[2] Intended to be their international breakthrough, it was recorded in London with session musicians, with the only members of the Hep Stars to appear on the album being lead singer Svenne Hedlund, keyboardist Benny Andersson and tour manager Lennart Fernholm.

By November 1967, the Hep Stars had achieved sixteen top-10 singles in Sweden, of which seven had peaked on the top of the chart.

[11] However, due to the rivalry between the record labels, "Malaika" was never issued in the United Kingdom as a result of this, meaning that the performance was rendered obsolete.

[3][12][13] Following their return to Stockholm, the band recorded Jul Med Hep Stars at Europafilm Studios and the Gustaf Vasa Church.

Unlike The Hep Stars, which featured several original compositions, It's Been a Long Long Time only features one original composition, that being its title track which was written by Benny Andersson and Lasse Berghagen, a newly formed songwriting duo.

[14] Most other material were written by either American or British songwriters, including the opening track "Enter the Young", which was originally recorded by The Association for their studio album And Then...