Mr. Butch

Mr. Butch (real name: Harold Madison, Jr.), formerly known as the King of Kenmore Square, is a homeless person living on the streets of Boston. What sets him apart from the myriad urban homeless in this city is his notoriety among Boston's college students and within its rock scene, now spanning three decades.

In the mid- to late-Seventies, Butch would often be seen on the streets near the Berklee College of Music, playing a Fender Stratocaster guitar, with an open tuning that allowed him to play chords with a single finger. His wild dreadlock hairstyle and choice of guitar invited comparisons to Jimi Hendrix.

During the Eighties, Mr. Butch's fame among the local music scene grew, and he was given gigs at The Underground in Allston and The Rathskellar in Kenmore Square (both now defunct). It was around this time that he began to be featured in The Noise, a local music fanzine published by T. Maxx, and was featured in many of their advertisements.

In the early Nineties, the Boston University campus police, extending their authority over Kenmore Square, exiled Mr. Butch to Allston, Massachusetts, a neighborhood of Boston west of the Square. Butch sought refuge where he could find it, sleeping in friends' homes and occasionally in ATM lobbies.

As of 2005, Mr. Butch is still in Allston, depending on the kindness of friends and strangers.