Home and Away Spoilers — Evan performs an emotional song for Ryder
As Evan manages to overcome his health issues to put on a concert at Salt in next week’s UK episodes of Home and Away, he performs a very special song for Ryder.
Read on to hear the song by Cameron Daddo in full, and watch the music video featuring Lukas Radovich…
After being told by his aunt Roo (Georgie Parker) that his father Evan Slater (Cameron Daddo) is dying—a secret that Evan had been desperate to keep from him—Ryder (Lukas Radovich) struggled with the knowledge that the father he’s only just built a bond with could soon be taken away from him.
After talking to Nikau (Kawakawa Fox-Reo), who lost his own father less than a year ago, Ryder resolved to overlook the fact that Evan has been lying to him and instead focus on making lasting memories.
Ryder came up with the idea of putting on a live music night at Salt in order to hear Evan perform, and explained the idea to Evan under the pretence of it being part of a hospitality assignment for his TAFE course.
Evan is hesitant, explaining to Ryder that he is pretty much retired and hasn’t played live music in a long time, but eventually agrees to think about it.
When Ryder is out of the way later on, Evan tries out a song in the caravan park. Roo listens and then witnesses Evan suffer a coughing fit.
Evan explains that he’s struggling to make it through one song, his lungs just can’t take it. He wants to make Ryder proud, but he can’t see any way forward which won’t end in disappoinment—either he pulls out of the gig, or he makes a fool of himself on stage.
Whilst knowing that Ryder already knows the truth, having told him about Evan’s illness herself, Roo suggests to Evan that he could be honest with Ryder about the true reason he can’t perform. But that isn’t an option as far as Evan’s concerned, and he takes Roo up on her offer to talk to Ryder.
After hearing about the situation, Ryder is torn. Getting the opportunity to hear his father play to an audience means a lot to him.
He wants to see Evan in his element as a lasting memory of him.
Roo heads back to Evan’s van and tells him that this means more to Ryder that she’d first thought—and that Evan is going to have to either find a way to make it work, or tell Ryder the truth.
Ryder is ecstatic when Evan eventually agrees to perform the gig, on the condition that they keep it short. Evan is only hopeful that it becomes a lasting memory for Ryder for the right reasons.
As the day of the gig rolls around, Evan isn’t in great shape.
As Roo, Alf (Ray Meagher) and Martha (Belinda Giblin) help Ryder set up at the restaurant, Roo explains to Alf that it’s the worst she’s seen him.
As Ryder begins to worry about Evan not having showed up for a sound check, Alf offers to go and collect him. When he arrives at Evan’s van, he spots the oxygen tank that Evan has been dosing himself up on in preparation.
Ryder’s mind is put at rest when Evan shows up, and thankfully Evan is able to keep it together as he performs, with Ryder filming every moment.
Evan’s songs go down a storm with the crowd, and towards the end of the evening, he asks the audience to put their hands together for Ryder for organising the gig.
He then explains that his next song is one that he wrote 19 years, 6 months and 23 days ago—the day that he found out he was a father.
He dedicates the song to Ryder, who takes a seat after Justin (James Stewart) offers to take over filming duties.
Both Roo and Ryder tear up as they listen to Evan perform ‘Son and Moon’, with the meaning behind the song—the moon’s light looking over his boy in his absence—being all the more poignant for both of them, with the knowledge that Evan is dying.
The song rounds off the evening perfectly for Ryder, as he wipes away his tears and joins in the rapturous applause.
For actor and musician Cameron Daddo, the role of Evan came as the perfect opportunity to bring some of his own talent into the character.
“That was a bit of serendipity because I’d been working on a music project with Origin Music and producer Michael Carpenter,” Cameron recently told TV Tonight. “We made a record last year called 30-ish which was a 30 year celebratory album of the 1927 album ish. I got to sing the opening track on that record, which I was really excited about. We had such a good experience that we went on we make an album.”
“I dug out a bunch of my songs and Sun & Moon was one of them and at the same time, I’d started work on Home and Away,” he continued. ”When the producers said ‘We’ve got Mushroom’s back catalogue of music to play,’ I said, ‘Well, I’ve got my catalogue of music, why don’t we use mine? It’ll add more credibility to the character, if I’m playing original songs.’”
Adapting Son and Moon for use on the show, Cameron released the song as a single on 29th May, with Lukas starring alongside Cameron in the music video.
Speaking on Seven’s The Morning Show in a joint interview, Lukas explained that the video was shot during Home and Away‘s production shutdown as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It was actually incredible as I’d been sitting around at home not doing much,” he said “So it was really nice to go and have some fun with Cameron, we shot it in one night.”
This week has seen the Son and Moon EP also released, which is available on Spotify below:
The EP can also be listened to on Amazon Music, Apple Music, and is available for purchase from those and other major music services.
Here’s the full spoilers for next week in the UK:
Monday 13th July (Episode 7346)
Ben and Gemma’s friendship stirs up more than just their emotions.
Evan is torn between revealing the truth and letting Ryder down.
Tuesday 14th July (Episode 7347)
Gemma and Ben’s families make navigating their feelings all the more tricky.
Marilyn struggles with being kept away from a recovering John.
Wednesday 15th July (Episode 7348)
John struggles with his new limitation.
Dean smuggles Bella back into the Bay.
Jasmine goes a little above and beyond when she discovers Grace is teething.
Thursday 16th July (Episode 7349)
Bella’s letters to Colby and Nikau have vastly different results.
Ryder does his best to make Evan’s gig a success.
Jasmine and Tori clash over Grace.
Friday 17th July (Episode 7350)
Everyone is gunning for Evan’s gig to be a success.
Ben and Maggie stop tiptoeing around each other.
Nikau is struggling with Gemma’s decisions.
Leah’s trauma might only just be starting.