'Piano Man' flies back to Germany

[4me2]

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=629 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD colSpan=3>'Piano Man' flies back to Germany

</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width=416><!-- S BO --><!-- S IIMA --><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=203 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD> The unidentified man appeared in Kent in April

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!-- E IIMA --><!-- S SF -->The so-called Piano Man who triggered massive efforts to identify him after he was found wandering in Kent in April has been released from hospital.

On Monday the German foreign ministry confirmed the 20-year-old, who has not been named, was from Bavaria and had flown home on Saturday.

West Kent NHS and Social Care Trust, would not comment further on the case because of patient confidentiality.

The man, said to be an excellent pianist, was found on Sheppey in April. <!-- E SF -->

A national newspaper reported on Monday that the man had finally broken his silence and stated he was German, before leaving the UK.

The health trust said the patient had been discharged following a marked improvement in his condition but the rules regarding patient confidentiality meant there would be no further statement.

<!-- S IBOX --><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=208 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width=5></TD><TD class=sibtbg> We contacted his parents and his identification was confirmed


Spokesman for German embassy in London

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!-- E IBOX -->

The trust also declined to comment on the circumstances in which the patient left its care.

The German embassy in London said it had been contacted on Friday morning by the Little Brook Hospital, in Dartford, with a report of a man claiming to be a German national.

"We contacted his parents and his identification was confirmed," an embassy spokesman said.

"We gave him replacement travel documents and he left the UK using his own arrangements on Saturday morning.

"This was a neutral affair for us, it was someone who had lost his passport and needed to get back to Germany and we helped him."

'Stunning performance'

The man was first taken to Medway Maritime Hospital where he drew a picture of a grand piano and was then taken to the hospital chapel.

It was reported that health and social workers said they were "stunned" when he proceeded to give them a virtuoso performance.

However, newspaper reports now suggest he was only able to play one note continuously.

Theories put forward and later discounted included that the man was a French street musician and a Czech concert pianist.

<!-- S IIMA --><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=203 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD> The mystery man produced a pencil drawing of a piano

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!-- E IIMA -->

A Norwegian speaker was brought in to try to communicate with the man, in his 20s or early 30s, after he pointed to Oslo on a map.

A ship from Norway was thought to have been in the area when he was found and there were suggestions that his suit was soaked because he had been in the sea.

His social worker Michael Camp claimed that his client "came to life" at the piano. All the labels had been removed from his clothes when he was found on The Broadway in Minster, Sheerness. Appeals led to a worldwide response which at its height generated more than 800 leads.<!-- E BO -->



</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/kent/4172662.stm

[shitball]

i think the threads in the wrong place!i think he's god.

[xdir]

Its Boris Beckers long lost son. . .

[ianbarker]

update by sky news:- http://www.sky.com/skynews/article/0...193194,00.html

FATHER CONFIRMS IDENTITY

The identity of the so-called "Piano Man" has finally been revealed.

He has been named as Andreas Grassl, hailing from the tiny community of Prosdorf in Bavaria, Germany.


His father Josef and neighbours confirmed that Mr Grassl was the gaunt figure whose picture had featured in media reports across the world over the last few months.

The story of a man who did not speak but could play the piano with enormous skill prompted a worldwide search for his identity.

The Grassl family lost contact with Andreas after he travelled to France and then eventually to the UK, where he was found wandering on a Kent beach in April.

Josef Grassl said the family was unaware of the worldwide publicity and campaign to identify his son, who baffled health workers in the UK with his silence.

He said his son was mentally ill and was being treated by doctors.

Social workers had toiled for months in a bid to help Mr Grassl, and it is thought that thousands of pounds were spent in the effort to identify him.

Mr Grassl was dubbed the "Piano Man" by the media after carers described how he had "played classical music beautifully for four hours" at the mental health unit in Dartford, Kent, where he was treated.

However, his keyboard skills have now been thrown into doubt after an insider at the Little Brook Hospital told the Daily Mirror that he would often just tap one note continuously.

Mr Grassl broke his silence last week before the German Embassy in London provided him with papers so he could return to his family home in Bavaria at the weekend.


Ian