River's last gig

...will be on Saturday December 2nd 2006, the band has announced.

It's at Walton-on-Thames Methodist Church, Terrace Road, Surrey (south London) at 7.30pm, admission £5.

Like Parchment, River have produced four CDs since 1998, mostly of Sue Mack compositions.

Here's a picture of them in concert in October 2004, Sue Mack closest to camera:

Will there be a reunion?

I understand there are hopes for a reunion of the Christian "Liverpool Scene" of which Parchment was central.

The event has been styled Roundabout 2008 and aims to reunite the people who worked with Roundabout Multimedia. The musicians cited are Trinity Folk, Parchment, Keith Rycroft and Reynard.

Liverpool is to be the European Capital of Culture in 2008. The Roundabout 2008 website doesn't contain much information but is going to be worth keeping an eye on.

Reynard

This little-known gospel band from Liverpool released two albums of traditional-sounding English folk in the late 70s, using the influence of English carols to create new music.

Their first album from 1976 Fresh From The Earth had major input from members of the last line-up of Parchment. It was produced by John Pac and Sue McClellan and Pete Yates-Round provided backing vocals.

I had never heard of them although they recorded with the same label, Grapevine, as issued Parchment's last album.

Even more interesting is the identity of the band's mandolin player, Dave Rycroft, presumably related to Keith Rycroft, the Parchment founder member who left following the severance of their contract with Pye Records in about 1974.

Fresh From the Earth contains a version of Golden Game which, therefore, predates Parchment's version on Rehearsal for a Reunion and seems to have more lyrics.

Reynard must have been reasonably well known as they headlined at Kamperland, Holland, in 1978 along with Parchment. They released their second album Green Anthem in 1979. Prior to 1975 they were known as Flight.

Their music is hard to come by but is available at this site.