PURE with Howard Thompson

"In Memoriam (Jan - May, 2025)" (broadcast 5/16/25)

Don Nix 83, 12/31 & The Alabama State Troupers: Going Down 4:04
Brenton Wood 83, 1/3: Gimme Little Sign
Sam Moore 89, 1/10 & Dave: Hold On, I'm Comin’
David Lynch 78, 1/16: Star Eyes (I Can't Catch It)
The Band (Garth Hudson 87, 1/21): Acadian Driftwood
Barry Goldberg 83, 1/22: Minstrel Show
Marianne Faithfull 78, 1/30: Love Is
Koko Taylor (Gene “Daddy G” Barge 98, 2/2): Wang Dang Doodle
JAY-Z (Irv Gotti 54, 2/5): Can I Get A... (feat. Amil & Ja Rule)
The Flamingos (Tommy Hunt 91, 2/12): I Only Have Eyes For You 
The Jam (Rick Buckler 69, 2/17): Town Called Malice
Jerry Butler 85, 2/20: For Your Precious Love
Gwen McCrae 81, 2/21: Rockin’ Chair
Roberta Flack 88, 2/24: Feel Like Makin' Love
David Johansen 75, 2/28: Funky But Chic (Live Feb/82)
Badfinger (Joey Molland 77, 3/1): Baby Blue
The Damned (Brian James 70, 3/6): New Rose
Roy Ayers 84, 3/4: Coffy Is The Color
The Youngbloods (Jesse Colin Young 83, 3/16): Get Together
The Scientists (Leanne Cowie 60, 3/20): I’m Taking It With Me
Black Grape (Paul "Wags" Wagstaff 60, 3/22): Kelly’s Heroes
Terry Manning 77, 3/25: Nervous Breakdown
Johnny Tillotson 86, 4/1: Poetry In Motion
Wayne Handy 89, 4/1: Say Yeah
Gang Of Four (Dave Allen 69, 4/5): At Home He's A Tourist
26. Blondie (Clem Burke 4/6, 70): Dreaming
27. Dion (Nino Tempo 90, 4/10): Born To Be With You
28. Max Romeo 80, 4/11: One Step Forward
29. Mike Berry 82, 4/11: Tribute To Buddy Holly
30. Free (Roy Thomas Baker 78, 4/12): All Right Now
31. JJ Cale (Mac Gayden 83, 4/16): Crazy Mama
32. Roy Orbison (David Briggs 82, 4/22): Wild Hearts Run Out Of Time
33. David Thomas 71, 4/23: What Do We Do with a Drunken Sailor
34. The Alarm (Mike Peters 66, 4/29): Sixty Eight Guns
35. Joe Louis Walker 75, 4/30: It Hurts Me Too
36. Jill Sobule 66, 5/1: Supermodel

What is PURE with Howard Thompson?

What is PURE with Howard Thompson?

Apart from the occasional overnighter, fill-in or fundraiser, howard now creates shows for our Podcasts page. You’ll find over 140 archived PUREs there, and new shows will be added - check the PURE and “Strictly” pages - at least once a month.

howard loves all kinds of music and has collected records ever since his uncle gave him Rock Around The Clock as a 6th birthday present.

Disc Jockeys like Brian Matthew (BBC Light Program), Emperor Rosko (Radio Caroline), John Peel (Radio London/BBC Radio 1), Hugh Nolan (Radio Geronimo), Charlie Gillett (BBC Radio London) and Andy Dunkley (the Marquee/Lyceum) made howard’s life worth living and he now just wants to return the favor.

howard worked in the music biz so he could get free records and meet astonishing people.

howard made records with Adam & the Ants, Alan Vega, Angel Corpus Christi, Aswad, Barb Jungr, Billy Bragg, Danny Gatton, Eddie & the Hot Rods, the Georgia Satellites, Hamell On Trial, Herb Alpert, Ian Hunter, John Campbell, Judy Tenuta, ManBreak, Motörhead, Peter C Johnson, the Prissteens, the Psychedelic Furs, Robyn Hitchcock & the Venus 3, Roky Erickson & the Aliens, Rubén Blades, Sally Oldfield, Sara Hickman, Scatterbrain, the Screaming Blue Messiahs, the Slits, The Star Spangles, The Sugarcubes, Susan Fassbender, Sir Tim Smit, Tulipomania, Victor DeLorenzo, Yellowman and 10,000 Maniacs to name a few. He was the first to release records by MX-80 Sound, the Real Kids and Suicide in Europe, and th’ faith healers, the Gipsy Kings, Happy Mondays, Paul Young and Wham! in the USA

howard joined WPKN in May 2010 and thanks Steve di Costanzo and Peter Bochan for letting him in. Terry Hopper too, for giving up an hour of The Quest to see if it could work.

howard thinks Bob Dylan should be President, and ‘Poison’ Ivy Rorschach should be Vice-President