Land of Make Believe

"Land of Make Believe" is a 1968 song and single by Australian rock group the Easybeats, which was written by band members George Young and Harry Vanda. It was also released on the band's fifth album Vigil. Background The song was originally recorded during the ill-fated sessions held at Olympic Studios in London, with engineer-producer Glyn Johns, in mid-1967. Since they took place in the period between the departure of original drummer Snowy Fleet and the recruitment of his eventual successor, Tony Cahill, the group hired drummer Freddie Smith (who had previously worked with George Young's brother Alex in the group The Big Six) for these sessions, which also prominently feature the contributions of renowned keyboardist Nicky Hopkins on piano, harpsichord and Mellotron. The song was originally intended for the group's next album, but although a full LP (to be titled Good Times) was recorded, sequenced and mastered, and a cover prepared, contractual problems that emerged soon after the sessions (and a financial dispute with Olympic over unpaid studio fees) ultimately led to the entire album being scrapped. Some tracks from these sessions, including "Land of Make Believe", were subsequently released as singles and/or were included on their 1968 album Vigil, but a number of others remained unreleased until the issue of the Raven Records (Australia) rarities compilation LP The Shame Just Drained in 1982.