In mid-2025, following Perry’s passing, his sister and band bass player Claudia White worked to track down the original master tapes for the lost album. These were finally unearthed from a box that had travelled from Melbourne to the UK to Portugal with These Future Kings co-founder and co-songwriter, guitarist Charles Caldas (who went on to become CEO of Shock Records and global rights agency Merlin). These have been fully remastered by Mikey Young, and on March 30, 2026, 35 years from its recording, Via Dolorosa will finally see an official release on vinyl through Kylpyvesi Records, the label of renowned music author and chronicler David Nichols, (who was the first person to ever release music by the band on his Distant Violins cassette compilation).
Via Dolorosa is available to pre-order now, with the songs “Crossing Open Ground” and “Song of my Leaving” available for immediate download for those who do, from:
https://thesefuturekings.bandcamp.com/album/via-dolorosa
Signed to Rampant Records, home of bands including Not Drowning Waving, the Wreckery, Blue Ruin, Sea Stories and Stephen Cummings, the band released an EP “After This”, a single “Bury My Bones” (which featured Warren Ellis, who briefly joined the band), and their debut album, Carnival, which was recorded in a deserted flour mill in Burnley and produced by Tim Cole of Not Drowning, Waving.
In the late 80’s, adding viola player and backing vocalist Jennifer McCutchan as a sixth member, TFK‘s brand of heartfelt acoustic-driven pop gained a larger following, headlining their own shows locally and interstate and regularly supporting major artists including the Go-Betweens and Ed Kuepper.
In 1990, with former Sea Stories drummer Nick Wilson as a new member, the band recorded their most ambitious album, Via Dolorosa, produced by Ted Lethborg of label-mates The Odolites, and featuring guest musicians from Weddings Parties Anything, The Killjoys, The Odolites and more. The album was a marked evolution from their previous sound, revealing a far richer, more mature set of songs than on their previous releases. The album was sadly shelved following the closure of Rampant. Heartbroken, the band broke up soon after.
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Via Dolorosa is released on vinyl and as digital downloads on March 30, 2026 from the Kylpyvesi Bandcamp page and available to pre-order now. It will be available in Australian record stores via Efficient Space.
Via Dolorosa will be digitally released on April 10 via all digital platforms globally via Redeye Worldwide.
Details on future releases and projects will be provided via the These Future Kings Facebook page.
