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The Piano Man is an unidentified man who seems to suffer from some form of amnesia and, while he does not speak, can express himself through playing the piano.

The man has not spoken since he was picked up by police as he was wandering the streets in Sheerness, Kent, in England, in a soaking wet suit and tie on April 7, 2005. He is believed to be between his late 20s or early 30s.

When he was presented a pen and paper by Medway Maritime Hospital staff in the hope he would write his name, he instead drew a detailed sketch of a grand piano. When they first brought him to a piano, he played music from various kinds of genres (ranging from classical music by Tchaikovsky to pop by The Beatles) non-stop for two hours, and then collapsed.

Tracing the Piano Man

He is currently in a secure mental health unit in north Kent while he is being treated and evaluated. Interpreters have been brought in, to see if the man was from Eastern Europe, but to no avail. Orchestras around Europe have been contacted in a bid to trace his identity.

The West Kent NHS and Social Care Trust, and the local police constabulary have received what they described as an "overwhelming" public response, receiving over 800 calls on a dedicated helpline.

His picture was posted on the National Missing Persons Helpline's (NMPH). On May 18, 2005, a Polish man working as a mime artist in Rome, Italy approached Italian police officers, believing the Piano Man as a French street musician called Steven Villa Masson. However, the British newspaper, The Independent, tracked down Masson to his home in France, thus ruling out this lead.

Italian television stations have shown footage of a concert pianist with a resemblance to the Piano Man—the pictures were filmed at an instrument fair in Rimini five years ago, and although his hair is different, his nose and facial structure is very similar. He also stayed silent. British tabloids have also suggested a link to a man last seen in Canada two years ago.

BBC News reported on 29 May 2005 that a Czech man called Klaudius Kryspin had rung the helpline, offering information that the Piano Man may be a pianist called Tomas Strnad, who along with Mr Kryspin was in the band Ropotamo. Despite not having seen him for nine years, Mr Kryspin was quoted as saying "When I saw the picture in the newspapers, I knew it was Tomas". Even though the West Kent NHS Trust described this as a "promising lead" and reportedly planned to bring in a Czech interpreter, this theory (like the theory that it was Steven Villa Masson, above) was dashed when Tomas Strnad was found and interviewed on Czech TV. The article reporting this gave the name of the drummer as Michael Kocab, however.

Parallels

Parallels have been drawn between the case of the Piano Man and the Australian pianist David Helfgott, who suffered a nervous breakdown brought on by mental illness. Helfgott's story was depicted in the movie Shine. A similar case was that of Mauritania's Silent Flute Man.

External links

• "I'm not Piano Man", says Czech
• BBC: Lead in hunt for Piano Man's name
• CNN: 'Piano Man' still not identified
• CNN: Silent 'piano man' baffles medics
• BBC: Fantastic response to 'Piano Man'
• The Globe and Mail: Piano player man of mystery
• BBC: 'Piano Man' identified in Italy?
• National Missing Persons Helpline

• Current events