Report: 'Piano Man' identified

[MADem]

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/europe/05/18/pianoman/index.html?section=cnn_latest

LONDON, England -- A Polish man living in Italy says he knows the identity of the so-called "Piano Man" who was found wondering the streets in southern England wearing a soaking wet suit. The tall, blond-haired man, who is in his 20s or early 30s, has not said a word since he was found on the Isle of Sheppey on April 7.

When hospital staff gave him writing materials, he drew detailed pictures of a grand piano and, when shown the piano in the hospital chapel, sat down and played for two hours, causing staff to nickname him "Piano Man."

Italian police told the UK Press Association that a 33-year-old illegal immigrant had approached officers at the Trevi Fountain in Rome after spotting the pianist's photograph in a newspaper. He said that the man was a French street musician called Steven Villa Masson.

The Pole said he had worked with Masson in the French Riviera resort of Nice....

Sounds like a movie plot...Shine, Part II, perhaps?

[Bhaisahab]

1. this is a great story

good luck to the piano man!

[pacifictiger]

2. So now the question is....

how did he get to be on english seaside steps, soaking wet?
What a mystery!

[MADem]

3. Jumped off the ferry, maybe?

That was my first thought!

[ET Awful]

8. Haven't you seen the Bourne Identitiy?

He's a frickin' spy man!

[dbt]

4. Just a PR campaign to launch a new star?

If so, it's brilliant.

[MADem]

5. At first they thought he was an Eastern European Economic Asylum Seeker

They never pegged the guy as French! They brought in a pile of language speakers, but never tried the old grammar school French on him....!

[muriel_volestrangler]

7. It's not just a question of finding the right language

He doesn't respond to people at all. Any Frenchman (and probably any European) would have recognised a few words of English. He has been traumatised in some way.

[Javaman]

13. Here it is, American Idol European style.....

each contestant is hit on the head, giving them amnesia, dropped out of a plane, pushed off a boat or thrown from a train, they then have to use their musical ability to save their lives! The last one still alive, wins! Woo hoo, now that's some good TV!

[Enraged_Ape]

6. It's nine o'clock on a Saturday...

the regular crowd shuffles in...

Seriously, that's an amazing story.

[jobycom]

9. An illegal immigrant approached officers at the Trevi Fountain in Rome?

Are you kidding me?

My god, if this doesn't turn out to be a hoax, it's amazing. If it is a hoax, it's even more brilliant! A man in soaked suit in England is identified by an illegal immigrant in Rome who worked with the man in Nice... Man, makes Terminal look commonplace.

[MADem]

10. UPDATE: Mystery NOT solved!!!!!!!!

According to the teevee news, the sister of the French guy says "That ain't MY brother!" so the Polish mime at the Trevi fountain was mistaken!

Still no idea who this guy is....!!! But hey, they could toss him in a corner of a trendy restaurant to play dinner music, and at least he could earn his keep!

[atommom]

11. That sounds like the plot for a good suspense movie!

I wonder what the true story is...

[yellowcanine]

12. A street musician whose instrument is a piano????

[foo_bar]

14. I've only seen it in Paris

I think it requires a park, an upright piano, and a modicum of public safety.

[muriel_volestrangler]

15. You can get keyboards that run on battery power

with reasonable quality.

[foo_bar]

16. that's a "street keyboardist"

They're a different animal, more inclined to Barry Manilow.

[muriel_volestrangler]

17. Ooh, musical criticism now?

I bet Barry Manilow can play classical music just fine :-)

[enki23]

18. sounds pretty damned suspicious

.