"Relay" | ||||
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Single by The Who | ||||
B-side | "Waspman" (Keith Moon) | |||
Released | 25 November 1972 (US) 22 December 1972 (UK) |
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Format | 7" single | |||
Recorded | 26 May 1972 at Olympic Studios, London | |||
Genre | Rock | |||
Length | 3:42 (US) 3:49 (UK) | |||
Label | MCA (US) / Track 2094-106 (UK) | |||
Writer(s) | Pete Townshend | |||
Producer(s) | The Who Associate producer: Glyn Johns |
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The Who singles chronology | ||||
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"Relay" (titled "The Relay" in the United States) is a song written by Pete Townshend, the guitarist of The Who, for the band's aborted Lifehouse project. The song was also released as a moderately successful single in 1972. It was also the last non-album single by The Who until "Real Good Looking Boy", thirty-two years later.
"Relay" was originally written as part of the Lifehouse album, but the song was shelved with the rest of the album. In 1972, the song was resurrected to be used in Rock Is Dead—Long Live Rock!, another abandoned Who album that was to be released in 1972.
The song was recorded during the same sessions as "Join Together" and a demo of "Long Live Rock" in May 1972.
"Relay" was released as a single in late 1972, backed with the Keith Moon-penned track, "Waspman". The single charted in the Top 40 in both the UK and US, reaching #21 in the United Kingdom and #39 on the Billboard Hot 100 (and #33 on Cashbox). The single was the last of three singles relating to Lifehouse (but which did not appear on Who's Next), the others being "Let's See Action" and "Join Together".
Lead singer Roger Daltrey spoke positively of the song, saying "I love 'Relay'". Pete Townshend, however, felt that it sounded too similar to the band's other releases. He said of this:
I've got to get a new act together for the Who... we've got to get something fresh.
In order to promote the single, "Relay" was performed on two British television shows, Russell Harty Plus and The Old Grey Whistle Test, in early 1973.