'Imagine' pianist lifts hearts again as Paris mourns

A pianist who captured the hearts of millions by performing John Lennon’s Imagine outside the Paris theatre where at least 89 people were killed has returned to the capital for another impromptu set.

'Imagine' pianist lifts hearts again as Paris mourns

A pianist who captured the hearts of millions by performing John Lennon’s Imagine outside the Paris theatre where at least 89 people were killed has returned to the capital for another impromptu set.

German Davide Martello, who lives hundreds of miles away, first performed for mourners outside the Bataclan theatre on Saturday.

He had been in a pub in Konstanz, Germany watching the Germany v France match at the Stade de France when the match was halted by a suicide bombing outside. He decided to drive with his piano for seven hours to get to Paris, hoping to offer some comfort to the city's mourners.

He cycled to the site of the deadliest attack, in which more than 80 died, with his piano on the bike, and played John Lennon's Imagine.

The poignant instrumental was captured on camera phones and beamed around the world as a sign of hope, hours after the city was waking from the horrors of the terror attacks.

And mourners attending Place de la Republique – the unofficial focal point for tributes to Friday’s victims – were stunned when Martello again began performing.

His repertoire included Beatles hits Yesterday and Hey Jude, and another rendition of Imagine.

Several people in the huge crowd which gathered around the pianist provided vocal accompaniment, while others held lighters aloft as the sun set on the square.

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