A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. Hills often have a distinct summit, although in areas with scarp/dip topography a ''hill'' may refer to a particular section of flat terrain without a massive summit (e.g. Box Hill, Surrey).

Terminology

The distinction between a hill and a mountain is unclear and largely subjective, but a hill is generally somewhat lower and less steep than a mountain. In the United Kingdom geographers historically regarded mountains as hills greater than above sea level, which formed the basis of the plot of the 1995 film ''The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain''. In contrast, hillwalkers have tended to regard mountains as peaks above sea level: the Oxford English Dictionary also suggests a limit of . This has led to Cavanal Hill in Poteau, Oklahoma, receive billing as the "World's Tallest Hill" due to its height of . Mountains in Scotland are frequently referred to as "hills" no matter what their height, as reflected in names such as the ''Cuillin Hills'' and the ''Torridon Hills''. In Wales, the distinction is more a term of land use and appearance and has nothing to do with height.

A hillock is a small hill. Other words include knoll and (in Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England) its variant, knowe.

Artificial hills may be referred to by a variety of technical names, including mound and tumulus.

Hills may form through a number of geomorphic phenomena: faulting, erosion of larger landforms, such as mountains and movement and deposition of sediment by glaciers (e.g. moraines and drumlins, or by erosion exposing solid rock which then weathers down into a hill. The rounded peaks of hills results from the diffusive movement of soil and regolith covering the hill, a process known as downhill creep.

Areas that would otherwise have hills do not because of glacier cover during the Ice Age. The hills that existed before the ice age were worn down by the ice (and the rocks they carry) and/or the surrounding valleys and hollows were filled in with glacial drift, therefore leaving a level topography. The contrast between the flat plains of northern Indiana, once covered by ice, and the rugged hills of southern Indiana, where the ice never reached, is a result of this. Another example is the Driftless Zone, an island of hilly country that the ice sheets missed, surrounded by glacial plains, also in the American Midwest.

There are various specific names used to describe particular types of hill, based on appearance and method of formation. Many such names originated in one geographical region to describe a type of hill formation peculiar to that region, though the names are often adopted by geologists and used in a wider geographical context. These include:

Drumlin – an elongated whale-shaped hill formed by glacial action.

Butte – an isolated hill with steep sides and a small flat top, formed by weathering.

Tor – a rock formation found on a hilltop; also used to refer to the hill itself, especially in South West England.

Puy – used especially in the Auvergne, France, to describe a conical volcanic hill.

Pingo – a mound of earth-covered ice found in the Arctic and Antarctica.

Historical significance

Hills have played an important role in history.

Many settlements were originally built on hills, either to avoid or curb floods, particularly if they were near a large body of water, or for defence, since they offer a good view of the surrounding land and require would-be attackers to fight uphill. For example, Ancient Rome was built on seven hills, protecting it from invaders.

In northern Europe, many ancient monuments are sited in heaps. Some of these are defensive structures (such as the hill-forts of the Iron Age), but others appear to have hardly any significance. In Britain, many churches at the tops of hills are thought to have been built on the sites of earlier pagan holy places. The National Cathedral in Washington, DC has followed this tradition and was built on the highest hill in that city.

Military significance

Hills provide a major advantage to an army, giving them an elevated firing position and forcing an opposing army to charge uphill to attack them. They may also conceal forces behind them, allowing a force to lay in wait on the crest of a hill, using that crest for cover, and firing on unsuspecting attackers as they broach the hilltop.

As a result, conventional military strategies often demand possession of high ground. Hills have become sites for many noted battles, such as the first recorded military conflict in Scotland known as the battle of Mons Graupius. Modern conflicts include the Battle of Bunker Hill (which was actually fought on Breed's Hill) in the American War for Independence and Cemetery Hill and Culp's Hill in the Battle of Gettysburg, the turning point of the American Civil War. The Battle of San Juan Hill in the Spanish-American War won Americans control of Santiago. The Battle of Alesia was also fought from a hilltop fort. Fighting on Mamayev Kurgan during the Battle of Stalingrad and the Umurbrogol Pocket in the Battle of Peleliu were also examples of bloody fighting for high ground. Another recent example is the Kargil War between India and Pakistan.

Sports and games

Hillwalking is a British English term for a form of hiking which involves the ascent of hills. The activity is usually distinguished from mountaineering as it does not involve ropes or technically difficult rock climbing, although the terms mountain and hill are often used interchangeably in Britain. Hillwalking is popular in mountainous areas such as the English Peak District or the Scottish Highlands. Many hills are categorised according to relative height or other criteria and feature on lists named after mountaineers, such as Munros (Scotland) or Wainwrights (England). Specific locating activities such as "peak bagging" (or "Munro bagging") involve climbing hills on these lists with the aim of completing (or "compleating") the list.

In golf, the terrain on golf courses is often made more rugged and hilly to make the holes harder to play. For example, the hole may be located at the top of a hill, and the course is designed specifically to make it almost impossible to allow the golf ball to rest near the top; it would roll down, and the player would have to try again.

Cheese rolling is an annual event in the West Country of England which involves rolling a wheel of cheese down a hill. Contestants stand at the top and chase the wheel of cheese to the bottom. The winner, the one who catches the cheese, gets to keep the wheel of cheese as a prize.

Largest man-made

The Berg proposed () Blackstrap Ski Hill () Grizzly Peak (Disneyland Resort) () Monks Mound () Mount Gushmore ()

Gallery

Image:DirkvdM orosi hill plantation.jpg|A coffee plantation on a conical hill near Orosí, Costa Rica. Image:Xn ant hill.jpg|Some hills can be quite small, such as this Ant-hill

See also

Hill station

Colluvium

Crag and tail

Dune

Jack and Jill (song)

Kame

King of the Hill (game)

List of famous hills

Mountain

Tell

Tor

Mesa

Moor

References

Earth Sculpture; Or, The Origin of Land-forms

The International Geography

Category:Slope landforms

ar:تل (جغرافيا) an:Pueyo gn:Yvyty ay:Qullu az:Təpə bh:पहाड़ bg:Хълм ca:Puig cs:Kopec da:Bakke (geologi) de:Hügel et:Küngas es:Cerro ext:Lombu eu:Muino fa:تپه fr:Colline gd:Meall (cnoc) ko:언덕 hr:Brdo io:Kolino id:Bukit it:Collina he:גבעה jv:Paredèn ltg:Kaupris lt:Kalva lmo:Culina hu:Domb mg:丘 mr:टेकडी nl:Heuvel (landvorm) ja:丘 no:Ås nn:Ås nds:Kommun Ås pl:Wzgórze pt:Morro ro:Deal ru:Холм sq:Kodra (gjeodezi) simple:Hill sl:Grič fi:Kukkula tl:Burol ta:குன்று te:కొండ tr:Tepe (coğrafya) uk:Пагорб vi:Đồi zh-yue:山仔 zh:丘

name	Benny Hill
birth name	Alfred Hawthorne Hill
birth date	January 21, 1924
birth place
death date	April 20, 1992
death place	Teddington, London, England
genre	Comedy, television
influences	Jack Benny
notable work	''Light Up the Sky!'' (1960)''Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines'' (1965)
nationality	British
medium
active	1937–1992 }}

Benny Hill (21 January 1924 – 20 April 1992) was an English comedian and actor, notable for his long-running television programme ''The Benny Hill Show''.

Beginnings

Alfred Hawthorne Hill was born in Southampton, Hampshire and grew up in Wilton Road in the city's Upper Shirley district, where he and his brother attended Taunton's School. During World War II, Hill was one of the students evacuated with the school to Bournemouth School, East Way, Bournemouth, (then Hampshire, since 1974 Dorset).

After leaving Bournemouth School, Hill worked variously at Woolworth's, as a milkman in Eastleigh, Hampshire, a bridge operator, a driver and a drummer before he finally got a foot in the door of the entertainment industry by becoming a prop boy / assistant stage manager with a touring review. He was drafted in 1942 and trained as a mechanic, but transferred to the Combined Services Entertainment division before the end of the war. It was there that he met his future agent, Richard Stone, then a colonel in the service.

Inspired by the 'star comedians' of British music hall shows, Hill set out to make his mark in show business. For the stage, he changed his first name to 'Benny', in homage to his favourite comedian, Jack Benny. Hill began appearing at working men's clubs and Masonic dinners before moving on to nightclub and theatre jobs. Hill auditioned for Soho's famed Windmill Theatre (home of ''Revudeville'', a popular show of singers, comedians and nude girls), but he was not hired. Hill's first job in professional theatre as a performer was as Reg Varney's straight man, beating a then unknown Peter Sellers for the role.

Private life

Hill never married, although he did propose to three women—one the daughter of a British writer—but was turned down by all three. Although he owned the family home in Southampton, he never owned his own home in London, nor a car. Hill preferred to rent a place to live rather than buy one, first a large double apartment in Queensgate, London for 26 years until 1986, and then a small flat in Teddington, London, within walking distance of the studios of Thames Television where he recorded his shows.

His mother died in 1976 at age 82, and Hill kept the family house at 22 Westrow Gardens in Southampton as a shrine to her, not changing a thing. Before his move to Teddington, whilst looking for somewhere else to live in the Richmond area of London, he lived at 22 Westrow Gardens. Travelling was the one luxury Hill permitted himself; he became a francophile, enjoying frequent visits to France, and in particular Marseille, where until the 1980s he could enjoy anonymity in outdoor cafés, on public transport, and socialising with local women. Besides mastering French, Hill also spoke enough German, Dutch and Italian to get by when travelling. Such holidays were often gathering missions for comedy material, borrowed from regional acts.

Early career

Between the end of World War II and the dawn of television, Hill worked as a radio performer. His first appearance on television was in 1950. In addition, he attempted a sitcom anthology, ''Benny Hill'', which ran from 1962 to 1963, in which he played a different character in each episode. In 1964, he played Nick Bottom in an all-star TV film production of William Shakespeare's ''A Midsummer Night's Dream''. He also had a short-lived radio programme, ''Benny Hill Time'', on BBC Radio's Light Programme from 1964 to 1966.

Films and recordings

Benny Hill's film credits include parts in nine films including ''Who Done It?'' (1956); ''Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines'' (1965); ''Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'' (1968), in which he played the relatively straight role of the Toymaker; ''The Italian Job'' (1969); and, finally, a clip-show film spin-off of his early Thames shows (1969–73), called ''The Best of Benny Hill'' (1974). Hill's audio recordings include "Gather in the Mushrooms", (1961), "Pepy's Diary", (1961), "Transistor Radio" (1961), "Harvest of Love" (1963), and "Ernie (The Fastest Milkman In The West)" (1971). He also appeared in the 1986 video of the song "Anything She Does" by the band Genesis. Hill's song, "Ernie (The Fastest Milkman In The West)", on the ''Best of Benny Hill'' album, was the UK Singles Chart Christmas number one single in 1971.

''The Benny Hill Show''

Hill had struggled on stage and had uneven success in radio. But in television he found a form that played to his strengths, allowing him a format that included live comedy and filmed segments, with him at the focus of almost every segment. It was to prove one of the great success stories of television comedy, keeping Hill a star for nearly four decades, generating impressive revenues for Thames TV, and remaining a cult series in much of the world long after Hill's death.

The show had a music hall-derived format and its humour relied on slapstick, innuendo, and parody. Recurring players on his show during the BBC years included Patricia Hayes, Jeremy Hawk, Peter Vernon, Ronnie Brody, and his co-writer from the early 1950s to early 1960s, Dave Freeman. He remained mostly with the BBC through to 1968, except for a few sojourns with ITV station ATV between 1957 and 1960 and again in 1967. In 1969, his show moved from the BBC to Thames Television, where it remained until cancellation in 1989, with an erratic schedule of one-hour specials. The series showcased Hill's talents as an imaginative writer, comic performer and impressionist. He also bought scripts from various comedy writers but they never received an onscreen credit. He had a need to be in sole control of the show. There is evidence that he bought a script from one of his regular cast members in 1976, Cherri Gilham, whom he wrote to from Spain and told her he was using her "Fat Lady idea on the show" in Jan 77.

The most common running gag in Benny Hill's shows was the closing sequence, The 'run-off', which was literally a "running gag" in that it featured various members of the cast chasing Hill as part of the chase, along with other stock comedy characters, such as policemen, vicars, old ladies, and so on. This was commonly filmed using stop motion and time-lapse techniques for comic effect, and included other comic devices such as characters running off one side of the screen and reappearing running on from the other. The tune used in all the chases, Boots Randolph's "Yakety Sax", is commonly referred to as "The Benny Hill Theme". It has been used as a form of parody in many ways by television shows and a small number of films. The Wachowskis used the same style (and musical theme) in a scene in the film ''V for Vendetta'' (2006). It also appears in the cult movie ''The Gods Must Be Crazy''.

From around the start of the eighties the show featured a troupe of attractive young women, known collectively as 'Hills Angels'. They would appear either on their own in a dance sequence, or in character as foils against Hill. Sue Upton, one of the longest serving members of the Angels, said of Hill, "He was one of the nicest, kindest, most gentle of men to work with". But the sexual content of the routines contributed to feminist accusations of sexism.

The alternative comedian Ben Elton, made a headline-grabbing allegation, both on the TV show ''Saturday Live'' and in the pages of ''Q'' magazine (in its January 1987 issue), that ''The Benny Hill Show'' was single-handedly responsible for the incidences of rape in England during the period in question, and also suggested the programme incited other acts of violence against women. But a writer in ''The Independent'' newspaper opined that Elton's assault was "like watching an elderly uncle being kicked to death by young thugs". Elton later claimed his comment was taken out of context, and he appeared in a parody for ''Harry Enfield and Chums'', Benny Elton, where Elton ends up being chased by angry women, accompanied by the "Yakety Sax" theme, after trying to force them to be more feminist rather than letting them make their own decisions.

In response to the accusations of sexism, defenders of Hill have said the show used traditional comic stereotypes to reflect universal human truths in a way that was un-malicious and fundamentally harmless. Hill's friend and producer Dennis Kirkland said it was the women who chased Hill in anger for undressing them, all of which was done accidentally by some ridiculous means. An article on 27 May 2006 in ''The Independent'' quoted Hill and Kirkland as saying they believed this misrepresentation demonstrated critics could not have watched his programmes.

In an episode about Hill transmitted as part of the documentary series ''Living Famously'', John Howard Davies, the head of light entertainment at Thames Television who had cancelled the show, stated there were three reasons why he did so: "...the audiences were going down, the programme was costing a vast amount of money, and he (Hill) was looking a little tired."

The loss of his show totally devastated Hill (or, as one former supporting player put it, "He started to die from there"), and what followed was a self-inflicted terminal decline in his health. In 1990 a new show was produced complete with Hill and his usual team, called ''Benny Hill's World Tour: New York!''.

In February 1992, Thames Television, which received a steady stream of requests from viewers for ''The Benny Hill Show'' repeats, finally gave in and put together a number of re-edited shows. Hill died on 20 April 1992, the same day that a new contract arrived in the post from Central Independent Television, for which he was to have made a series of specials. Hill turned down competing offers from Carlton and Thames.

Celebrity fans

Charlie Chaplin was a fan of Hill's work: Hill had discovered that Chaplin, his childhood idol, was a fan when he was invited to Chaplin's home in Switzerland by Chaplin's family and discovered that Chaplin had a collection of Hill's work on video. Hill and Dennis Kirkland were the first outside the family to be invited into Chaplin's private study. Hill was awarded the Charlie Chaplin International Award for Comedy at the 1991 Festival of Comedy in Vevey, Switzerland.

Radio and TV show host Adam Carolla claimed that he was a fan of Benny Hill and that he considered Hill "as American as the Beatles." Indeed, during an episode of ''The Man Show'', Carolla performed in what was billed as a tribute to "our favourite Englishman, Sir Benny Hill" in a more risqué takeoff of the sketches that Hill popularised. (Note: Hill was never knighted.) Carolla played a rude and lecherous waiter; a role Hill essayed numerous times in his shows—and the sketch featured many of the staples of Hill's shows, including a Jackie Wright-esque bald man, as well as the usual scantily-clad women.

Michael Jackson was a big Benny Hill fan: "I just love your Benny Hill!" the young Jackson told a bemused English music-press critic during a 1970s tour. "He's so funny!". During Benny Hill's decline in his health he was visited by Jackson, who was in the UK at the time.

In ''Benny Hill: The World's Favourite Clown'', filmed shortly before his death, celebrities such as Burt Reynolds, Michael Caine, John Mortimer, Mickey Rooney, and Walter Cronkite, among others, expressed their appreciation of and admiration for Hill and his humour – and in Reynolds' case, the appreciation extended to the Hill's Angels as well. More surprisingly, perhaps, the novelist Anthony Burgess made no secret of his admiration for Hill. Burgess, whose novels were often comic, relished language, wordplay and dialect, admired the verbal and comedic skill that underlay Hill's success. Reviewing a biography of Hill, ''Saucy Boy'', in the ''Guardian'' in 1990, Burgess described Hill as "a comic genius steeped in the British music-hall tradition" and "one of the great artists of our age". A meeting between the two men was described in a newspaper article by Burgess and recalled in the ''Telegraph'' newspaper by the satirist Craig Brown.

In 2006, broadcaster and critic Garry Bushell launched a campaign to erect a statue of Hill in Southampton, with the support of Barbara Windsor, Brian Conley and other British comedy favourites. Those taking part in the first fundraising concert included Neville Staple, Right Said Fred and Rick Wakeman.

In a June 2011 interview in ''The Observer'', the American rapper Snoop Dogg declared himself to be a fan of Benny Hill.

In a 2011 interview British actor and director Mark Noyce stated that Benny Hill was his all-time favourite comedian. He was quoted as saying “he was way ahead of his time and an absolute master of his art. I would have loved the opportunity to have met him and I hope he will be remembered as the genius I believe he was.”

Death

Hill's health began to decline in the early 1980s, and after suffering a mild heart attack on February 24, 1992, doctors told him he needed to lose weight and recommended a heart bypass. He declined, and a week later was found to have kidney failure. Hill died at the age of 68 on 20 April 1992. On 22 April, after several days of unanswered telephone calls, his producer, Dennis Kirkland, climbed a ladder to the balcony of Hill's 3rd floor apartment and upon seeing the body through a window had the neighbors call the police. The police broke into the apartment and found Hill, dead, sitting in his armchair in front of the television. Hill's cause of death was recorded as coronary thrombosis.

Hill was buried at Hollybrook Cemetery near his birthplace in Southampton on 26 April 1992. In October 1992, following rumors that he was buried with large amounts of gold jewellery, an attempt was made by thieves to exhume his body. However, when authorities looked into his open coffin the following morning, there was no treasure. Consequently, it is not generally known whether anything valuable was inside. Hill was reburied with a new coffin lid and a solid slab across the top of the grave.

Hill's fortune was estimated at £10 million. His only will, however, dated from 1961 and left his entire estate to his parents, both of whom had since died. Next in line were his brother Leonard and sister Diana, both of whom were also dead. This left his seven nieces and nephews, among whom the money was divided. A note was found among his belongings assigning huge sums of money to his close friends, but because there was no witness the note had no legal standing.

Posthumous reception

Although still shown worldwide, ''The Benny Hill Show'' has not been shown on UK terrestrial, networked television since a tribute season on Channel 4 in 1992, and not on satellite or cable since a run on the now defunct channel ''Granada Plus'' – now ITV3 – in 1999. To quote his biographer Mark Lewisohn, "In Britain, Benny Hill is taboo". In the United States the show has recently been aired on the BBC America cable channel and over Tribune Broadcasting's Antenna TV digital subchannel network. An Australian channel, Seven Network, showed some episodes as part of a ''Great Comedy Classics'' slot. On the new Australian channel 7TWO, ''The Benny Hill Show'' is shown frequently. In Italy, Sky television broadcasts quite regularly on Comedy Channel. And in Finland the channel MTV3 MAX presents "The Benny Hill Show" every weekend.

In 1998 Channel 4 featured Hill in one of its ''Heroes Of Comedy'' programmes.

On 28 December 2006, Channel 4 broadcast the documentary ''Is Benny Hill Still Funny?''. The programme featured an audience that comprised a cross-section of young adults who had little or no knowledge of Hill, to discover whether Hill's comedy was valid to a generation that enjoyed the likes of ''Little Britain'', ''The Catherine Tate Show'' and ''Borat''. The participants were asked to watch a 30-minute compilation that included examples of Hill's humour from both his BBC and ITV shows. The responses and results demonstrated that none of the sample of viewers took offence at any of the sketches shown.

Hill's silent "Wishing Well" sketch was discovered to be the most popular. The alternative comedian Ben Elton, who had criticised Hill for sexism, was interviewed in the programme. Elton said he still had reservations about certain aspects of Hill's sketches, but claimed to be an admirer of Hill's talent and abilities as a comic performer.

References

;Notes

;Bibliography

Lewisohn, Mark. ''Funny, Peculiar – The True Story of Benny Hill''

Smith, John. ''Benny Hill Story'' New Yokr: St. Martin's Press, 1989

GRO – Alfred H. Hill born MAR qtr 1924 2c 52 SOUTHAMPTON, mmn = Cave

GRO – Alfred Hawthorne Hill died: APR 1992 14 1352 Richmond-upon-Thames, aged 68, his date of birth was 21 January 1924

External links

Benny Hill - Daily Telegraph obituary

Benny Hill page at the Museum of Broadcast Communications

''The Benny Hill Show'' page at the Museum of Broadcast Communications

The Eastleigh Photograph Archive Photos of the dairy and streets where Benny worked as a milkman, inspiring the song Ernie (The fastest milkman in the west)

The Benny Hill Songbook Lyrics, guitar chords and transcripts

Benny's Place featuring Louise English & Hill's Angels A tribute to Benny Hill and his beautiful ladies known as Hill's Angels

Laughterlog.com Article with complete list of appearances on television, radio and record

BBC Hampshire BBC article on Benny Hill's Hampshire connections

Category:English comedians Category:English film actors Category:English comedy musicians Category:People from Southampton Category:1924 births Category:1992 deaths Category:People educated at Bournemouth School Category:Pye Records artists

bg:Бени Хил cy:Benny Hill de:Benny Hill el:Μπένι Χιλ es:Benny Hill eu:Benny Hill fa:بنی هیل fr:Benny Hill gl:Benny Hill ko:베니 힐 hr:Benny Hill it:Benny Hill he:בני היל la:Benny Hill lv:Benijs Hils hu:Benny Hill nl:Benny Hill ja:ベニー・ヒル no:Benny Hill oc:Benny Hill pl:Benny Hill pt:Benny Hill ro:Benny Hill ru:Хилл, Бенни sq:Benny Hill simple:Benny Hill sl:Benny Hill sr:Бени Хил sh:Benny Hill fi:Benny Hill sv:Benny Hill tr:Benny Hill uk:Бенні Хілл zh:班尼·希爾

name	Cypress Hill
background	group_or_band
alias	DVX (Devasting Vocal Excellence)
origin	South Gate, California, United States
genre	Hip hop, rap rock, nu metal
years active	1988–present
label	Ruffhouse, Columbia, Sony Music Entertainment, Priority, EMI Records
associated acts	Soul Assassins, Rage Against the Machine, The Beastie Boys, D12, OutKast, Everlast, Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg, Slash, House of Pain, Funkdoobiest, Richie Londres, Xzibit, Young De, Apathy, Adil Omar, Travis Barker, The Transplants, Psycho Realm, La Coka Nostra
website	CypressHill.com
current members	B-Real DJ Muggs Sen Dog Eric Bobo
past members	Mellow Man Ace }}

Cypress Hill is an American hip hop group from South Gate, California. Cypress Hill was the first Cuban-American/Latino hip-hop group to have platinum and multi-platinum albums, selling over 18 million albums worldwide. It is one of the most well-known groups in West Coast rap and was critically acclaimed for their first two groundbreaking albums.

History

Formation (1988)

Senen Reyes (also known as Sen Dog) and Ulpiano Sergio Reyes (also known as Mellow Man Ace) are brothers who initially lived in Cypress Park, California. In 1971, their family had immigrated to the United States, settling in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Eagle Rock. In 1988, the two brothers teamed up with Lawrence Muggerud (also known as DJ Muggs) and Louis Freese (also known as B-Real) to form a hip-hop group named DVX (Devasting Vocal Excellence). The band soon lost Mellow Man Ace to a solo career, and changed their name to Cypress Hill, after a street in North East Los Angeles.

Early works and mainstream success (1989–1995)

After recording a demo in 1989, Cypress Hill signed a record deal with the major label, Columbia Records. Their self-titled first album was released in August 1991. The lead single was the double A-side "The Phuncky Feel One"/"How I Could Just Kill a Man" which received heavy airplay on urban and college radio. The other two singles released from the album were "Hand on the Pump" and "Latin Lingo", the latter of which combined English and Spanish lyrics. The success of these singles led to the album selling two million copies in the US alone. The group made their first appearance at Lollapalooza on the side stage in 1992.

''Black Sunday'', the group's second album, debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 in 1993, recording the highest Soundscan for a rap group up until that time. Also, with their debut still in the charts, they became the first rap group to have 2 albums in the top 10 of the Billboard 200 at the same time. With "Insane in the Brain" becoming a crossover hit, the album went triple platinum in the U.S. and sold about 3.25 million copies.

Cypress Hill was banned from ''Saturday Night Live'' after Muggs smoked a joint on-air and the group trashed their instruments while playing their second single "I Ain't Goin' Out Like That". The band headlined the Soul Assassins tour with House of Pain and Funkdoobiest as support, then performed on a college tour with Rage Against the Machine and Seven Year Bitch. In 1993, Cypress Hill also had two tracks on the ''Judgment Night'' soundtrack, teaming up with Pearl Jam on the track "Real Thing" and Sonic Youth on "I Love You Mary Jane".

The group later played at Woodstock 94, introducing new member Eric Bobo, son of Willie Bobo and formerly a percussionist with the Beastie Boys. ''Rolling Stone'' magazine named the group as the best rap group in their music awards voted by critics and readers. Cypress Hill played at Lollapalooza for two successive years, topping the bill in 1995. They also appeared on the "Homerpalooza" episode of ''The Simpsons''. Prior to Bobo joining the crew, Panchito "Ponch" Gomez sat in as a percussionist when not acting.

Their third album ''III: Temples of Boom'' was released in 1995, selling 1.5 million copies and reaching number 3 on the Billboard 200 on the strength of the hit single "Throw Your Set in the Air". Cypress Hill also contributed a track "I Wanna Get High" to the High Times sponsored ''Hempilation'' album to support NORML.

Continued career (1996–2002)

Sen Dog took a break from the band to form a Los Angeles based rap rock band SX-10. Meanwhile in 1996, Cypress Hill appeared on the first 'Smokin' Grooves' tour, featuring Ziggy Marley, The Fugees, Busta Rhymes and A Tribe Called Quest. The band also released a nine track EP ''Unreleased and Revamped'' with rare mixes. In 1997, band members focused on their solo careers. Muggs released ''Soul Assassins: Chapter 1'' featuring contributions from Dr. Dre, KRS-One, Wyclef Jean and Mobb Deep. B-Real appeared with Busta Rhymes, Coolio, LL Cool J and Method Man on "Hit Em High" from the multi-platinum ''Space Jam Soundtrack''. He also appeared with RBX, Nas and KRS-One on "East Coast Killer, West Coast Killer" off Dr. Dre's ''Dr. Dre Presents the Aftermath'' album, and contributed to an album entitled ''The Psycho Realm'' with the band of the same name. Though the focus that year was not on group efforts, the band played Smokin' Grooves with George Clinton and Erykah Badu.

Cypress Hill released ''IV'' in 1998 which went gold in the U.S., on the backs of hit singles "Tequila Sunrise" and "Dr. Greenthumb." Sen Dog also released the ''Get Wood'' sampler as part of SX-10 on the label Flip. In 1999, Cypress Hill helped with the PC crime video game ''Kingpin: Life of Crime''. Three of their songs from the 1998 ''IV'' album were in the game ( "16 Men Till There's No Men Left", "Checkmate" and "Lightning Strikes"). B-Real also did some of the voices of the people in the game. Also in 1999, the band released a greatest-hits album in Spanish, ''Los grandes éxitos en español''. In 2000, Cypress Hill then fused genres with their fifth album, ''Skull & Bones'', which was a two-disc album. The first disc, "Skull" was composed of rap tracks while "Bones" explored further the group's forays into rock. The album reached the Top 5 on the Billboard 200 and number 3 in Canada. The first single was "Rock Superstar" for rock radio and "Rap Superstar" for urban radio. Following the release of the album, Cypress Hill (along with MxPx) landed a slot opening for The Offspring on the ''Conspiracy of One'' tour. The band also released ''Live at the Fillmore'', a concert disc recorded at the Fillmore (in San Francisco) in 2000. Cypress Hill continued their experimentation with rock on the ''Stoned Raiders'' album in 2001. However, its sales were a disappointment, as the disc did not even reach the top 50 of the U.S. album charts. In 2001, the group appeared in the film ''How High''.

''Till Death Do Us Part'' (2003–2007)

Cypress Hill recorded "Just Another Victim" for WWE as a theme song for Tazz. At the time, WWE was using original music for almost all of the wrestlers, so this was an unusual step for the company to take, but it remains one of the more memorable songs to emerge from the wrestling organization. The band released ''Till Death Do Us Part'' on March 23, 2004. The album saw the band experiment with reggae especially on the lead single "What's Your Number". The track features Tim Armstrong of Rancid on guitar and backup vocals. It is based on the classic song "The Guns of Brixton" on The Clash's ''London Calling'' and has proven to be a success on the modern rock charts. However, the album represented a further departure from the signature sound of their first four albums. The album also features appearances by Damian Marley, son of Bob Marley, Prodigy of Mobb Deep and producers the Alchemist and Fredwreck.

In 2004, the song ''How I Could Just Kill A Man'' was included in the popular video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas created by Rockstar Games, playing on West Coast hip hop radio station Radio Los Santos. In December 2005 a best of compilation album titled Greatest Hits From the Bong was released including 9 hits from previous albums and 2 new tracks. The group's next album was tentatively scheduled for an early 2007 release. In the summer of 2006, B-Real appeared on Snoop Dogg's single "Vato", which was produced by Pharrell Williams.

In 2007 Cypress Hill toured with their full line up as a part of the Rock the Bells tour, held by Guerilla Union, and headlined with Public Enemy, Wu-Tang Clan, Nas, and a reunited Rage Against the Machine. Other acts included Immortal Technique, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, The Roots, EPMD, Pharoahe Monch, Jedi Mind Tricks, Erykah Badu, MF Doom, Sage Francis, Brother Ali, The Coup, Blue Print, Lucky I Am, Living Legends, Felt, Cage, Mr. Lif, Grouch & Eligh, Slightly Stoopid, and Hangar 18.

Departure from Sony and ''Rise Up'' (2008–present)

On July 25, 2008, Cypress Hill performed at a benefit concert at the House of Blues Chicago, where a majority of the proceeds went to the Chicago Alliance to End Homelessness.

In August 2009, a new song by Cypress Hill, titled "Get 'Em Up", was made available on iTunes. The song is featured on the Madden NFL 2010 video game.

In November 2009, a new version of Guns N' Roses classic "Paradise City" performed by Cypress Hill, Slash and Fergie was made available as a bonus track to Slash's single "Sahara" off Slash's solo album ''Slash''.

Cypress Hill's eighth studio album, ''Rise Up'', features contributions from Everlast, Tom Morello, Daron Malakian, Pitbull, Marc Anthony and Mike Shinoda. The album was released on Priority Records/EMI Entertainment, as the group was signed to the label by new Creative Chairman Snoop Dogg on January 15, 2010. The album was finally released on April 20, 2010. The album's introduction single, "It Ain't Nothin'" was released as a free download from the group's official website. The song "Rise Up" was featured at WWE's pay-per-view, Elimination Chamber, as the official theme song for that event, and was released as the third single for the album, with "Armada Latina" being fourth. The song also appeared in the trailer of the movie ''The Green Hornet''.

Cypress Hill commenced its Rise Up tour in Philadelphia on April 10, 2010. Julio G had replaced DJ Muggs for the tour. Muggs had been absent due to working on several other projects, including separate albums with B-Real and Sen Dog. The group was supposed to stop in Tucson, Arizona but canceled the show in protest of the recent immigration legislation. At the Rock en Seine festival in Paris on August 27, 2010 they said in an interview that they would wait and see what happens with the legislation before going back there. Cypress Hill performed at the Reading and Leeds Festivals in late August 2010, on the 28th at Leeds and the 29th at Reading.

Style

Rapping

One of the band's most striking aspects is B-Real's exaggeratedly high-pitched nasal vocals. In the book ''Check the Technique'' B-Real describes his nasal style, saying his rapping voice is "high and annoying... the nasal style I have was just something that I developed... my more natural style wasn't so pleasing to [DJ Muggs and Sen Dog's] ears" and talking about the nasal style in the book ''How to Rap'', B-Real says, "you want to stand out from the others and just be distinct... when you got something that can separate you from everybody else, you gotta use it to your advantage." Sen Dog's voice is deeper, more violent and often shouted alongside the rapping; his vocals are often emphasized by adding an additional background/choir voice to say them. Sen Dog's style is in contrast to B-Real's, who says, "[Sen's] voice is so strong", and "it all blends together" when they are both on the same track.

Both B-Real and Sen Dog started writing lyrics in both Spanish and English and B-Real was inspired to start writing raps from watching Sen Dog and Mellow Man Ace writing their lyrics, and originally B-Real was going to just be the writer for the group rather than a rapper. Their lyrics are noted for bringing a "cartoonish" approach to violence by Peter Shapiro and Allmusic.

Production

The sound and groove of their music, produced by Muggs, is notable for its spooky sounds and stoned aesthetic; with its bass-heavy rhythms and odd sample loops ("Insane in the Brain" is notable for having a pitched-altered horse neigh looped in its chorus), it carries a psychedelic value, which lessened in the later albums.

The band is also known for involving rock instruments. In their songs – this has caused the band to sometimes be classified as a rap rock group. The double album ''Skull & Bones'' consists of a pure rap album ("Skull") and an entire CD of rap/rock songs ("Bones"). Also in ''IV'', there is "Lightning Strikes" which doesn't truly use electric guitars, but a synthesized version of it. In the live album ''Live at The Fillmore'' some of the old classics are played in a rock/metal version, with Sen Dog's band SX-10 and Eric Bobo playing the rock instrument.

The band's music is constantly subject to change: while the first album and ''Black Sunday'' follow a more minimalistic and funky sound, ''III (Temples of Boom)'' has a very dark, spooky atmosphere and heavy beats, sometimes approaching hardcore rap. ''IV'' introduced more diverse sounds on the beats while maintaining the hardcore edge. The first albums are mostly influenced by psychedelic music, but the band eventually got closer to modern rap as it is today while still experimenting with rock from time to time, like on "Skull and Bones" and "Stoned Raiders".

The band involves horns in their songs, and often have guitar and horns together in the instrumentals. "What's Your Number?", "Trouble", "Tequila Sunrise", and "(Rock) Superstar" have become some of the band's most popular songs featuring these elements.

Side and solo projects

Eric Bobo is part of the group Sol Invicto with producer Richie Londres and Stephen Carpenter of the Deftones. Eric Bobo is also a main member of Cultura Londres Proyecto which is a Spanish Hip Hop group from London, England. In 2008, he released his first solo album "Meeting Of The Minds" on Nacional Records. In 2011, he joined up with Chilean DJ Latin Bitman to form the group Ritmo Machine & in November 2011 they released the album "Welcome To The Ritmo Machine" on Nacional Records with special guests Sick Jacken (Psycho Realm), Ana Tijoux, Sen-Dog, Mix Master Mike (Beastie Boys), P-Nut (311), Pato Machete & Chali 2na (Jurassic 5).

2009 saw the releases of both B-Real and Sen Dog's solo efforts Smoke N Mirrors and Diary of a Mad Dog. B-Real is also part of a super-group called Serial Killaz with both Xzibit and his protege Young De. B-Real started his own production company called Audio Hustlaz, with which he has worked and featured on tracks with Kurupt, Young De, Xzibit, Adil Omar, Snoop Dogg, Bitza and others, and has also done guest appearances for La Coka Nostra, Ill Bill, Prozak, Akrobatik, The Outlawz, Nipsey Hussle and Apathy.

Other notable side projects include B-Real's rap metal group Kush with members from Deftones and Fear Factory who are as yet to release any official material.

Sen Dog has released one album with his rap metal group SX-10.

Muggs has released collaborative albums with Sick Jacken, GZA, Planet Asia, Ill Bill and others.

Discography

''Cypress Hill'' (1991)

''Black Sunday'' (1993)

''Cypress Hill III: Temples of Boom'' (1995)

''Unreleased and Revamped'' (1996)

''Cypress Hill IV'' (1998)

''Skull & Bones'' (2000)

''Stoned Raiders'' (2001)

''Till Death Do Us Part'' (2004)

''Rise Up'' (2010)

Awards and Nominations

Grammy Awards

!Year	!Nominated work	!Award	!Result
align=center	"Insane in the Brain"	Best Rap Performance by a Group or Duo
align=center	"I Ain't Goin' Out Like That"	Best Rap Performance by a Group or Duo
align=center	"Throw Your Set in the Air"	Best Rap Performance by a Group or Duo

MTV Video Music Awards Awards

!Year	!Nominated work	!Award	!Result
align=center	"Insane in the Brain"	Best Rap Video

Band Members

;Current Members

B-Real – lead rapping (since 1988)

DJ Muggs – turntables, production (since 1988)

Eric Bobo – drums, percussion (since 1993)

Sen Dog – rapping (since 1988)

;Former Members

Mellow Man Ace - rapping (only 1988)

References

External links

Official Website

Cypress Hill interview by Pete Lewis, 'Blues & Soul' April 2010

Cypress Hill interview, August 2010, Radio France Internationale

Cypress Hill on Velvet Hammer Site

Cypress Hill at Legacy Recordings (Sony Music)

Eric Bobo video interview

Category:Cannabis music Category:Priority Records artists Category:Columbia Records artists Category:Rap rock groups Category:West Coast hip hop groups Category:American hip hop groups Category:Hispanic and Latino American rappers Category:People from South Gate, California Category:Musical groups from California Category:Musical groups established in 1986 Category:West Coast hip hop musicians Category:Rappers from Los Angeles, California

als:Cypress Hill bg:Сайпръс Хил cs:Cypress Hill da:Cypress Hill de:Cypress Hill es:Cypress Hill fa:سایپرس هیل fr:Cypress Hill fy:Cypress Hill ko:사이프레스 힐 hr:Cypress Hill it:Cypress Hill he:סייפרס היל ka:საიპრეს ჰილი hu:Cypress Hill mk:Cypress Hill nl:Cypress Hill ja:サイプレス・ヒル no:Cypress Hill pl:Cypress Hill pt:Cypress Hill ru:Cypress Hill sk:Cypress Hill sr:Sajpres hil fi:Cypress Hill sv:Cypress Hill tr:Cypress Hill uk:Cypress Hill

name	Run to the Hills
cover	Iron_Maiden_-_Run_to_the_Hills.jpg
artist	Iron Maiden
from album	The Number of the Beast & Live After Death
b-side	1982 single "Total Eclipse" 1985 live single "Phantom of the Opera (live)", "Losfer Words (Big 'Orra)" 2002 live single ''Part 1'' "22, Acacia Avenue (live)", "The Prisoner (live)", "Run to the Hills (Camp Chaos video)" ''Part 2'' "Children of the Damned (live)", "Total Eclipse (live)", "Run to the Hills (video)"
released	12 February 1982 2 December 1985 11 March 2002
recorded	1981 March 1985 19 January 2001
genre	Heavy metal
length	3:50 3:54 4:59
label	EMI
writer	Steve Harris
last single	"Purgatory" (1981)
this single	"Run to the Hills" (1982)
next single	"The Number of the Beast" (1982)
misc	}}

"Run to the Hills" was Iron Maiden's sixth single and the first single from their 1982 album ''The Number of the Beast.'' The lyrics clearly discuss the violence visited upon Native Americans in the Nineteenth Century. Several lines appear to address the Sioux Wars, a conflict between the Lakota people and the United States in the Dakotas. The song may also allude to the 'Trail of Tears' occurring during the 1830s when forced resettlement was enforced by the U.S. Army ("soldier blue in the barren wastes"). It was written by Steve Harris, bassist and founder of the band. It remains one of the band's most popular songs. The song, along with "The Trooper" was omitted from their current 2010 tour, The Final Frontier World Tour, in order to make room for their newer songs on the set list. The guitar solo is played by Dave Murray. (The Trooper was re-instated for the 2011 leg of the tour)

Release

The song was released as a single on February 12, 1982, as a prelude to the album. This would be the first single released by the band to feature new vocalist Bruce Dickinson. On the B-side was a song called "Total Eclipse", which would not be on the initial version of the album. However, the band later regretted this decision, as they thought the song was too good to be only a B-side. "Total Eclipse" was added to their ''The Number of the Beast'' album when it was re-released in 1998.

Cover art

The single is the second of three single-covers featuring Riggs' depiction of Satan. He debuted on the single-cover of "Purgatory" and his decapitated head is featured on the single-cover for "The Number of the Beast".

Other releases

In 1985, "Run to the Hills" was released again as the band's 13th single, now in a live version, taken from the live album ''Live After Death''. However, the single cover-art displayed Iron Maiden's mascot Eddie playing an organ, a setting that is often associated with "Phantom of the Opera". Live versions of "Phantom of the Opera" and "Losfer Words (Big 'Orra)" were the B-sides.

In early 2002, "Run to the Hills" was again released as a single, and once again in a live version. This time it was the original studio version again, but with live recordings as B-sides. The single was released to raise money for the Clive Burr MS Trust Fund, to help former Iron Maiden drummer Clive Burr, who is suffering from multiple sclerosis. In March 2002, Iron Maiden played three shows at the Brixton Academy in London to raise money for this trust fund, and the single was released around the same time. Two versions of this single exist, with different B-sides.

Video

"Run to the Hills" was released as a video in the early 1980s, which was later remade in the late 90s/early 2000s. The first video consisted of the band performing, interspersed with comical footage featuring Indians from the 1923 James Parrott film ''Uncovered Wagon''. The later video removed all the old film footage and replaced it with Flash animation of Cyborg Eddie (from the "Stranger in a Strange Land" cover) in a sci-fi Wild West setting, animated by Camp Chaos.

Accolades

"Run to the Hills" ranked #27 on VH1's 40 Greatest Metal Songs and in 2009 it was named the 14^th greatest hard rock song of all time by VH1.

Appearances

It is featured in the game ''SSX On Tour'' as the title's main theme.

It is featured in the 2008 music video game ''Rock Revolution''.

It is featured in the 2008 video game ''GTA IV:The Lost and the Damned'' on the in-game radio station Liberty Rock Radio 97.8

Cover version is featured in the 2007 music video game ''Rock Band'', where it is considered as one of the hardest tracks to play in the game.

Master recording is featured in the 2007 music video game ''Rock Band'', as downloadable content for the Wii and Xbox 360 version since June 9, 2009 and for PlayStation 3 since June 11, 2009.

Cover versions

An all-star cover version of the song is found on the tribute album ''Numbers from the Beast'', featuring Robin McAuley on vocals, Michael Schenker and Pete Fletcher on guitars, Tony Franklin on bass and Brian Tichy (Derek Sherinian, B'z) on drums. This version follows the original scheme of the song, but varies in terms of guitar solos. Schenker has also added small solos in places where there originally are no solos.

The all-female tribute band The Iron Maidens recorded the song on their self-titled debut album.

A cover version of the song appears as a playable track in the music video game ''Rock Band''. It is defined as the game's hardest song overall, being rated "Impossible" for every instrument and for a band as a whole. The original version eventually became DLC the following 2 years.

Former Babes in Toyland singer and guitarist Kat Bjelland's new band Katastrophy Wife covered on their ''Heart On'' EP in 2007.

The song was covered in 2008 by Sign on the tribute CD ''Maiden Heaven: A Tribute to Iron Maiden'' released by ''Kerrang!'' magazine.

On their album ''Garage Inc'', Metallica parody the opening of the song at the end of "Last Caress/Green Hell", playing it extremely out of key during the fadeout.

The Swedish lounge metal band Hellsongs included a cover version on their 2008 album ''Hymns in the Key of 666''.

In 2009, the eventual ''Swedish Idol'' 2009 series winner Erik Grönwall sang it during the live shows and released it the last week of 2009 and had a minor hit with it in the Swedish Single Chart December 2009 and January 2010 topping at #23.

Progressive metal band Dream Theater covered the song and the entire ''The Number Of The Beast'' as a bootleg album.

Track listing

1982 12" maxi (Europe: EMI 1C K 052-07 604 Z) # "Run to the Hills" (Harris) – 3:51 # "Total Eclipse" (Dave Murray, Harris, Clive Burr) – 4:24

1982 7" single (UK: EMI 5263, UK: EMIP 5263 [picture disc], Germany: EMI 1A 006-07604, Netherlands: EMI 1A 006-07604) # "Run to the Hills" (Harris) – 3:50 # "Total Eclipse" (Dave Murray, Harris, Clive Burr) – 4:28 1985 12" single (UK: EMI 12EMI 5542, UK: 12EMIP 5542 [picture disc]) # "Run to the Hills" [live] (Harris) – 3:54 # "Phantom of the Opera" [live] (Harris) – 7:20 # "Losfer Words (Big 'Orra)" [live] (Harris) – 4:14

1985 7" single (UK: EMI EMI 5542) # "Run to the Hills with Hiar" [live] (Harris) – 3:54 # "Phantom of the Opera" [live] (Harris) – 7:20

2002 7" limted single (Europe: EMI EM 612) # "Run to the Hills" (Harris) – 3:50 # "Total Eclipse" [Live '82] (Dave Murray, Harris, Clive Burr) – 4:28

2002 CD single :Part I (UK: EMI CDEM 612/7243 5 50623 0 7) This version of the single contains the studio version of the song "Run to the Hills", while the b-sides were recorded live at the Reading Festival, on August 28, 1982. It also includes the Camp Chaos version of the "Run to the Hills" music video. # "Run to the Hills" (Harris) – 3:50 # "22 Acacia Avenue" [live] (Adrian Smith, Harris) – 6:33 # "The Prisoner" [live] (Smith, Harris) – 5:55 # "Run to the Hills" [Camp Chaos video] (Harris)

:Part II (UK: EMI CDEM 612/7243 5 50623 0 7) This version of the single contains a live version of the song "Run to the Hills", which is the same as on the ''Rock in Rio'' live album. The b-sides for the second version were recorded at the Hammersmith Odeon in London on March 20, 1982. The live video of "Run to the Hills" is also from the ''Rock in Rio'' live album. The cover features Eddie wearing the clothes worn by Bruce Dickinson on the Rock in Rio show. # "Run to the Hills" [live] (Harris) – 4:59 # "Children of the Damned" [live] (Smith, Harris) – 4:32 # "Total Eclipse" [live] (Dave Murray, Harris, Clive Burr) – 3:57 # "Run to the Hills" [live video]

Personnel

Bruce Dickinson - lead vocals

Stephen Harris - bass, backing vocals

Dave Murray - lead guitar

Adrian Smith - rhythm guitar, backing vocals

Clive Burr - drums

Notes

Category:Iron Maiden songs Category:1982 singles Category:1985 singles Category:2002 singles Category:Songs about the extermination of indigenous peoples

bg:Run to the Hills es:Run to the Hills fr:Run to the Hills it:Run to the Hills no:Run to the Hills pl:Run to the Hills pt:Run to the Hills ru:Run to the Hills fi:Run to the Hills sv:Run to the Hills tr:Run to the Hills

name	Adam Hills
birth date	July 10, 1970
birth place	Sydney
medium	Television, radio
nationality	Australian
active	1989–present
genre	Stand-up
influences	Chris Addison, Greg Fleet, Rich Hall, Daniel Kitson, Ross Noble, David O'Doherty
influenced	Sammy J
spouse	Ali McGregor
notable work	Host ''Spicks and Specks''
website	http://www.adamhills.com/
past members	}}

Adam Hills (born 10 July 1970) is an Australian comedian and television presenter. He has appeared on Australian and British television and is best known for his role hosting the Australian ABC music trivia show ''Spicks and Specks''. He has been nominated for a Perrier Comedy Award and Gold Logie Award.

He began performing as a stand-up comedian in 1989 at the age of 19, and since 1997 has produced ten solo shows which have toured internationally. He has performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and the Montreal Just for Laughs festival, earning three consecutive Perrier Award nominations for his Edinburgh shows in 2001, 2002 and 2003.

In 2002, he scored a minor hit with his single "Working Class Anthem", in which he sang the lyrics of the Australian National Anthem to the tune of "Working Class Man", a famous song by iconic Australian rocker Jimmy Barnes.

Personal life

Originally from the Sydney suburb of Loftus, Hills developed an interest in comedy after discovering an inflight comedy channel on a plane at the age of eight. Hills was born without a right foot and wears a prosthesis, which has become a frequent source of comedy in his act. He studied a Bachelor of Arts (Communications) at Macquarie University, graduating in 1991.

He is married to opera soprano Ali McGregor. Their wedding took place in late December 2009 and their first child, a daughter named Beatrice Pearl, was born on 8 May 2010.

Career

Stand-up career

Hills entered the comedy scene in 1989 when he made his first appearance at the Sydney Comedy Store at the age of 19. He spent several years from 1991 splitting his time between stand-up gigs and breakfast radio, but by the mid-1990s Hills says the hours had become exhausting and he decided to focus on live comedy. In 1997 he premiered "Stand Up and Deliver", the first of 10 solo shows, all of which have toured internationally. He has travelled widely, performing at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and the Montreal Just For Laughs festival. He has been nominated for three consecutive Perrier Comedy Awards for his 2001, 2002 and 2003 solo shows at the Edinburgh Fringe.

The title of his 2001 show, "Go You Big Red Fire Engine", was coined during a 1999 performance in Melbourne. Hills asked an audience member to yell his name to the audience and for the audience to yell it back, but instead the man yelled "Go you big red fire engine!" The phrase quickly became an audience chant, and Hills promised he would make it the name of his next show because, he says, "it was such an uplifting and genuinely silly moment." "Go You Big Red Fire Engine" later became the name of a second stand-up show and a comedy album; it also appeared in a Detroit newspaper, on a Swedish website and was yelled by Senator Natasha Stott Despoja in the Australian Parliament.

His artificial right foot is commonly used as a source of humour in his shows and the comedian has been known to remove it and pass it around. However, Hills had been performing live comedy for over a decade before he made reference to his prosthesis on stage, and it was only after "Go You Big Red Fire Engine" was nominated for a Perrier Award in 2001 that he began incorporating it into his act. Hills says he felt he could too easily have become a novelty act and that he "didn't want to be known as the one-legged comedian ... I wanted to prove myself as a comic before talking about this."

Hills regularly has a sign language interpreter at his festival shows, a move sparked by a performance he did in Adelaide at a disability art conference. An interpreter had been provided at the show, and Hills found that it not only allowed the deaf audience members to enjoy his material but was also an entertaining and fascinating experience for the hearing audience members. "Now I have hearing people who will only book [for signer shows]," he says. He has also made appearances on Australian shows ''Rove Live'', ''The Glass House'' and ''The Fat'', as well as the British ''Never Mind the Buzzcocks'' and ''Mock the Week''. He conducted backstage interviews at Australia's 2005 and 2006 Logie Awards and was one of three presenters at the 2007 awards.

In June 2008, Hills co-hosted the ABC coverage of the 2008 Summer Paralympics.

In July 2009, Hills appeared in ''Thank God You're Here''; he also appeared on ''Good News Week''.

Hills will present his own weekly talk show on the ABC from early 2011, entitled ''Adam Hills In Gordon Street Tonight''.

Other work

In 2002, Hills released a single titled ''Working Class Anthem'', in which he sang the lyrics of the Australian National Anthem, "Advance Australia Fair", to the tune of "Working Class Man", a famous song by iconic Australian rocker Jimmy Barnes, titling it "Working Class Anthem". Around 40 comedians contributed to the song, which made the independent top 10 in Australia. All proceeds went to the Australasian Fire Authority Council, an organisation supported by Barnes and Jon Bon Jovi that supports firefighters. Hills has performed the song several times on television, including a performance honouring Barnes' guest appearance on ''Spicks and Specks''.

Between 2003 and 2005, Hills wrote as a columnist for the BBC's disability website ''Ouch!''.

Solo shows

Stand Up and Deliver (1997)

Life Is Good (1998)

My Own Little World (1999)

Goody Two Shoes (2000)

Go You Big Red Fire Engine (2001) – Perrier nominee

Happy Feet (2002) – Perrier nominee

Cut Loose (2003) – Perrier nominee

Go You Big Red Fire Engine 2: Judgement Day (2004)

Characterful (2006)

Joymonger (2007)

Inflatable (2009)

Mess Around (2010)

Awards

For his television duties, Hills has been nominated at the Logie Awards on numerous occasions. The categories he has been nominated for are:

Gold Logie: 2008 - 2011

Most Popular Presenter: 2008 - 2011

Most Outstanding New Talent: 2006

Most Popular New Talent: 2006

References

External links

Columns written for the BBC Ouch! disability website

MOSH Profile

TGS Profile

Interview

''Sydney Morning Herald'' article

Category:Australian comedians Category:Australian game show hosts Category:Australian stand-up comedians Category:Australian television personalities Category:1970 births Category:Living people Category:Australian people with disabilities