A hospital in South East England has launched an appeal to find information about a young man in his 20s or 30s who they have dubbed “Piano Man”. The story is one worthy of a Sherlock Holmes novel.
The slim 6ft tall man was found five weeks ago in the early hours of the morning wandering the beach on the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent. He was well dressed in a suit but was soaking wet.
He was taken to a mental health unit but has not spoken since then. Staff gave him a notepad and pen in the hopes he might write down some details. Instead he drew a very accurate picture of agrand piano apparently in a spotlight.
When he was taken to the hospital chapel which has a piano, he played for several hours at a stretch. Subsequently he has been given music paper and has written down music.
The hospital believe he has suffered some sort of mental trauma but he is physically well. Attemps have been made to speak to him using various interpreters but he has not responded.
Despite the picture, the pianist apparently has brown hair. If you do have any information, the National Missing Persons Helpline is doing the co-ordination. Their confidential phone number is 020 8392 4509 (00 44 20 8392 4509 from outside the UK).
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The “silent pianist” attracts global attention. BooMan and your diary have received a steady stream of hits from across the world, remarkable.
Are there any new developments?
It’s also covered in the Netherlands, even pinpointed a Dutch citizen as the unnamed man. I’ll try to find this story in the press or a TV item.
Referral – Slovakia
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A 33-year-old Polish illegal immigrant approached police in Rome, Italy, on Tuesday. Mime artist Dariusz Dydymski said he was “99% certain” the pianist was a Steven Villa Massone, with whom he had worked in the French resort of Nice. However, after Mr Massone was apparently tracked down by a national newspaper, West Kent NHS Trust agreed he didn’t appear to be the Piano Man.
Social worker Michael Camp, who has been looking after him since he was found on April 7 wearing a dripping wet suit and tie, said: “I understand the man in Nice has been discounted.
Mr Camp said he had heard reports that the Piano Man may be a mysterious stranger who turned up in Canada with no memory in 1999 but had since disappeared. He was not aware if this theory was being investigated but said it would be if details were made known to the Trust.
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Readers from ASIA – welcome to read the special section at BooMan Tribune.
Map Southern-Asia
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That might be the best source of clues to his identity.
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The man shocked staff with a performance of classical music after Mr Camp showed him the piano in the hospital’s chapel. Mr Camp said: “When we took him to the chapel piano it really was amazing. He has not spoken since the day we picked him up.
“He does not make any sounds but I think I can communicate with him through tiny nods.” The man has since written music, which has been verified as genuine. “It is extraordinary. The first time we took him down to the piano he played for several hours, non-stop.”
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The case has drawn comparisons with the 1996 film Shine that depicts the story of acclaimed pianist David Helfgott who suffered a nervous breakdown.
Ms Dorey-Rees was unable to say what music he had played. “Nobody was skilled enough to recognise the music, they just knew it was classical music and he played very well.”
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some people with a little more expertise on the subject. I love this:
“The man has since written music, which has been verified as genuine.” 😀
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mental disorder is up to par within the NHS.
Or did Blair make promises he couldn’t keep, because of the cost of war?
Hope they get their intellect right in this case.
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While I can’t blame them for not having anyone in house who could tell the difference between a Brandenberg Concerto and the overture of Nabucco, it does seem like common sense would dictate making a call to a local university as soon as the guy started to play. The article makes it sound like they are all just sitting around scratching their heads over this perplexing dilemma.
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The mysterious and mute “Piano Man” is not a French street musician, the London Independent reports.
The man had been found wandering around the town of Sheerness on the Isle of Sheppey dressed in a suit and tie and soaking wet. When Dariusz Dydymski, a Polish mime, saw the picture of the man, he identified him as Steven Villa Massone, a pianist with whom he had performed on the French Riviera. Dydymski told authorities he was “99 percent sure” that the unidentified patient was Massone. But writers for the Independent tracked down Massone in Nice.
“I found out this morning when I saw the Italian papers that he had said the man was me,” Massone said. “I didn’t understand what had happened, and suddenly I had lots of calls asking if I was the pianist.”
In related news, the London Evening Standard reports that Canadian police are trying to determine if the Kent patient is the same as “Mr. Nobody,” a man who walked into a Toronto hospital in 1999 with his face bloodied and his nose broken, and with amnesia.
The man, who now goes by the name Sywald Skeid, has attempted to apply for British and Canadian passports (without them, he cannot get work), and was last seen at his release from a Victoria, British Columbia, prison, where he served a term for an immigration-related offence.
He has also used the names Philip Staufen and Keith Ryan. His wife is said to be in Portugal, trying to secure a visa for him there.
Stephen Bone, a detective with the Toronto police, said, “I believe he deceived me in 1999 and continues to deceive authorities.”
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