While The Ballad of Wallis Island, starring Tim Key, Tom Basden, and Oscar-nominated actress Carey Mulligan, is coming to theaters in 2025, it has been in development for over a decade.
Originally a short film titled The One and Only Herb McGwyer Plays Wallis Island, The Ballad of Wallis Island is a work of the imaginations of a young and “broke” Key and Basden, who were living together when they wrote the short. The original short film was released in 2007 and follows a lottery winner (Key) who hires a washed-up folk singer (played by Basden) to perform for him on his private island.
At this point, neither of them remembers who created the idea. “Where it came from, I dunno,” Key said of the premise. “We were living together at the time and writing a lot of stuff, mostly sketches.”
Even if it took nearly two decades to revive the project, Key and Basden held it in high regard. The solution to reviving the source material was adding Mulligan’s character, Nell Mortimer, the former writing partner of Herb McGwyer (Basden).
It created a Stevie Nicks-Lindsey Buckingham-like dynamic seen in Daisy Jones & The Six. In their prime, McGwyer Mortimer was on top of the folk world. By the time you meet them in The Ballad of Wallis Island, they are on two separate tracks.
Herb is going through his “experimental” phase. Meanwhile, Nell is married and out of the music game. Both take the private gig — unbeknownst to themselves that the other would be there — out of desperation for different reasons.
Casting Carey Mulligan
Mulligan, who previously showed off her pipes in Inside Llewyn Davis, was a perfect fit. She gave The Ballad of Wallis Island an emotional anchor, as Herb is a more closed-off figure. She takes pity on Charles (Key), a mega fan of McGwyer Mortimer, and her dynamic with Herb is perfection. However, her musical background was only the tip of the iceberg.
Key and Basden met for lunch with Mulligan to pitch the project. Over that lunch, Basden recalls realizing that she radiated the “warmth” and “naturalism” that was required of Nell.
“When I wrote an email to her — I happened to have her email address — I think that was a beautifully put together email,” Key recalled before quipping, “I think an additional paragraph asking whether she’d be willing to audition might have been an even bigger stretch to write.
“Once you know you want Carey Mulligan, there’s no risk. If she says yes, you have Carey Mulligan in your movie. She’s one of the greatest actors of her generation,” he continued.
Ultimately, the boys followed their guts and entrusted Mulligan with the keys to Nell. Suffice it to say, they knocked it out of the park.
The beauty of music
In The Ballad of Wallis Island, it cannot be understated how important music is to the characters. Whether it be for fans like Charles, or musicians like Herb who find their identity through it.
Key is an avid classical music fan. Over the last decade, he has become “fixated” on finding music that will “dovetail” with his live performances.
Basden has a “more pure connection” with music, according to Key. He described that the best music can “evoke a time and a place unlike anything else,” even more so than photos and videos.
“I think that’s obviously something that’s happening in the film for our characters, but I think it’s something that sort of happens to all of us, particularly as we get older and we cling onto the music that meant so much to us growing up,” Basden explained. “We probably didn’t give that much thought to what we were listening to, but later in life, it just becomes so meaningful and resonates in a way that you don’t necessarily expect.”
Tom Basden’s inspirations when making the short film
It’s an unexplainable mystery that Basden is still searching for the answers to. As for songs that bring him back to making The One and Only Herb McGwyer Plays Wallis Island, Basden cited some of the songs on the soundtrack of both projects.
“There are a couple of songs in the feature that were in the short,” he began. “‘Sky Child’ and ‘Raspberry Fair’ are songs in the short film that I wanted to keep [and] use again in the feature film.
“I think [in] that time, I was really listening to Sun Kill Moon/Red House Painters at the time, so probably something like ‘Katie’s Song’; just something really depressing. That was the kind of thing I was — I mean, I still am — into — the more depressing, the better,” he continued.
Will The Ballad of Wallis Island get a vinyl soundtrack release?
Luckily, fans of The Ballad of Wallis Island can rejoice that a soundtrack is being made. It was released on streaming during the week of the movie’s limited theatrical release. Additionally, there will be a CD and vinyl release for physical media fans.
Basden’s face lit up upon the soundtrack being brought up. He is clearly proud of the work put in by himself and Mulligan, and McGwyer Mortimer will get a proper release soon. You can have another record on your shelf,” he said, referring to the shelf of records on display behind me.
“There is a vinyl and CD, which are coming. We’ve just gotta get them pressed and dressed,” Basden revealed. “I’m very excited about that side of it.”
Who would Tim Key and Tom Basden choose to play a private concert for them?
If Key and Basden were like Charles in The Ballad of Wallis Island and could afford to pay a musician to play their island, they had very different artists they’d want to see.
“The band I would genuinely love to bring back together would be Spinal Tap,” Basden said. “I don’t know if that’s allowed because they’re another fictional band, but I loved that film so much. I would pay quite a lot of money to get them [to] do a private gig for me. But also just to come and chat with me.”
Key would want to reunite Transvision Vamp, but for a different reason. They were the first group he bought a vinyl of, interestingly enough. They broke up over three decades ago in the ’90s.
When asked for their hit song, Key broke out into song. He began singing Transvision Vamp’s 1989 single, “Baby I Don’t Care,” which amused his co-star and good friend.
The Ballad of Wallis Island is now playing in select theaters and everywhere on April 18.
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