It is also the subject of an elaborate hoax placing the band in 1974,[1] including a half-hour mockumentary produced for television network VH1 and a series of bogus World Wide Web fan sites and related false documents for the 'lost' group.
Although the collaboration did not produce the intended Pussycat Dolls songs, Interscope chairman Jimmy Iovine encouraged the continuation of the project, and longtime DioGuardi partner John Shanks was brought in for album production duties.
Believing that the unusual combination of an older, well-known artist and a relatively unknown, though highly successful, writer for much younger performers might not be accepted by the public, they adopted an elaborate back-story conceived by Iovine.
[6] This followed a message posted by Catherine Schwartz on her Web site that she was working on two Platinum Weird projects, a video for "Happiness" and what she described as a mockumentary set in the 1970s.
[7][8] Video clips showing Mick Jagger, Adam Levine, Ringo Starr, Paris Hilton, Christina Aguilera, Lindsay Lohan, Stevie Nicks and others recalling the band were distributed, along with audio tracks said to have come from 1974.
Soon afterward, she turned up in Los Angeles, where Don Henley introduced her to Lindsey Buckingham, setting into motion a relationship that would be the inspiration for the Fleetwood Mac Rumours album.
[11] The tracks distributed from platinumweird.com and fan Web sites include "Happiness", "This Guitar", "Lonely Eyes", "If You Believe" and "Picture Perfect New", also an interview said to be taped in 1974.
Best Buy stores in America exclusively carried a 2-disc edition of Make Believe featuring the standard 10-track "1974" album, and a bonus disc of the 12 2005–2006 recordings.