Overview
"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", 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 Pete Townshend revisited the project, at Roger Daltrey's suggestion. 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".
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