Christchurch's popular blind piano player, known for playing around the city with his faithful dog beside him, is without an income after his piano broke beyond repair.
Pianist Richard Hore told AM his beloved instrument has been carted around with him for more than seven years and has faced the odd bump "from time to time".
"I think it just got bumped once too often."
Hore said it's going to be expensive to replace, but it'll be worth it because it's his "bread and butter".
"That's what I like to do is just to meet the people especially playing around and rest homes and things like that," he said.
"It's wonderful to hear the people singing how they appreciate the music. And it's a great thing. It's what I do. It's what I enjoy."
Hore's friend Mary Axcell thought of setting up a Givealittle page to help get him a new piano.
"He's given a lot to the community and I thought, it's probably time people can give something back to Richard because it's so important to him and it's really his passion."
Hore told AM he wasn't born blind but had tumours on his retinas and his eye were removed at 20 weeks.
"I started learning the piano when I was eight, that was the start of everything," he said.
As of the time this story was published, Hore's Givealittle had raised $9155.
Watch the full interview above.
