George Andrew "Andy" McCluskey (born 24 June 1959 in Heswall, Wirral, Merseyside) is an English musician, songwriter and record producer who is regarded as a pioneer of electronic music in the United Kingdom. McCluskey is widely recognized as the frontman of globally successful new wave band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD), but is also known as the founder of girl group Atomic Kitten. An Ivor Novello Award-nominated songwriter, he wrote or co-wrote multiple international hits, including: "Enola Gay", "Joan of Arc", "Maid of Orleans", "If You Leave" and "Sailing on the Seven Seas" for OMD; and "Right Now", "See Ya", "Whole Again" and "Cradle" for Atomic Kitten.
McCluskey has been described by critic Ned Raggett in AllMusic as an artist "who clearly could balance artistic and commercial impulses in a winning fashion." His distinctive, self-deprecating on-stage routine was dubbed the "Trainee Teacher Dance" by the BBC's Stuart Maconie, who wrote that it became "the dance-floor routine of choice" for students in the early-to-mid 1980s. In live performances, McCluskey often plays bass guitar (with strings inverted) and occasionally, keyboard instruments and guitar; he continues performing with OMD to the present day.
"Forbidden Colours" is a 1983 song by David Sylvian and Ryuichi Sakamoto. The song is the vocal version of the theme from the Nagisa Oshima film Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (in certain territories retitled Furyo). It appears on the film's soundtrack album and was released as a single on Virgin Records in 1983 (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.
The wounds on your hands never seem to heal
I thought all I needed was to believe
Here am I, a lifetime away from you
The blood of Christ, or the beat of my heart
My love wears forbidden colours
My life believes
Senseless years thunder by
Millions are willing to give their lives for you
Does nothing live on?
Learning to cope with feelings aroused in me
My hands in the soil, buried inside of myself
My love wears forbidden colours
My life believes in you once again
I'll go walking in circles
While doubting the very ground beneath me
Trying to show unquestioning faith in everything
Here am I, a lifetime away from you
The blood of Christ, or a change of heart
My love wears forbidden colours
My life believes
My love wears forbidden colours
My life believes in you once again