- He started out writing music for TV commercials, frequently working with director Ridley Scott. When Scott started work on his first feature film, The Duellists (1977), he asked Blake to write the score.
- He answered a help-wanted ad for an assistant projectionist at the National Film Theatre in London. During his few years there, famous film-makers, including Fritz Lang and Jean Renoir, came to give lectures. Blake and his colleagues often made tea for them in the projectionist's box.
- At the age of 18, Blake won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music and studied piano and composition with Harold Craxton and Howard Ferguson.
- Was an executive director of the Performing Right Society (1978-1987).
- Was co-founder of the Association of Professional Composers.
- Was awarded the OBE for his services to music in the 1994 New Year's Honours list.
- He was working on the score for The Hunger (1983), an erotic vampire movie, when he received a phone call asking him to begin writing the music for The Snowman (1982). He worked on the Hunger score during the day, and the Snowman music in the evenings.
- He had a successful stint as a session pianist, working with singers including Tom Jones and Shirley Bassey. From there, he moved to playing for film and TV scores.
- He wrote a spec script for Richard Williams called Tin Tack, which would later be re-worked into The Thief and the Cobbler (1993).
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