‘The Ballad of Wallis Island’ cast tell us about the dream acts they want to reunite

As The Ballad of Wallis Island hits cinemas, the key cast of Tom Basden, Carey Mulligan and Tim Key have told us about creating the comedy, which focuses on the extreme lengths that one music fan takes to get his favourite band back together again.

In the film, Mulligan and Basden play two former folk bandmates and ex-lovers who are drawn back together when they are separately paid for a gig on a remote island by an eccentric Lottery-winning fan called Charles (Key).

It’s been hailed by Richard Curtis as “one of the greatest British films of all time” and its quirky sensibilities certainly feel like it’s destined to become a sure-fire cult classic. The project began life as a short film created by Basden and Key in 2008, before the pair decided to revisit it when they realised that they were “always” showing the short to friends and realised it was ripe for a bigger moment. In fact, it was a YouTube link to the original that convinced Mulligan to come onboard.

“I read the script and immediately loved the fact that it was so funny,” Mulligan explained.

“And my husband [Marcus Mumford] was a huge fan of both of them, so he’d hang around in the background when I was speaking to Tim Key and would just immediately ask me how funny the film was going to be.” But did Marcus – the leader of the biggest folk band in the world – give Carey any tips on how to channel the spirit of a successful act in that vein?

“He was a massive cheerleader,” said Mulligan. “I mean, the songs in the film were great and as well as being such good songs, they also were written with so much attention to the characters and about their history.”

But with all this in mind, we had to ask the question – who would Mulligan, Basden and Key choose to reunite if money was no object?

Tom Basden

“I’d like Bob Dylan and Emmylou Harris to just sing the Desire album for me and that’s what I’d really like. I mean, I’m aware that Bob wouldn’t be able to sing the melodies really anymore, he’d be very scratchy, but I’m sure Emmylou would help him out.”

Tim Key

“ABBA. But with the bodies and not the avatars. Let’s put some flesh on them and get them back up and running. ABBA gold was the first CD I bought so that’d be precisely why.”

Carey Mulligan

“Westlife.”

RS UK: That feels quite achievable. They’re still doing occasional tours aren’t they?

Carey: Well there we go. I actually went to a gig at Wembley as a teenager and I think ended up in their tour video. I think that was my screen debut…

The Ballad of Wallis Island is in cinemas now…