"Relay" (titled "The Relay" in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

) is a

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetitio ...

written by

Pete Townshend Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend (; born 19 May 1945) is an English musician. He is co-founder, leader, guitarist, second lead vocalist and principal songwriter of the Who, one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s and 1970s. Townsh ...

, the guitarist of

the Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

, 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 An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

single by the Who until "

Real Good Looking Boy "Real Good Looking Boy" is a song written by the guitarist of the British rock band The Who, Pete Townshend. It was originally released in 2004 on the compilation album ''Then and Now (The Who album), Then and Now'', and was one of two new songs ...

", 32 years later.

Background

"Relay" was originally written as part of the unfinished '' Lifehouse'' rock opera, however, like " Join Together", it was not written until 1972, when

revisited the project, at

Roger Daltrey Roger Harry Daltrey (born 1 March 1944) is an English singer, musician and actor. He is a co-founder and the lead singer of the Rock music, rock band The Who. Daltrey's hit songs with The Who include "My Generation", "Pinball Wizard", "Won't Ge ...

's suggestion. In 1972, the song was resurrected to be used in ''

Rock Is Dead—Long Live Rock! ''Rock Is Dead—Long Live Rock'' was the title of an unreleased 1972 autobiographical album by the British rock band The Who. In the liner notes for the Who's 1974 rarities collection ''Odds & Sods'', guitarist and lead songwriter Pete Townshen ...

'', 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 "Long Live Rock" is a 1972 single by The Who, written by Pete Townshend. A different version of the song was performed by Billy Fury's character in the film ''That'll Be the Day'' (a film which featured Who drummer Keith Moon). The original Who ...

" in May 1972. "Relay" was released as a single in late 1972, backed with the

Keith Moon Keith John Moon (23 August 19467 September 1978) was an English drummer for the rock band the Who. He was noted for his unique style of playing and his eccentric, often self-destructive behaviour and addiction to drugs and alcohol. Moon grew ...

-penned track, "

Waspman "Waspman" is a mainly instrumental song by The Who, credited to their drummer Keith Moon. The song is the B-side to The Who's single "Relay" (entitled "The Relay" in the United States). The song is supposedly a tribute to Link Wray, who becam ...

". The single charted in the Top 40 in both the UK and US, reaching #21 in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and #39 on the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

(and #33 on Cashbox). The single was the last of three singles relating to ''Lifehouse'' (but which did not appear on ''

Who's Next ''Who's Next'' is the fifth studio album by English rock band the Who. It developed from the aborted '' Lifehouse'' project, a multi-media rock opera conceived by the group's guitarist Pete Townshend as a follow-up to the band's 1969 album ''T ...

''), the others being "

Let's See Action "Let's See Action" is a song written and composed by Pete Townshend and recorded by the Who. It was released as a single in the UK in 1971 and reached #16 in the charts. Song notes The song is the first of three non-album singles by the Who, th ...

" and "Join Together". Lead singer

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:

Live and alternate versions

In order to promote the single, "Relay" was performed on two British television shows, '' Russell Harty Plus'' and ''

The Old Grey Whistle Test ''The Old Grey Whistle Test'' (sometimes abbreviated to ''Whistle Test'' or ''OGWT'') is a British television music show. The show was devised by BBC producer Rowan Ayers, commissioned by David Attenborough and aired on BBC2 from 1971 to 1988. ...

'', in early 1973. "Relay" was performed throughout the Who's 1972 tour, but was dropped from the setlist afterwards, and would not return until after

's death; it was performed twice in the 1979 tour (once as an encore, once as a snippet) and frequently through the 1980 tour, before returning to the full setlist in

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

and

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

. However, it was then dropped again until

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, and remained in the setlist through

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

. Live performances from 2000 onwards were often performed in an extended format, frequently exceeding seven minutes.

Lyrics and music

"Relay" begins with a strong guitar line fed through the

sample and hold In electronics, a sample and hold (also known as sample and follow) circuit is an analog device that samples (captures, takes) the voltage of a continuously varying analog signal and holds (locks, freezes) its value at a constant level for a ...

-controlled VCF of an ARP-2600 synthesiser, which persists throughout the song. It also features an ordinary electric guitar and acoustic guitar. Intended to feature near the end of ''Lifehouse'', "Relay" is thought to refer to the final setting up of and spreading the word about the Lifehouse concert. The fictional Relay bears strong similarities to the modern

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...

, and as such in concerts in the 21st Century,

introduces the song as being about the Internet. ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of the three main music industry trade magazines in the United States, along with '' Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 under the name ''Music Vendor'', but in 1964 it was changed to ''Record Wo ...

'' said that it "begins with an

Isaac Hayes Isaac Lee Hayes Jr. (August 20, 1942 – August 10, 2008) was an American singer, actor, songwriter, and composer. He was one of the creative forces behind the Southern soul music label Stax Records, where he served both as an in-house songwri ...

sound and breaks into a heavy rocker again envincing Townshend's humanistic consciousness."

Release history

In addition to being released as a single in 1972, "Relay" has appeared on a number of albums. In order of release: *''

Hooligans Hooliganism is disruptive or unlawful behavior such as rioting, bullying and vandalism, usually in connection with crowds at sporting events. Etymology There are several theories regarding the origin of the word ''hooliganism,'' which is a d ...

'' (labelled as "The Relay") *''

Who's Greatest Hits ''Who's Greatest Hits'' is a 1983 greatest hits compilation album from the Who released in the US. It includes the rare track "Relay", presented here in its original full length. An earlier appearance on ''Hooligans'' has shortened it by almos ...

'' *'' Rarities Volume II'' *'' The Who Collection'' *''

Thirty Years of Maximum R&B ''Thirty Years of Maximum R&B'' is a box set by British rock band, The Who released by Polydor Records internationally and by MCA Records in the U.S.; since 2003, it has been issued in America by Geffen Records. The set consists of four CDs that ...

'' *'' BBC Sessions'' *'' Live at the Royal Albert Hall/ The Who & Special Guests: Live at the Royal Albert Hall'' *'' Live in Boston'' *''

The Who Hits 50! Billed as The Who Hits 50!, The Who's 2014–16 tour was a tour celebrating the 50th anniversary of the band. Roger Daltrey has referred to this tour as the band's "long goodbye" hinting that it will be the final tour for The Who. The tour co ...

Chart performance

References