Hilary (musician)

Hilary Blake, known professionally as Hilary, was a singer-songwriter/performer from Los Angeles. She was born in 1950[2] and died in July 2007.[1]

Hilary
Birth nameHilary Blake
Born1950[1]
OriginLos Angeles, California, United States[2]
DiedJuly 2007[1]
GenresNew wave, synthpop
Occupation(s)Singer, songwriter, performer
Instrumentsvocals, synthesizers and drum machines[3]
Years active1978–2007
LabelsSirius Records[3]

Career

Blake sang with madrigal groups at Shakespeare festivals in England and studied acting with Agnes Moorehead at age 11.[3][4]

In 1978 she matched free verse poetry with synthesizers and drum machines to produce her signature sound.[3][4]

In 1982 she met up with producer Steve Hague and pressed 1000 copies of 12" vinyl "Kinetic b/w "I Live" for Sirus Records.[3][4] Kinetic was voted "Screamer of Week" by listeners of Long Island radio station WLIR on January 2, 1983.[5] and received modest airplay on her hometown station KROQ-FM. Kinectic was also played in New York dance clubs. I Live was played on college radio stations.[3][4]

Later in the year Blake released a 4-song EP entitled Kinetic for Backstreet Records which was also produced by Hague. The song Kinetic was about her hopes that awareness of changing cellular structure would help the human species to survive. Drop Your Pants was Blake's attempt to show how "ridiculous" the fear of sex in United States was. On August 4 it became her second song to be named "Screamer of the Week" by WLIR listeners.[5] This song was also mentioned in an edition of The Guide to Getting it On by Paul Joannides.[6]

I Live was a song about "the ordinary – living in the house of your own making" which Blake found to be profound. Goose Step reflected Blake's fear that the Nazi Party would reemerge.[3][4] She was buried at the Westwood Village Memorial Park in Los Angeles.[7]

References
  1. Trouser Press biography
  2. last.fm biography
  3. copy of the Press Release on a fan site Archived June 5, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  4. Backstreet Records 1983 Press Release Archived December 25, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  5. WLIR & WDRE 92.7 FM Screamer & Shreiks of the Week Tribute Page
  6. The Guide to Getting it On, German edition, Wild Thing: Sex-Tips for Boys and Girls, 2012 Online
  7. Hilary Blake's grave at findagrave.com
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