Hilary

Hilary (1)
Where's the sixty quid you borrowed off me for the gas? 
I won't give you a kiss
Hilary
Hey Hilary

'New Faces' on Saturday at six (2)
Brought you back to me

Hilary

I'm sure it was you in the new Audi
Outside Sainsbury's  (3)

Hilary

Remember when you needed three caps of speed (4)
To get out of bed
And now you're on ecstasy

Hilary

With your daft African pop
And that wine you call bull's blood (5)

Hilary

I thank the lord that you still don't live next to me

Hilary

1. Reformation has the presumed skinny:

As for the identity of Hilary, general opinion seems to be that the lyrics refer to one of Tony Wilson's previous wives, Hilary Lorraine Moss, who directed the Shiftwork and Holidays video and is also namechecked on The Post Nearly Man and Pander Panda Panzer.

However, Hilary Moss seems not to have been married to Tony Wilson. Here's what we have:

From Julia in the comments: "I went to college with Hilary Moss and she was indeed the subject of the song. She was a mature student (certainly in her forties) at Salford College of Technology doing Media Studies 1989-1991. It was on this course that she did the video for 'Shiftwork' as one of her projects. Hilary directed, other students did all the camera work, lighting, editing, etc. And The Fall got a free video. As I recall she was all cowboy boots, skinny black jeans and leopard print jackets. A heavy smoker with a wicked tongue/temper. She was also a gigging DJ under the name 'DJ Lorraine.' Didn't know she was Tony Wilsons ex-wife, though?"

According to Wikipedia: "Wilson was married twice, first to Lindsay Reade and then to Hilary, with whom he had a son, Oliver, and a daughter, Isabel." The Wikipedia entry links to an article from the Telegraph which says "In April 1985 his then wife Hilary was slashed across the left cheek with a carpet knife by a woman with an obsessive crush on Wilson; the woman was committed to Broadmoor Hospital for the criminally insane."

Dan: "The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography names Wilson's second wife as 'Hilary J. Sherlock,' born 1955. It says the relationship began in 'early 1984,' and that they married in 'a New York courtroom rather than a British register office.'" 

It seems that Hilary Sherlock and Hilary Moss are different people, so the mystery remains. If it is Hilary Moss, however, it seems odd that the subject of such a vitriolic song worked with the Fall after the song was released.

As for the music, Martin Bramah must be quoted at length; make of it what you will:

As unhip as it was, the first piece of vinyl I remember was my dad’s copy of America’s attempt to write a Neil Young song, ‘A Horse With No Name.’ It was played a lot around the house.

Interestingly, it was a massive influence on Mark E Smith, the lead singer of my first real band, The Fall. You can hear its impact in the sprechstimme style of Mark’s voice. He doesn’t really sing or hold a melody. A lot of what he does comes out like that one long line—’in the desert you can remember your name, ‘cause they’re ain’t no one for to give you no pain,’ which barely has any melody. It’s perfect for the tone-deaf, I think that’s why it was a hit. I still hear America’s nearly tuneless ‘la la la la la la…’ in nearly every Fall song.

One day, Mark came to me with the lyrics for ‘Hilary’…’Hilary, where’s the sixty quid you borrowed off me?’ He asked me to turn what he was singing into music, so I gave it a bit more melody, but not too much.

I didn’t get writing credit for the tune, but that’s fair, because the whole thing is basically ripped off America!

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2. New Faces was a talent show on British television.  

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3. Sainsbury's is a British supermarket chain.

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4. The blue lyrics book replaces this with "three cups of tea."

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5. Egri Bikavér, which means "Bull's Blood of Eger," is a Hungarian wine. Wikipedia gives an interesting, but uncredited, account of the origin of the name:

According to legend, the name originates from the invasion of Suleiman the Magnificent around 1552.

"To motivate and support the small group of soldiers during the Siege of Eger castle they were served delicious food and a lot of red wine. Among the Turkish soldiers it was rumored that bull's blood was mixed into the red wine, as otherwise the strength and firm resistance of the town and castle of Eger could not be explained. Finally the enemy gave up."

There is also a Spanish wine called Sangre de Toro ("Bull's Blood"). The "bull" in the name is meant to refer to Bacchus, the god of wine, who was often depicted with bull's horns.

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Hilary: Fall Tracks A-Z