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.
Social worker Michael Camp, who has been looking after the man since he was found on April 7, wearing a dripping wet suit and tie, said: "Until we get some really firm evidence where somebody can show us a picture of him or anything concrete then it is a possibility and nothing more."
A police spokeswoman in Rome said: "We have been contacted by a Polish national who is a street mimer after he read the story of the mystery piano player in England.
"He has told us that he is sure it is a French street musician who he worked with in Nice and has given us the name Steven Villa Masson.
"We have taken a full statement from him and have passed it to police in Britain through Interpol and the information has also been passed to France."
Hospital staff said their problems had been compounded by the fact that all the labels had been cut off the man's clothes.
"That is a real twist -- and it's enough of a mystery without that," said Adrian Lowther, spokesman for the West Kent National Health Service Trust.
The British press has likened his case to the Oscar-winning 1996 movie "Shine," about acclaimed pianist David Helfgott, who suffered a nervous breakdown while playing.
But the man does not seem to be more than an accomplished amateur.
Hospital staff say that when he is not playing the piano, he remains very anxious. But at the keyboard, he calms down noticeably.
Source: CNN
