Crossword Genius

Player who could give strippers new heart (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

piper

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'player' is the definition.
(I know that piper is a type of player)

'give strippers new heart' is the wordplay.
'give strippers' becomes 'pipe' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'new' becomes 'early' (similar in meaning).
'heart' indicates the central letters.
The centre of 'early' is 'r'.
'pipe'+'r'='PIPER'

'who could' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for piper that I've seen before include "eg Flautist" , "Artist known for his stained glass in Coventry Cathedral, d. 1992" , "Musician sometimes paid (or pied!)" , "Scots musician" , "Bagpipes player" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
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