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 Little Richard Bob Dylan should be President, and Dyanne Thorne ‘Poison’ Ivy Rorschach should be Vice-President