Phillipa Margaret "Pip" Brown (born 13 July 1979), better known by her stage name Ladyhawke, is a New Zealand singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. She took her stage name from
Richard Donner
Richard Donner (born Richard Donald Schwartzberg; April 24, 1930 – July 5, 2021) was an American filmmaker whose notable works included some of the most financially-successful films during the New Hollywood era. According to film historian M ...
's 1985 film ''
Ladyhawke''.
Brown was part of the
Wellington
Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...
-based band
Two Lane Blacktop
Two Lane Blacktop was a hard rock Band (music), band from Wellington, New Zealand who formed in 2001 and disbanded in 2003. The band wrote all its songs about movies and was named after a 1971 Two-Lane Blacktop, film directed by Monte Hellman. ...
(2001–2003), before moving to Australia where, in 2004, she formed the art rock band
Teenager
Adolescence () is a transitional stage of physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated with the te ...
with
Nick Littlemore
Nicholas George Littlemore (born 6 May 1978) is an Australian musician, record producer, singer and songwriter. As a musician, he is the frontman of the electronic duo Pnau, an ex-member of the art-rock band Teenager (band), Teenager and one pa ...
of
Pnau
Pnau ( ) is an Australian dance music trio originating from Sydney. The trio, a duo before 2016, consists of the musicians Nick Littlemore (vocals, production), Peter Mayes (guitar, production) and Sam Littlemore (production), with the latter jo ...
. In 2007 she moved to
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, afterwards relocating to
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
around 2013, and then subsequently relocating back to her native New Zealand after the release of her third album,
Wild Things.
Brown's debut solo album, ''
Ladyhawke'', was released on 22 September 2008 through
Modular Recordings
Modular Recordings (known simply as Modular) is an Australian record label founded in 1998 by Steve Pavlovic that is currently owned by Universal Music Australia. It has released music from local artists such as Eskimo Joe, Ben Lee, The Avalan ...
, and topped the
RIANZ Albums Chart. It spawned five singles of which "
My Delirium
"My Delirium" is a song performed by New Zealand musician Ladyhawke. The third track on Ladyhawke's eponymous debut album, the song was released as a single on 8 December 2008. The most commercially successful single of Ladyhawke's to date, "My ...
" was the most successful. At the
ARIA Music Awards of 2009
The 23rd Annual Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (generally known as ARIA Music Awards or simply The ARIAs) took place on 26 November 2009 at the Acer Arena at the Sydney Olympic Park complex. The ceremony was telecast on ...
, Ladyhawke won Breakthrough Artist in both album and single categories.
Brown's second solo album, ''
Anxiety
Anxiety is an emotion which is characterized by an unpleasant state of inner turmoil and includes feelings of dread over anticipated events. Anxiety is different than fear in that the former is defined as the anticipation of a future threat wh ...
'', was released in May 2012, and her third solo album, ''
Wild Things'', was released on 3 June 2016. Her fourth album, ''Time Flies'', was released on 19 November 2021.
Early life
Phillipa Margaret Brown was born on 13 July 1979 in
Masterton
Masterton ( mi, Whakaoriori), a large town in the Greater Wellington Region of New Zealand, operates as the seat of the Masterton District (a territorial authority or local-government district). It is the largest town in the Wairarapa, a r ...
, a town in the
Wairarapa
The Wairarapa (; ), a geographical region of New Zealand, lies in the south-eastern corner of the North Island, east of metropolitan Wellington and south-west of the Hawke's Bay Region. It is lightly populated, having several rural service ...
region of New Zealand.