The world seems to have forgotten the queer case of the amnesiac "piano man". And what a queer case it is. And certainly worth remembering…

On 7 April, 2005, Andreas Grassl washed up on shore in Kent, England, where police questioned the 20-year old. Unfortunately memory eluded Grassl, who wore a suit with the labels removed, adding another element to the mystery. At the Medway Maritime Hospital, doctors gave the lost boy a pen and paper. Rather than writing his name, as doctors had hoped, Grassl drew a picture of a piano. The kid may not have known his name, but he sure as hell remembered how to tickle the ivories. He played for hours, thus garnering the Billy Joel inspired moniker, "Piano Man". The media swarmed, following the story with tenacity, trying desperately to solve the mystery, break the story and put an end to the guessing game. It wouldn't be months, however, until we learned the truth: the son of a German farmer, Grassl fled his conservative upbringing and wound up in England.

But why did he leave home? And, more importantly, how did he end up in the English Channel? According to today's The Scotsman, Grassl's a gay.

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