A tattooed gentleman has stunned the masses with his hidden musical talent. Barry ‘Bazza’ Leadbetter first showcased his talents many years ago on a used piano at the ‘Posh Op Shoppe’ in the Melbourne suburb of Elsternwick.
The Collingwood resident had been shopping for old music records when he stumbled across the dusty piano and started playing. The 76-year-old piano prodigy caught the attention of Op Shop owner Rosalie Silverstein, who said he found the unused piano “intentionally”.
On Sunday, a video of Mr. Leadbetter playing outside the Op Shop, where he plays classical music to the public most weekends, was uploaded to Reddit. The video touched the hearts of hundreds of viewers online, with many sharing their experiences playing with the musician.
“I moved from Elsternwick four years ago and he played there for a few years before that! Always makes me smile,” says one. “In Collingwood, I used to talk to this guy every other morning about the record. A really nice guy, well spoken,” shared another.
Mr. Leadbetter is an example that can easily be underestimated, others say. “Nowadays it’s stupid to judge a person by their tattoos. That’s how many of them there are,” one person wrote.
“You see, people with tattoos aren’t scary. We’re often quick to judge!” another commented. The talented musician told The Leader that music has always been his passion and he started learning the piano at the age of six while living in the UK.
After his family immigrated to Australia, Mr. Leadbetter pursued his love of music and graduated from the Adelaide College of Music in 1954. The passionate pianist had to put his musical career on hold to work as a factory worker for most of his adult life. Mr Leadbetter performs outside the Op Shop in Elsternwick every weekend but dreams of playing live one day.
