Like some ultra-sweet confection that rots your teeth, this novelty chart topper from 1999 is just so addictive you can’t help but love it. The appeal is a combination of three things: its infectious trance beat, that twangy Hawaiian guitar figure, and the breathy bedroom vocal.

9pm (Till I Come) is by a German DJ and producer who goes by ATB – real name André Tanneberger – who co-wrote it with Angel Ferrerons, Julio Posadas and vocalist Yolanda Rivera, though I can’t imagine it took the Spanish model too long to come up with those lyrics.

An early adopter of recycling, Tanneberger went on to use the same melodic hook for his next single, Don’t Stop, and fooled the public enough to reach No.3 with his thinly disguised remake.

9pm (Till I Come) was the German’s first release as ATB, a project he launched in 1998 after releasing several singles (Let Me Hear You and Dance/Raving) under the name Sequential One (SQ-1).

The story behind the hook of this million-seller is worth telling: he composed it on the spur of the moment while giving a tour of his studio to a girl before taking her on a cinema date.

He showed her how he produced music by playing an impromptu “guitar” melody on a synthesiser – and that was it.

“Right in this moment I recognized: Oh this is kind of an interesting melody. So I started to work the melody and it was going further. And I put the bass in it and programmed… and I forgot she was there.

“Ater a time she said: ‘Very interesting. But we have to go to the cinema.'”

Rushing to get to the movie, Tanneberger saved the untitled tune on his computer under the time they left the studio for the cinema – 9pm.

The next day, he returned to the studio and finished the track, but It needed some vocals so his management gave him an a cappella recording simply called “Till I Come” which he added… and a hit was born.

9pm (Till I Come) topped the UK Singles Chart and ATB performed it on Top Of The Pops, standing atop a large box, surrounded by dancers.

A remake with German DJ producer Topic and Swedish singer A7S was released in 2021 and Tiësto later released a remix of the remake.