Brenda Fassie was one of South Africa's biggest pop stars in the late 1980s. The singer’s career nosedived in 1990, but her comeback saw her dubbed the 'Madonna of the townships' by Time magazine. Yvonne Chaka Chaka, born a year after Brenda, was perhaps the only South African pop star who could rival her popularity. Twenty years ago, in 2004, Brenda died Yvonne celebrates Brenda's life with Ben Henderson. (Photo Brenda Fassie, a South African pop star, performing on stage. Credit :ALEXANDER JOE/AFP via Getty Images.)

Brenda Fassie: Madonna of the townships

History as told by the people who were there.

History

Society & Culture

In the 1980s, a thirst for caffeine caused an unusual global collaboration. Coffee-loving East Germans were left without after a crop failure in the world’s biggest exporter of the drink, Brazil. So the East Germans hatched a scheme, linking up with fellow communist state Vietnam to create a mass of coffee plantations. The man behind the plan, Siegfried Kaulfuß, tells Michael Rossi about the scale and success of the endeavour. (Photo: Siegfried Kaulfuß with Vietnamese coffee farmers. Credit: Siegfried Kaulfuß)

East Germany's coffee from Vietnam

When a new show called Friends hit American TV screens in September 1994, it made household names of its cast. Over 10 series, it charted the lives of six young New Yorkers, through marriages, divorces, births and deaths.  The final episode was broadcast on 6 May 2004. In 2014, executive producer Kevin Bright told Farhana Haider how the show was born - and how it became one of the biggest comedies of all time. (Photo: The cast on the last day of filming. Credit: David Hume Kennerly/Getty Images)

Friends: The making of a smash hit

Thirty years on from the opening of the Channel Tunnel between Britain and France, we look at the moment the two halves of the tunnel were connected in 1990. Graham Fagg was the man who made the breakthrough, and the first person to cross by land between the two countries in 8,000 years. In 2010, he told Lucy Williamson about the festivities of that day. (Photo: The moment of breakthrough Graham Fagg greets Frenchman Philippe Cozette. Credit: AFP/Getty Images)

The Channel Tunnel breakthrough

In February 2014, Ukraine’s ousted president, Viktor Yanukovych fled the country. His estate was abandoned by security guards, so for the first time ordinary people got to see inside Mezhyhirya, the extraordinarily extravagant home of the former president. Denys Tarakhkotelyk was one of those early visitors, and went on to take charge of the estate. He tells Gill Kearsley his remarkable story, and how the house became known as a ‘museum of corruption’. (Photo: People wander around President Viktor Yanukovych's Mezhyhirya estate. Credit: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

Ukraine's 'museum of corruption'

In 1936, Dale Carnegie wrote one of the world’s most popular self help books - How to Win Friends and Influence People. The idea was suggested by a book editor who had attended one of Dale’s public speaking courses in New York. The result was a mix of psychology, philosophy and good old-fashioned common sense. Dale offered advice like: Smile. Give praise. Be a good listener. And remember people’s names.  The book went on to become a best seller. Today, more than 30 million copies have been sold worldwide, and it has been translated into 36 languages. Even the title is part of popular culture. Dale’s daughter Donna Dale Carnegie tells Jane Wilkinson about the secret of its success. (Photo: How to Win Friends and Influence People in 1955. Credit: Frederic Hamilton/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Brenda Fassie: Madonna of the townships

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