That's definitely a back light problem. Either the power connection to the back light is broken or it has burned out. The lid actuator on new HPs is inside of the hinge assembly.

It's an HP G60-120us. Any ideas? Expensive repair?

If it isn't under warranty, getting it serviced by HP will be quite expensive. You can find compatible parts fairly cheap if you look hard and you are confident enough to repair/replace it yourself. Instructions can be found in the Service and Maintenance Manual for your model. I would warn you that doing any kind of major maintenance on notebooks can be tricky if you don't know what you are doing. The parts are small and its easy to do a lot of damage if you are not very careful.