My unwelcome birthday surprise became a cult classic

When Sibylle Baier was in her early 20s with two young children living in Stuttgart in Germany, she went on a road trip through the Alps with a friend. The adventure lifted Sibylle out of a depression and inspired her to write and record an album of songs, titled Colour Green. Only friends and family heard the music and for years the tapes gathered dust in the attic. But decades later, at her 60th birthday party, her son Robby Baier surprised her by handing out copies of the album to every guest there. Sibylle was taken aback – she had completely forgotten about it, and didn't love the surprise. But when Colour Green ended up in the hands of a record label boss the music began to take on a life of its own, and was hailed as a lost acoustic masterpiece.

Nieves González was a relatively unknown Spanish artist when she received a DM on Instagram asking her to paint the British singer Lily Allen's portrait for her latest release, West End Girl. Nieves painted the singer in the centuries-old Spanish Baroque aesthetic wearing a contemporary baby-blue polka-dot puffer jacket and knee-length boots. Nieves knew Lily Allen was a popular singer but had no idea that West End Girl would go on to become the success it did, showcasing her artwork to millions and displaying it across billboards around the world. Her portrait of Lily Allen is now on loan to the National Portrait Gallery in London.

Barry Enderwick knows more about sandwiches than most. Hailing from San Francisco, he has amassed millions of views on social media for his videos reviewing sandwiches from around the world. A marketing consultant by profession, in 2021 Barry was gifted a sandwich recipe book chronicling sandwiches from the turn of the century. Intrigued, he decided to find out what they were like for himself by making each one and posting about it online. Years later, Barry is still posting a video about a different sandwich every day on his channel Sandwiches from History – and still isn't bored of filling between slices of bread. He has a book coming out in 2027 called Vintage Party Sandwiches.

Presenter: Jo Fidgen

Producers: May Cameron, Florian Bohr, Zoe Gelber

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(Photo: A black and white photo shows Sibylle and Robby Baier sat on the floor leaning against a bookshelf. Robby rests the left side of his head on Sibylle's right arm. Sibylle's arm rests on her knee and she holds a cigarette in her right hand. Sibylle and Robby both look into the camera. Credit: Robby Baier)