobox song/link by Watergate | |
| B-side | "Infinity" (club mix) |
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| Label |
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| [[Songwriter|SongwriterTemplate:Pluralize from text]] | Ryuichi Sakamoto |
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In September 1999, a remix, "Heart of Asia", was released in Europe by the German-Turkish DJ DJ Quicksilver, under the alias Watergate. It reached number three on the UK singles chart and number four in Denmark.[citation needed] The British journalist James Masterton wrote that it was "one of the few dance treatments of a famous song that actually manages to make the original seem almost dull by comparison".[10]
Charts
Weekly charts
| Chart (1999–2000) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[11] | 98 |
| Denmark (IFPI)[12] | 4 |
| Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[13] | 18 |
Year-end charts
| Chart (2000) | Position |
|---|---|
| Ireland (IRMA)[14] | 98 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[15] | 86 |
Kraftwerk cover
On 27 July 2024, at the Fuji Rock Festival in Naeba, the German band Kraftwerk covered f "Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence" as a tribute to Sakamoto, who died in 2023. The Kraftwerk member Ralf Hütter had been friends with Sakamoto since 1981. After performing "Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence", Kraftwerk played their single "Radioactivity", for which Sakamoto wrote additional Japanese lyrics in 2012.[16]
References
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- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Bradshaw, Peter (27 June 2018). "Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda review – portrait of Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence composer". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Myers, Marc (12 April 2016). "Behind R.E.M.'s Hit 'Losing My Religion'". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
- ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 263. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Turn on". Record Mirror: 8. 18 June 1983. Retrieved 15 December 2020 – via flickr.com.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Forbidden Colours". UK Official Charts. Official Charts. Retrieved 21 March 2025.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Wallace, Wyndham (19 March 2012). "David Sylvian's guide to the work of David Sylvian". The Quietus.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Secrets Of The Beehive". David Sylvian : Expect Everything And Nothing Less. 14 March 2015. Retrieved 12 April 2026.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Forbidden Colours (version) - David Sylvian". Vista. 20 December 2018. Retrieved 12 April 2026.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Vísir - 181. Tölublað (12.08.1983) - Tímarit.is". timarit.is. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Masterton, James (7 May 2000). "Week ending May 13th 2000". Chart Watch UK. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Top National Sellers" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 16, no. 46. 6 November 1999. p. 23. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 17, no. 21. 20 May 2000. p. 11. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Top 100 of 2000". Raidió Teilifís Éireann. Archived from the original on 2 June 2004. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Best Sellers of 2000: Singles Top 100". Music Week. 20 January 2001. p. 25.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Kraftwerk perform 'Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence' in tribute to Ryuichi Sakamoto". Mixmag. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
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