BRITAIN: A theory that the so-called "Piano Man" is a French street musician has neither been proven nor discounted, his social worker in England has said.
Michael Camp, who has been looking after the "Piano Man" since he was found on April 7th wearing a dripping wet suit and tie, said yesterday: "He might be him, but at the same time he might not be. There are 300 plus other names that we have got."
A Polish illegal immigrant approached police in Rome on Tuesday, after spotting the mystery man's photograph in a newspaper, and claimed he knew him. He said he was sure the pianist, who has not spoken since he was found wandering near a beach in Kent, was Steven Villa Masson, with whom he worked in Nice.
Polish mime artist Dariusz Dydymski (33), who lived with a "piano genius" named Steven Masson in Nice for about a month, said: "I could be wrong, but I am 99 per cent certain the man in England is the man I knew as Steven Villa Masson.
"The face and the stature are the same, but above all, it is the hands that have convinced me.
"When I knew him he had brown hair but now it is blond," Mr Dydymski added. "He is a piano genius and plays heavenly Chopin but he also plays Liszt and Bach amazingly. Steven is also a composer and toured all over Europe and he would often play for rich families in Munich, sometimes giving them private lessons."
A police spokeswoman in Rome said: "We have taken a full statement and have passed it to police in Britain through Interpol and the information has also been passed to France." An NHS Trust spokesman said: "We have had calls and e-mails from people from Australia, Canada, Sweden and Holland."