Relax (song)

{{Listen|filename=Relax Demo tape.ogg

|title="Relax" (demo)|description=An excerpt from the original demo recording of "Relax".}}

Singer Holly Johnson said the lyrics came to him as he was walking down Princess Avenue in Liverpool: "I mean they were just, you know, words that floated into my head one day when I was walking down Princess Avenue with no bus fare, trying to get to rehearsals – I mean there was no great sort of calculated, 'Oh I'll sing these words and this record'll be banned'."{{cite web|url=http://mfblogg.no/6068/|title=Relax – Frankie Goes To Hollywood|website=MusikBloggNo|access-date=9 August 2017}}

ZTT Records signed Frankie Goes to Hollywood after producer-turned-ZTT cofounder Trevor Horn saw the band play on the television show The Tube, on which the group played an early version of "Relax". Horn described the original version of "Relax" as "more a jingle than a song", but he preferred to work with songs that were not professionally finished because he could then "fix them up" in his own style.Reynolds, p. 377 Once the band was signed, ZTT co-founder Paul Morley mapped out the marketing campaign fashioned as a "strategic assault on pop". Morley opted to tackle the biggest possible themes in the band's singles ("sex, war, religion"), of which "Relax" would be the first, and emphasized the shock impact of Frankie members Holly Johnson's and Paul Rutherford's open homosexuality in the packaging and music videos.Reynolds, p. 379

Horn dominated the recording of "Relax" in his effort for perfectionism. Initial sessions were held at the Manor Studio.{{cite news |last=Gilbert |first=Ben |date=2 August 2021 |title=How we made: Relax by Frankie Goes to Hollywood |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/aug/02/how-we-made-relax-by-frankie-goes-to-hollywood-sex-mix-gay-clubs |work=The Guardian |access-date=2 August 2021}} The band were overawed and intimidated by Horn's reputation, and thus were too nervous to make suggestions. Johnson said in his autobiography, "Whatever he said we went along with". When attempts to record with the full band proved unsatisfactory, Horn hired former Ian Dury backing band the Blockheads for the sessions, with Norman Watt-Roy providing the original bass line. Those sessions were later deemed to be not modern-sounding enough.{{cite magazine |last=Buskin |first=Richard |date=April 2008 |title=Classic Tracks: Frankie Goes To Hollywood – 'Relax' |url=http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/apr08/articles/classictracks_0408.htm |magazine=Sound on Sound |access-date=15 March 2015}} Instead, Watt-Roy's playing was replaced by a sampled E note on a bass guitar, which was layered over a Linn 2 bass drum.{{cite magazine |date=August 1994 |title=From ABC to ZTT |url=http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/1994_articles/aug94/trevorhorn.html |magazine=Sound on Sound |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060411044321/http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/1994_articles/aug94/trevorhorn.html |archive-date=11 April 2006}}

Horn then constructed a more electronic-based version of the song with keyboards by session musician Andy Richards and with rhythm programming assistance from J. J. Jeczalik of Art of Noise. Horn developed this version of the recording in his west London studio while the band remained in their hometown of Liverpool. Horn had made three versions of "Relax" prior to Richards and guitarist Stephen Lipson joining his ZTT Production 'Theam' in late 1983. Horn left the studio late one night asking for Lipson to erase the multitrack (of version 3) due to lack of progress, but came back into the studio some time later to hear Richards playing a variety of modal chords based around the key of E minor with Lipson playing guitar along to the unerased multitrack.{{cite web|url=http://www.zttaat.com/article.php?title=110|title=Zang Tuum Tumb and all that – Articles – The Making of Relax|last=zttaat.com|website=www.zttaat.com|access-date=9 August 2017}}

Ultimately, vocalists Johnson and Rutherford were the only band members to perform on the record. The only contribution by the other members was a sample crafted from the sound of the rest of the band jumping into a swimming pool. Johnson later said that "Trevor didn't like the band's standard of playing as he couldn't sync it to his machinery". Horn later recalled of the song's intro, "Hit singles are not just good songs. They need to be moments. Holly had been blowing his saxophone on the studio roof in Notting Hill at 2am, and a bunch of guys appeared on the street, calling up to him. He came down to do the vocal, and I suggested he play it at the start of Relax."

In a 2021 interview, Horn said that "the band we signed weren't quite the band who had appeared on the original demo, though we didn't know that at the time". The demo had featured Jed O'Toole, brother of bassist Mark O'Toole, on guitar, who subsequently left to pursue a 9-to-5 career. He was replaced by Brian Nash, who was a guitar novice at the time the single was recorded, though Horn acknowledged that he developed into a good guitarist by the time Welcome to the Pleasuredome was finished. Horn completed the recording having spent £70,000 in studio time.Reynolds, p. 380

Morley intentionally courted scandal with the promotion of "Relax". ZTT initiated the ad campaign for "Relax" with two quarter-page ads in the British music press. The first ad featured images of Rutherford in a sailor cap and a leather vest, and Johnson with a shaved head and rubber gloves. The images were accompanied by the phrase "ALL THE NICE BOYS LOVE SEA MEN", a pun on the music hall song "Ship Ahoy! (All the Nice Girls Love a Sailor)". It declared "Frankie Goes to Hollywood are coming ... making Duran Duran lick the shit off their shoes ... Nineteen inches that must be taken always." The second ad promised "theories of bliss, a history of Liverpool from 1963 to 1983, a guide to Amsterdam bars".Reynolds, p. 381

When the single was first released in November 1983, the initial progress of "Relax" on the UK Top 75 was sluggish. First charting at no. 67, it had progressed only to no. 35 by its seventh week on the chart, even having fallen back slightly during that time. But then on Thursday 5 January 1984, Frankie Goes to Hollywood were shown performing "Relax" on the BBC flagship television chart show, Top of the Pops. The following week it soared to no. 6. On 11 January 1984, Radio 1 disc jockey Mike Read expressed on air his distaste for both the record's suggestive sleeve (designed by Anne Yvonne Gilbert) and its lyric, which centred on the oft-repeated "Relax, don't do it/When you want to sock it to it/Relax, don't do it/ When you want to come."{{cite book

|title= The People's Songs: The Story of Modern Britain in 50 Records

|first = Stuart

|last = Maconie

|year = 2013

|isbn = 978-1409033189

|page = 263|publisher = Random House

}} He announced his refusal to play the record, not knowing the BBC had just decided the song was not to be played on the BBC anyway. Holly Johnson admitted that while the label claimed the lyric was "When you want to sock it to it", he was actually singing "When you want to suck it, chew it".{{cite web| url = https://www.songfacts.com/facts/frankie-goes-to-hollywood/relax| title = Relax by Frankie Goes to Hollywood – Songfacts}}

In support of their disc jockey, BBC Radio banned the single from its shows a reported two days later (although certain prominent night-time BBC shows – including those of Kid Jensen and John Peel – continued to play the record, as they saw fit, during 1984).{{cite news

|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/959284.stm|title='Banned' Frankie tops chart|date=6 October 2000 | work=BBC News | access-date=4 January 2010}} The now-banned "Relax" rose to no. 2 on the charts by 17 January, and hit the number-one spot on 24 January. By this time, the BBC Radio ban had extended to Top of the Pops as well, which simply displayed a still picture of the group during its climactic number one announcement, before airing a performance by a non-number one artist.

This went on for the five weeks that "Relax" was at number one. It then began a slow decline on the charts, falling back as far as no. 31 in May 1984 before returning to no. 2 in July whilst Frankie's follow-up single "Two Tribes" held the UK number-one spot. In the end, "Relax" remained in the Top 75 for 48 consecutive weeks and returned in February 1985 for four more, giving a total of 52.{{cite web|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/search/singles/Relax |title=Relax | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company |website=Official Charts |access-date=8 August 2010 }}

The ban became an embarrassment for the BBC, especially given that UK commercial radio and television stations were still playing the song. Later in 1984 the ban was lifted and "Relax" featured on both the Christmas Day edition of Top of the Pops and Radio 1's rundown of the best-selling singles of the year.

Throughout the "Relax" controversy, the band continued to publicly deny that the song's lyrics were sexual. Nevertheless, by late 1984, it was clear that the public were aware of the sexual nature of the lyrics, but the scandal had fuelled sales anyway. In 1985, with the release of the Welcome to the Pleasuredome album (which included "Relax"), the band dropped any public pretence about the lyrics:

{{Blockquote|Everything I say is complete lies. Like, when people ask you what 'Relax' was about, when it first came out we used to pretend it was about motivation, and really it was about shagging.|Mark O'Toole|Welcome to the Pleasuredome album liner notes}}

The track was reissued in September 1993, the first of a string of Frankie Goes to Hollywood singles to be reissued that year. It debuted at a high no. 6 on the UK Singles Chart and peaked at no. 5 the following week. It spent seven weeks in the Top 75 this time, thus extending its combined total to 59, making it at the time the third longest runner of all time; it has since been surpassed by 44 other songs and sits in joint 47th place.{{cite web|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/search/singles/Relax%20%7B1993%7D |title=Archived copy |website=Official Charts |access-date=8 August 2010 }}

American magazine Cash Box said that the song is "a very danceable cut", in which "heavy bass and bass drum provide the backdrop for Frankie's pleading lyric and Frank Sinatraesque soaring vocal."{{cite magazine|title=Reviews|magazine=Cash Box|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/80s/1984/CB-1984-03-24.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200819003538/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/80s/1984/CB-1984-03-24.pdf |archive-date=19 August 2020 |url-status=live|date=24 March 1984|access-date=23 July 2022|page=8}} Alan Jones from Music Week gave the 1993 remix four out of five, writing, "ZTT recently got its catalogue back from Island, and is about to embark on a high profile re-issue/remix campaign, of which this is the first fruit. "Relax" is updated by Ollie J in a stomping house mix, while Jam & Spoon's pumped-up Hi-NRG version is hardcore tempo. With the original mixes added to the package, this is going to be big all over again. But will One FM play it?"{{cite magazine|first=Alan|last=Jones|title=Market Preview: Mainstream – Singles|magazine=Music Week|date=11 September 1993|page=14|access-date=1 February 2023|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/1993/Music-Week-1993-09-11.pdf}} Richard Harris from NME commented, "'Relax' sounds as divine as ever; a perfect soundtrack for pubescents to discover the delightful realities of having hormones."{{cite magazine|first=Richard|last=Harris|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/nothingelseon/53008798379/|title=Long Play|magazine=NME|date=30 October 1993|page=28|access-date=5 July 2023}} In July 2022, Rolling Stone ranked the song number 123 in their list of the "200 Greatest Dance Songs of All Time".{{cite magazine|first1=Jon|last1=Dolan|first2=Julyssa|last2=Lopez|first3=Michaelangelo|last3=Matos|first4=Claire|last4=Shaffer|title=200 Greatest Dance Songs of All Time|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/200-greatest-dance-songs-of-all-time-1372888|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=22 July 2022|accessdate=6 April 2025}}

Credits sourced from Sound on Sound

Frankie Goes to Hollywood

• Holly Johnson – lead vocals
• Paul Rutherford – backing vocals

Other musicians

• Trevor Horn – LinnDrum and Fairlight CMI programming; producer
• J.J. Jeczalik – Fairlight CMI programming
• Stephen Lipson – electric guitars, Roland GR-300 guitar synthesizer
• Andy Richards – Roland Jupiter-8 synthesizer, Roland MC-4 Microcomposer sequencer

File:Relax Last Seven Inches.jpg

Although the 7-inch version of the single remained unchanged throughout its initial release (a mix generally known as "Relax (Move)"), promotional 7-inch records featuring a substantially different mix of "Relax" (entitled either "The Last Seven Inches" or "Warp Mix" because it is a compilation of other versions) were the subject of a limited 1984 release.

{{Listen|filename=Relax (The Last Seven Inches) - ZTAS1DJ.ogg

|title="Relax" (The Last Seven Inches)|description=An excerpt from "Relax" (The Last Seven Inches).}}

Three principal 12-inch remixes of "Relax" were eventually created by producer Trevor Horn:

One of the reasons we did all the remixes was that the initial 12-inch version of 'Relax' contained something called 'The Sex Mix', which was 16 minutes long and didn't even contain a song. It was really Holly Johnson just jamming, as well as a bunch of samples of the group jumping in the swimming pool and me sort of making disgusting noises by dropping stuff into buckets of water! We got so many complaints about it — particularly from gay clubs, who found it offensive — that we cut it in half and reduced it down to eight minutes, by taking out some of the slightly more offensive parts [this became "Sex Mix (Edition 2)"]. Then we got another load of complaints, because the single version wasn't on the 12-inch — I didn't see the point in this at the time, but I was eventually put straight about it.

Horn attested that visits to New York's Paradise Garage club led to the creation of the final "Relax (New York Mix)", which ultimately replaced the original "Sex Mix" releases:

It was only when I went to this club and heard the sort of things they were playing that I really understood about 12-inch remixes. Although I myself had already had a couple of big 12-inch hits, I'd never heard them being played on a big sound system, and so I then went back and mixed 'Relax' again and that was the version which sold a couple of million over here [in the UK].

File:Relax Picture disk.jpg

The original 12-inch version of "Relax", labelled "Sex Mix", ran for over 16 minutes, and is broadly as described by Horn above. The subsequent "Edition 2" was an 8-minute-plus edit of the "Sex Mix", and can only be distinguished by having 12ISZTAS1 etched on the vinyl. The final 12-inch mix, containing no elements from the foregoing versions, was designated the "New York Mix", and ran for approximately 7:20. This was the most commonly available 12-inch version of "Relax" during its worldwide 1984 chart success.

The UK cassette single featured "Greatest Bits", a unique amalgam of excerpts from the "Sex Mix", "New York Mix", "Move" and an instrumental version of "Move".

Since virtually all of the UK "Relax" 12-inch singles were labelled "Sex Mix", a method of differentiating between versions by reference to the record's matrix numbers necessarily became de rigueur for collectors of Frankie Goes to Hollywood releases (and ultimately collectors of ZTT records in general).

"Relax (Come Fighting)" was the version of the song included on the Welcome to the Pleasuredome album. This is ostensibly a variant of the 7-inch single "Move" mix, but is different from that version. For example, the 7" mix fades in on a foghorn type sound while the album mix fades in on sustained synth chords. Also, the backing vocals of the 7" mix are panned to the left, whereas they are mixed in the centre on the album version. Additionally, the 7" mix features a prominent reverberated kick drum sound during the introduction that also appears in other parts of the song, which is completely absent from the album mix. The album mix also has a certain post-production sheen (greater stereo separation of parts, more strategic uses of reverb, etc.) that is absent from the original 1983 7-inch single mix. The "Classic 1993 Version" is a version of the original 7" mix that uses "Bonus, Again" as the instrumental track, although modification with elements from "Come Fighting" thrown in (e.g. both the intro and outro come directly from it) and much of it made to sound more clear.

The original airing of Relax on The Tube, before the band were signed to ZTT, featured another verse that was edited from all the released versions, "In heaven everything is fine, you've got yours and I've got mine", referencing the Peter Ivers song "In Heaven" from the David Lynch film Eraserhead.

According to a fan enquiry by a member of the Alternate forum (a forum dedicated to ZTT) to Holly Johnson over accusation that it was created by a DJ, "Edition 2" was edited by Trevor Horn at the Sarm East studio with J. J. Jeczalik engineering and Johnson watching.{{cite web| url = http://fgthq.de/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1471286452| title = Alternate Board – Login}}

The 7-inch featured "One September Monday", an interview between ZTT's Paul Morley, Holly Johnson and Paul Rutherford. During the interview, Holly revealed that the group's name derived from a page of the New Yorker magazine, headlined "Frankie Goes Hollywood" and featuring Frank Sinatra "getting mobbed by teenyboppers".

On all of the original 12-inch releases, the B-side featured a cover of "Ferry 'Cross the Mersey", followed by a brief dialogue involving Rutherford attempting to sign on, and an a cappella version of the title track's chorus, segueing into an instrumental version of "Relax", known as "Bonus, Again" (which resembles "Come Fighting" more than the 7" mix).

The UK cassette single included "Ferry 'Cross the Mersey" and interview sections not included on "One September Monday".

The first official music video for "Relax", directed by Bernard Rose and set in an S&M themed gay nightclub at Wilton's music hall in London it featuring the bandmembers accosted by buff leathermen, a glamorous drag queen, and an obese admirer dressed up as a Roman emperor, played by actor John Dair, was allegedly banned by MTV and the BBC, prompting the recording of a second video, directed by Godley and Creme{{cite web |url=http://www.mvdbase.com/video.php?id=11021 |title=Frankie Goes to Hollywood – "Relax [version 3: lasers]" |publisher=mvdbase.com |date=29 October 1984 |access-date=29 March 2014 |archive-date=14 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514232217/http://www.mvdbase.com/video.php?id=11021 |url-status=dead }} in early 1984, featuring the group performing with the help of laser beams. However, after the second video was made the song was banned completely by the BBC, meaning that neither video was ever broadcast on any BBC music programmes.

A live performance video of the song was directed by David Mallet, making the rounds at MTV. The live version was released as the B-side of the US 12" version of "Welcome to the Pleasuredome", titled "Relax (International)".

Another MTV video of the studio version includes footage from the Brian De Palma film Body Double. Body Double, a popular 1984 erotic thriller film, contains a film within a film sequence in which Frankie Goes to Hollywood performs "Relax" on the set of a porn film.{{cite web|work=DVD Talk|url=http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/23720/body-double-special-edition/|title=Body Double: Special Edition|date=9 September 2006|author=Gibron, Bill}}

"Relax" is a major plot point in the film Zoolander (2001), where the titular character is conditioned to assassinate a target when he hears the song.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/25yS5Yr8YJjPRy17pHPYn1D/always-on-my-mind-hollywoods-brainwashing-obsession|title=Always on my mind: Hollywood's brainwashing obsession|date=15 February 2018|access-date=4 October 2020|publisher=BBC Arts}} Limp Bizkit also recorded their own version for the film,{{cite web|url=https://www.mtv.com/news/1446019/freddie-say-relax-limp-bizkit-remake-frankie-goes-to-hollywood/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160601032828/http://www.mtv.com/news/1446019/freddie-say-relax-limp-bizkit-remake-frankie-goes-to-hollywood/|url-status=dead|archive-date=1 June 2016|title=Freddie Say 'Relax' Limp Bizkit Remake Frankie Goes To Hollywood|date=3 March 2001|first=Teri|last=Vanhorn|publisher=MTV|access-date=4 October 2020}} though Powerman 5000's cover was used instead, in both the film and on the soundtrack. "Relax" was also used for the trailer of Zoolander 2 (2016).{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-news/watch-will-ferrells-mugatu-relax-in-zoolander-2-trailer-225209/|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=4 October 2020|title=Watch Will Ferrell's Mugatu 'Relax' in 'Zoolander 2' Trailer|first=Brittany|last=Spanos |date=3 February 2016}}

• All discographical information pertains to original UK releases only unless noted
• "Relax" written by Peter Gill/Johnson/Mark O'Toole
• "One September Monday" credited to Gill/Johnson/Morley/Brian Nash/O'Toole/Rutherford
• "Ferry 'Cross the Mersey" written by Gerry Marsden

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; 7": ZTT / ZTAS 1 (United Kingdom)

1. "Relax" – 3:53
2. "One September Monday" – 4:47

• Also released as a 7" picture disc (P ZTAS 1).

; 12": ZTT / 12 ZTAS 1 (United Kingdom)

1. "Relax" (Sex Mix) – 16:24
2. "Ferry 'Cross the Mersey" – 4:03
3. "Relax" (Bonus, Again) – 4:31

• Later reissued in 1984 in a generic sleeve, with the text "Original Mix" on the label.
• Mastered at 33⅓ RPM, despite claiming to run at 45 RPM on the label. The 1984 reissue runs at 45 RPM.

; 12": ZTT / 12 ZTAS 1 (United Kingdom)

1. "Relax" (Sex Mix, Edition 2) – 8:20
2. "Ferry 'Cross the Mersey" – 4:03
3. "Relax" (Bonus, Again) – 4:31

• "Edition 2" is an edit of "Sex Mix". Commonly nicknamed the "New York Mix".

; 12": ZTT / 12 ZTAS 1 (United Kingdom)

1. "Relax" (New York Mix) – 7:23
2. "Ferry 'Cross the Mersey" – 4:03
3. "Relax" (Bonus, Again) – 4:31

• "Relax" (New York Mix) is also known as "Relax" (U.S. Mix)
• Also released as a 12" picture disc (12 PZTAS 1).

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; 12": Island / 0-96975 (United States)

1. "Relax" (New York Mix) – 7:23
2. "Relax" (Come Fighting) – 3:53
3. "Relax" (Bonus, Again) – 4:31

• "New York Mix" labelled as "Long version".
• The mixes on the B-side are not stated on the label.
• Also released on MC in Canada (Island / ISC-69750).

; 12": ZTT / 062-2000686 (Greece)

1. "Relax" (Greek Disco Mix) – 6:15
2. "Ferry 'Cross the Mersey" – 4:03
3. "Relax" (Bonus, Again) – 4:31

• "Disco Mix" (a.k.a. "The Greek Disco Mix") is a combination of "Relax (7" Mix)" and "Sex Mix (Edition 2)".
• "Disco Mix" (a.k.a. "The Greek Disco Mix") is labelled as "Relax" (Sex Mix) on the original 12", which is incorrect.

; MC: ZTT / CTIS 102

• "From Soft to Hard – From Dry to Moist"

1. "Relax" (Greatest Bits) – 16:49
2. "The Party Trick" (acting dumb) – 0:36
3. "The Special Act" (adapted from the sex mix) – 7:46
4. "The US Mix" (come dancing) – 4:38
5. "The Single" (the act) – 3:55
6. "Later On" (from One September Monday) – 1:36
7. "Ferry Across the Mersey (...and Here I'll Stay)" – 4:06

• The mixes on this cassette single reissued on vinyl for Record Store Day 2022 as side A of 'Altered Reels' – the cassette single of "Two Tribes" was reissued on side B.

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The title track has periodically been reissued as a single in a number of remix forms.

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; CD: ZTT / FGTH1CD

1. "Relax" (Classic 1993 Version) – 3:55
2. "Relax" (MCMXCIII) – 3:42
3. "Relax" (Ollie J. Remix) – 6:38
4. "Relax" (Jam & Spoon Trip-O-Matic Fairy Tale Remix) – 7:52
5. "Relax" (Jam & Spoon HI N-R-G Remix) – 7:55
6. "Relax" (New York Mix – The Original 12") – 7:22

; 2x12": ZTT / SAM 1231

1. "Relax" (Ollie J. Remix) – 6:38
2. "Relax" (Trip-Ship Edit) – 6:12
3. "Relax" (Ollie J's Seven Inches) – 3:30
4. "Relax" (Jam & Spoon HI N-R-G Remix) – 7:55
5. "Relax" (Jam & Spoon Trip-O-Matic Fairy Tale Remix) – 7:52
6. "Relax" (MCMXCIII) – 3:42

• UK 12" promo

; CD: Repertoire Records / REP 8027 (Germany)

1. "Relax" (Classic 1993 Version) – 3:56
2. "One September Monday" – 4:50
3. "Ferry 'Cross the Mersey" – 4:06
4. "Relax MCMXCIII" – 3:43
5. "Relax" (original video) – 4:07

; CD: Star 69 / STARCD 520 (US)

1. "Relax" (Peter Rauhofer's Doomsday Radio Mix) – 3:45
2. "Relax" (Peter Rauhofer's Doomsday Club Mix) – 9:47
3. "Relax" (Saeed & Palash Addictive Journey) – 11:16
4. "Relax" (Coldcut Remix) – 4:59
5. "Relax" (Peter Rauhofer's Doomsday Dub) – 6:27
6. "Relax" (Original New York 12" Mix) – 7:31
7. "Relax" (Original Radio Mix) – 3:54

; CD: Universal Music TV/All Around The World (UK)

1. "Relax" (Chicane Radio Edit) – 3:55
2. "Relax" (Chicane Remix) – 10:05
3. "Relax" (Den Broeder, Cox, Cantrelle Radio Edit) – 3:46
4. "Relax" (Den Broeder, Cox, Cantrelle Club Mix) – 7:39
5. "Relax" (Den Broeder, Cox, Cantrelle Dub Mix) – 6:39
6. "Relax" (LMC Remix) – 6:18
7. "Relax" (Lockout's Radio Edit) – 3:31
8. "Relax" (Lockout's London Mix) – 6:16
9. "Relax" (Spencer & Hill Radio Edit) – 3:21
10. "Relax" (Spencer & Hill Remix) – 5:40
11. "Relax" (Scott Storch Mix) – 3:45

• Promotional release.
• Tracks 3–5 are credited as “Jody Den Broeder Remix”.

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; 12": Universal Music TV/All Around The World / 12GLOBE1167 (UK)

1. "Relax" (Chicane Remix) – 10:05
2. "Relax" (Lockout's Radio Edit) – 3:30
3. "Relax" (New York Mix) – 7:24
4. "Relax" (Den Broeder, Cox, Cantrelle Radio Edit) – 3:42

• Limited to 900 copies.
• "New York Mix" mislabelled as "US Mix", arguably one of the few ZTT releases to do so.

; Digital Download: Universal Music TV/All Around The World (UK)

1. "Relax" (Original 7") – 3:55
2. "Relax" (Chicane Radio Edit) – 3:11
3. "Relax" (Den Broeder, Cox, Cantrelle Radio Edit) – 3:42
4. "Relax" (Lockout's Radio Edit) – 3:30
5. "Relax" (Spencer & Hill Radio Edit) – 3:21

; 12": ZTT/Salvo / SALVOTWS01 (UK)

1. "Relax" (Sex Mix Edit) [mislabeled as "Sex Mix Edition 3"] – 8:10
2. "Ferry 'Cross the Mersey" – 4:03
3. "Relax" (Bonus, Again) – 4:31

• "Sex Mix Edit" was mixed by Luis Jardim with Bob Painter as engineer on 13 December 1984, having taken the multitracks with him (according to the booklet of The Art of The 12" Volume 2). It was first released on the 2009 Japanese "Return to the Pleasuredome" box set by accident, due to confusion with "Sex Mix Edition 2".
• "Bonus, Again" mislabelled "The Instrumental", as if it was an unreleased mix.

; Digital Download: ZTT (UK)

1. "Relax" (7" Mix) – 3:56
2. "Relax" (Sex Mix) – 16:25
3. "Relax" (New York Mix) – 7:26
4. "Relax' (Greatest Bits) – 16:50
5. "Relax" (Sex Mix Edition 2) – 8:25
6. "Relax" (Sex Mix Edit) [mislabeled as "Sex Mix Edition 3"] – 8:10
7. "Relax" (Greek Disco Mix) – 6:16
8. "Relax" (The Last Seven Inches!) – 3:32
9. "One September Monday" – 4:49
10. "Ferry Cross The Mersey" – 4:08
11. "Relax" (Bonus, Again) – 4:35

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{{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications and sales for "Relax"}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Canada|title=Relax|artist=Frankie Goes to Hollywood|award=Gold|certyear=1984|access-date=17 April 2012|type=single}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=France|type=single|artist=Frankie Goes to Hollywood|title=Relax (Come Fighting)|relyear=1984|certyear=1984|award=Gold|source=infodisc}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Italy|artist=Frankie Goes to Hollywood|title=Relax|type=single|award=Gold|relyear=1984|certyear=2023|id=11083|access-date=10 July 2023}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=New Zealand|artist=Frankie Goes to Hollywood|title=Relax|type=single|award=Platinum|relyear=1984|certyear=2023|source=radioscope|access-date=18 January 2025}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Spain|artist=Frankie Goes to Hollywood|title=Relax|type=single|award=Gold|relyear=1984|certyear=2025|access-date=18 January 2025}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|title=Relax|artist=Frankie Goes to Hollywood|award=Platinum|relyear=1984|access-date=29 March 2012|salesamount=2,103,000|salesref={{cite web|url=http://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/daft-punks-get-lucky-becomes-one-of-the-uks-biggest-selling-singles-of-all-time-2315/|title=Daft Punk's Get Lucky becomes one of the UK's biggest selling singles of all-time!|last=Lane|first=Dan|date=27 June 2013|publisher=Official Charts Company|access-date=6 September 2015}}|type=single|id=5432-1960-1}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|title=Relax|artist=Frankie Goes to Hollywood|award=Gold|certyear=1989|access-date=17 April 2012|type=single}}

{{Certification Table Bottom|streaming=true}}

• List of songs banned by the BBC

• {{cite book |last=Reynolds |first=Simon |author-link=Simon Reynolds |title=Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978–1984 |publisher=Penguin |year=2005 |isbn=0-14-303672-6 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/ripitupstartagai00reyno }}

{{Reflist|30em}}

{{Frankie Goes to Hollywood}}

{{Powerman 5000}}

{{Brit British Single}}

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Category:1983 songs

Category:1983 debut singles

Category:Brit Award for British Single

Category:Controversies in the United Kingdom

Category:Frankie Goes to Hollywood songs

Category:Judge Dread songs

Category:LGBTQ-related songs

Category:Songs banned by the BBC

Category:Music videos directed by Godley and Creme

Category:Number-one singles in Finland

Category:Number-one singles in France

Category:Number-one singles in Germany

Category:Number-one singles in Greece

Category:Number-one singles in Israel

Category:Number-one singles in Italy

Category:Number-one singles in Spain

Category:Number-one singles in Switzerland

Category:LGBTQ-related controversies in music

Category:Songs written by Holly Johnson

Category:Songs written by Mark O'Toole (musician)

Category:Songs written by Peter Gill (FGTH drummer)

Category:UK singles chart number-one singles

Category:Music Week number-one dance singles

Category:ZTT Records singles

Category:Music videos directed by David Mallet (director)