German singer
Lou Bega recorded a cover of the song and released it in April 1999 as the first single from his debut album, A Little Bit of Mambo (1999). His version became a
summer hit during 1999 in most of Europe.[5] Later that year, it experienced success in the United Kingdom, North America, and Oceania. In France, it set a record by staying at number one for 20 weeks.[6] The song reached number three on the US
Billboard Hot 100 on 2 November 1999, giving Bega his only top-40 hit in the United States.[7]
Critical reception
Elisabeth Vincentelli from Entertainment Weekly rated the song with a B minus, adding, "All of a sudden,
mambo is hot again, and the unlikely city of Munich is on the
Latin-music map. For this we have to thank the Ugandan-Italian Bega and his German producing team, who have hit pay dirt by tacking new lyrics onto an old
Perez Prado song. While purists scream murder, the upbeat tune and bouncy, '80s-style synthesizers will rule weddings for years to come."[8]
Copyright dispute
The song became the subject of a seven-year copyright trial between Prado's estate, the music publisher
Peermusic, and Bega's producers. Bega had only used
riffs (which by German law cannot be registered for copyright) from Prado's original and written the entire lyrics, so Bega's producers went to court in order to gain access to all the song's proceedings from Peermusic representing Prado's estate. However, after seven years the
Federal Court of Justice of Germany ruled in favor of Peermusic and Prado's estate in 2008, based upon the fact that Bega's producers had sought a royalty agreement with Peermusic prior to releasing the song. Because of Bega's significant contributions to his version, the court's final ruling declared it a new song co-written by Prado and Bega.[9]
Music video
The accompanying
music video for "Mambo No. 5", directed by Joern Heitmann, features Lou Bega singing and dancing with
flappers.[10] An alternate music video aired on
Disney Channel, featuring clips from various Disney films and television series, with newly recorded lyrics by Bega dealing with the featured characters.[11]
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
On 3 September 2001,
BBC Records released a novelty version of the song sung by British actor
Neil Morrissey, who provided the voice of Bob for children's television show Bob the Builder. It features background vocals from
Rob Rackstraw and
Kate Harbour, who voiced several other characters on the show.[94] This cover radically changed the lyrics to fit the theme of the show, making numerous references to construction, repairs and roadway maintenance, as well as the show's characters. The women's names from Bega's version are also replaced with types of construction supplies and building tasks, e.g., timber, saw, waterproofing and tiling.
Chart performance
On 9 September 2001, the song debuted at number one on the
UK Singles Chart,[95] becoming Bob the Builder's second number-one single on the listing after "
Can We Fix It?".[95] In doing so, Bob became the first
novelty act to top the UK chart with more than one single.[96] Following the
11 September attacks, the song was removed from the
BBC Radio 2 playlist due to its lyrics about building construction, with the station's executive music producer Colin Martin describing the song as being "too frivolous in light of the news that was breaking".[97][98] The song earned a gold certification from the
British Phonographic Industry (BPI) on 12 October 2001 for shipping over 400,000 units.[99] At the end of 2001, it was ranked as the UK's 17th-best-selling single.[100]
In Ireland, the song first appeared on the
Irish Singles Chart at number 13 on 13 September and peaked at number four the following week.[101][102] It remained in the top 50 for 10 weeks in total.[103] At the end of the year, the song came in at number 42 on Ireland's year-end chart.[104] "Mambo No. 5" debuted at number three on the
Australian Singles Chart on 4 November 2001 and reached number two on 18 November.[105] After staying at the position for another week, the song descended the chart, spending nine more weeks in the top 50.[105] It was Australia's 26th-most-successful hit of the year and shipped over 70,000 copies, allowing it to receive a platinum certification from the
Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA).[106][107]
In 1999, Dutch TV character Ome Henk took a parody of the song called "Mambo Nr 6" to number 17 on the
Dutch Top 40.[113] The lyrics referred to the medicine prescribed to him, which causes hallucinations of the girls he mentions in the song. A parody of commercials for the fictional product is also heard.
The Lou Bega version has become associated with the
England cricket team and
Test cricket after it was used by UK broadcaster
Channel 4 as the theme for their live coverage of England Test matches between 1999 and 2005; the music also accompanied the return of cricket to the channel during the
2021 India–England series.[117] Having been particularly famous during the
2005 Ashes series won by England, the song is still played today by the England cricket fans, the '
Barmy Army'.[when?][citation needed]
^Pietroluongo, Silvio (28 August 1999). "Hot 100 Singles Spotlight". Billboard. Vol. 111, no. 35. p. 105. The only commercial single planned so far is a 12-inch vinyl version, which hit retail Aug. 17.