You're about to listen to a BBC podcast and trust me you'll get there in a moment but if you're a comedy fan

I'd really like to tell you a bit about what we do. I'm Julie Mackenzie and I commission comedy

podcast at the BBC. It's a bit of a dream job really. Comedy is a bit of a dream job really.

Comedy is a fantastic joyous thing to do because really you're making people laugh,

making people's days a bit better, helping them process, all manner of things.

But you know, I also know that comedy is really

subjective and everyone has different tastes. So we've got a huge range of comedy on offer from

satire to silly, shocking to soothing, profound to just general pratting about.

So if you fancy a laugh, find your next comedy at BBC Sounds. You're listening to the Witness History Podcast from the BBC World Service with me

Vicky Fancum. I've been listening to the archives to bring you the story of

Winifred Atwell, the pianist from Trinidad who in the 1950s broke sales records, played

sell-out concerts all over the world, and

wowed famous fans including Sir Elton John and the Queen.

Hello folks and welcome to the first of our piano parties.

I'm sure you will agree that my old piano certainly gets things swinging,

so we'll start right off with one of my party medley's. That's the sound of Winifred Atwell, introducing her programme on Radio Luxembourg.

She was the first instrumentalist and the first black artist to go to number one in the UK.

She was the first black woman in the UK to front her own TV series and she was the first pianist to play at the

Sydney Opera House. But her story began in Trinidad in 1913.

When I was born it was my father's first wished that I should play the piano.

So as soon as I was old enough they put me to it, you know?

This is Winnifred talking on the Mike Walsh show on Australia's 9 network in 1981.

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