Phillipa "Pip" Brown (born c.1981 in Wellington, New Zealand) is a singer-songwriter, better known by her stage name Ladyhawke, playing all the instruments in studio and touring with a band. She was formerly a part of the Wellington band Two Lane Blacktop named for the 1970s road movie of the same name. Before assuming the name Ladyhawke, she formed the band Teenager with Nick Littlemore of Pnau and Empire of the Sun. Ladyhawke named herself after the 1985 Richard Donner film Ladyhawke. Ladyhawke is best known for the 2008 single "Paris Is Burning", which she wrote after a visit to Paris. Her debut album was released on Modular Recordings in September 2008.

Biography

Early life

Originally from Masterton, a town near Wellington, New Zealand, Brown came from a musical family, with her mother being a singer/guitarist and her stepfather, a jazz drummer. During her childhood various illnesses and allergies kept her in and out of the hospital. At age 10 she contracted erysipeloid, a disease that is common in seagulls but had not been seen in humans in New Zealand for 20 years. Her allergies to antibiotics, penicillin, and antihistamines greatly complicated treatment efforts and had put her in a coma and she came close to dying. She is lactose intolerant and has Asperger syndrome.

In high school she played in several grunge-rock bands. After high school, Brown moved from Masterton to Wellington.

Two Lane Blacktop

In Wellington, Brown formed the band Two Lane Blacktop with some friends, playing lead guitar. She describes Two Lane Blacktop as being "like Iggy and The Stooges meets The Clash". She cites her experience playing the notorious New York club CBGB with Two Lane Blacktop as being a defining moment. Two Lane Blacktop parted ways when their lead singer and drummer quit the band two days prior to a date they booked in Austin, Texas playing at SXSW. Brown made the impulsive decision to board the plane and go to Melbourne, Australia anyway.

Teenager

Sometime after her move to Melbourne, Sydney-based musician Nick Littlemore (of Empire of the Sun and Pnau) heard of Brown's move to Australia and asked her if she was interested in joining a band he had started called Teenager. Brown liked Littlemore's music and decided to join. Brown and Littlemore played together for two years, with Brown re-locating to Sydney to be closer to the band, and also other people she enjoyed playing and writing music with. The Teenager song "Pony" is featured in the video game Grand Theft Auto IV.

Ladyhawke

Still close with Littlemore, Brown decided to leave Teenager to focus on a personal project she had been developing for sometime, a persona she had dubbed "Ladyhawke". She named herself Ladyhawke after a character played by Michelle Pfeiffer in the 1985 movie of the same name because she sees herself as a sort of pop superwoman creating radio-friendly songs with a single bound. Brown says she started Ladyhawke out of a desire to do her own project where she could completely express herself in any way she wanted. She says: "I wanted to make music that could put a smile on peoples faces and give them a feeling of nostalgia even though they may be hearing my songs for the first time. I love how music evokes memories of a certain time, I wanted to see if I could find a method of songwriting that would evoke those feelings from me on writing the song and then on the individual when listening to it for the first time."

Ladyhawke appeared for the first time in a Triple J Hottest 100 with two entries in the 2008 countdown; "My Delirium" at number 11 and "Paris is Burning" at number 26. The Pnau song, "Embrace", which features Ladyhawke, was voted in at number 12. Brown was nominated for an NME Award in the category of Best Solo Artist. Christina Aguilera has done a cover of Ladyhawke's single "My Delirium" for her upcoming album. The cover was co-produced by electro group Ladytron. As of 6 March 2009 Brown had not been contacted by Aguilera. Brown is "intrigued" by the cover and would like to help Aguilera record the song.

Ladyhawke is noted as being influenced by 1980s music. Peaches, to whom Ladyhawke's music has been compared, remixed the single "Paris Is Burning", and the two have performed together, with Peaches taking DJ duties. Ladyhawke's music has also been likened to that of Cyndi Lauper, Pat Benatar, Kim Wilde, Annie, and New Young Pony Club.

She often claims her largest influence is Electric Light Orchestra, and has stated that their album Time is one of her favourite albums of all time. Brown also draws inspiration from music of the 90s. "Listening to Nirvana takes me back to being fourteen at the school disco. Bands from the nineties have that effect on me." She has been compared to a wave of individualistic androgynous female pop musicians who are in their 20s.

By May 2009 her debut album had been certified as gold and her single "Back of the Van" had been released. A limited 7 inch version of "Back of the Van" – each one hand painted by Sarah Larnach – was sold on eBay. The proceeds went to the Parkinsons Society of New Zealand.

Brown is writing material for a second album.

Ladyhawke's track "Paris is Burning" was used in Chanel and Topshop runway shows in 2008.

She appeared as herself in an episode of the 2009 British ITV2 sitcom FM.

Personal life

Brown dresses in men's and boys' clothing. She wears hoodies, tight jeans and big boots. Her jeans are slung low enough to reveal boys' underwear. She has said "I don't wear women's clothes because I'd feel like a fraud. It's not just that the cut is all wrong on me, I feel much more of an individual in menswear." She feels that "I don't lose any aspect of my femininity by wearing boys' clothes".