‘Piano Man’ returns home to Germany

The mysterious ‘Piano Man’ has been identified and has been discharged from hospital, it has emerged.

West Kent NHS and Social Care Trust, which had been caring for the man since April, confirmed that he had been discharged from their care following a “marked improvement” in his condition.

The trust issued a statement, which said: “The patient dubbed ‘Piano Man’ is no longer in the care of West Kent NHS and Social Care Trust. He has been discharged from our care following a marked improvement in his condition.

“The rules regarding patient confidentiality mean that the Trust is unable to make any further comment on this story. This includes any comment on his condition, current location or the circumstances in which he left the Trust’s care.”

However, on Monday, the ‘Daily Mirror’ reported that the man finally broke his silence last week and told nursing staff that he was German, but had come to the UK after losing his job in Paris. The newspaper reported that the man was aged 20 and originally from Bavaria.

The German Embassy in London later confirmed that the man was a German national. A spokesperson said that the man’s parents had been contacted and he had now returned home.

The ‘Piano Man’ was discovered on a beach in the Isle of Sheppey in Kent on April 7. He was soaking wet and dressed in a suit and tie, with all the labels removed.

When he was taken to Medway Maritime Hospital, he refused to communicate with staff, except to draw a detailed drawing of a grand piano. He was taken to the hospital’s chapel, where staff said he played ‘beautiful classical music’ for four hours, leading to him being dubbed the ‘Piano Man’.

The case received much media attention and there were a number of promising leads, including information, which suggested he might be a French street musician or a Czech concert pianist. However, his identity remained a mystery.

It has now emerged that the ‘Piano Man’ was not a brilliant pianist as had been previously reported. According to reports, he did not play classical piano for four hours – instead he merely tapped out a single note continuously.

(KMcA/SP)