From the roar of the football pitch to the soul-stirring acoustics of Abbey Road, Gavin Holligan’s journey has been anything but ordinary.

Once a rising star in the world of professional football, he made the bold leap into music, carving out a career that has seen him work with legends like Stevie Wonder, Gloria Gaynor, and Duffy.

But beyond the session gigs and high-profile collaborations, Gavin’s true creativity lies in his ability to create deeply personal, timeless music. Songs that stir you on a deep leve.

His latest release “Just Passing Through“is no exception. Inspired by the fear of losing a close friend to cancer, the song captures the raw emotion of grief, love and the fleeting nature of life.

Recorded live at the now iconic Abbey Road Studios, this track strips everything back to its very essence – pure, unfiltered storytelling through music. In this interview, Gavin shares the deeply personal journey behind the song, the magic of recording, and what it means to create something timeless.

1. Tell us the story of this song, why did you choose to visualize this song specifically in this way?

The song was inspired by the pending thought of losing a close friend and colleague who was diagnosed with cancer a few years ago. Fortunately he has made a full recovery, but the whole experience hit me deeply, and made me consider that we are all facing the inevitability of our departure from this life, or at some point likely to lose someone that we love and appreciate dearly. 

Less than a year after writing the song, I was invited by a record label to record a couple of my original songs, live at Abbey Road, and I thought it would be the right time to express this piece, and do it in the most honest and meaningful way, especially after having lost a good friend and colleague of mine, (a separate incident to my other friend, also to a brutal bout of cancer). 

My next challenge became figuring out who would be able to assist me musically, but I was fortunate to have the good pleasure of being accompanied by some of the best musicians I know! I and the core musical line up, met for a meet and greet – the day before to play through the song and feel our way through the structure, and make sure we were all on ‘the same page’. And then we did one final run through in the morning of the shoot – before the trip to Abbey road, where we met the String players for a final top and tail on set.

2. What was the inspiration behind this new video (visuals, storyline, etc.)?

So much of my time is spent carefully crafting music/records (for myself and others), with the use of software, samples, and machines! . Whilst this is an amazing and enjoyable process (for the most part) there is something magical about capturing a live take of a song, in one take, with humans in the room. The video is literally a documentation of that exact moment, when we all found a way to connect with the song, and each other, and do it seamlessly! It was all about maintaining the integrity of the sentiment of the arrangement and the lyrics, by bringing a level of simplicity and honesty to the performance, which I believe can be very hard to do, but I feel that we did thankfully!   

3. What was the process of making the video?

There was an enormous amount of pressure, as we only had around 45 mins to get in and set up, do a quick sound check, and execute the song! Most of the magic of the video is in witnessing the beauty of the music/arrangement, the lyrics, and of course, the honesty caught on camera. There was literally no way of preparing for that moment, other than being ‘fully present’, and of course knowing how to deliver in your chosen craft (performers and crew).

There was a camera team set up and an audio team already assembled to capture the moment, and we literally had time enough to record 3 takes of the track. 

We then decided on which take was the best take, and I believe it was take three that we chose as the best take!

Even the camera edit was done live, so all in all, a very efficient process and an incredible outcome considering all the variables!

I am really pleased the world can enjoy this art in such an authentic way.