1999 Lou Bega: Mambo No. 5

Of course, if we're going to be talking about popular, mainstream Latin music, then they don't come much bigger than Perez Prado, Cuban bandleader and 'King Of The Mambo'. Bega's 'Mambo No 5' takes it's title and central rhythm (via much sampling) from Prado's own 1949 dance tune. It's all credit to Prado that his piece still sounds contemporary, though Bega (who was actually German) helps by coating it with an extra layer of bright Europop and adding a lyric that's equal part nonsense party games ("Jump up and down and move it all around. Shake your head to the sound put your hands an the ground") and equal part a tongue in cheek celebration of his love of the ladies ("A little bit of Monica in my life" etc etc). In Bega's hands, 'Mambo No 5" is a brash burst of colour that maintains enough of its Cuban origins to provide a sheen of authenticity to something that would otherwise be pretty throwaway. But I guess when you have the good fortune to be following Halliwell then anybody would be hard pressed to come up with something less enjoyable.