A Ryuichi Sakamoto track accompanied an ice dancing routine at the Olympics

The composer’s Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence was used to soundtrack a figure skating performance at the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang.

This weekend, Team Japan’s Kana Muramoto and Chris Reed performed a free dance routine to Sakamoto’s 1983 composition Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence. They placed last.

Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence was originally composed for the film of the same name, directed by Nagisa Oshima in 1983. In it, Sakamoto played the conflicted Captain Yonoi alongside David Bowie, who played Jack Celliers. The use of the music was timely – Sakamoto recently told The Guardian that his “great regret” was not reconnecting with David Bowie when they both lived in downtown New York.

It wasn’t the only nod to pop culture in the competition. Beyoncé’s 2011 hit Run the World (Girls) was also used for French figure skater Maé-Bérénice Méité’s performance.

Last year, Sakamoto released the full-length async – his first solo album in eight years. A collaborative album with Alva Noto, entitled Glass, will be released on 16 February via Noton.

Watch a clip of the ice dancing performance below.