A garage, believed to be the only one in Liverpool with an on-site recording studio and owned by a former boyband member, has been named the country’s best independent garage
Ashwell Motors in Liverpool beat fierce competition from 600 other garages to be named Autocentre’s electric vehicle garage of the year.
Located next to Cains Brewery Village in the Baltic Triangle area of Liverpool, Ashwell is run by owner Paul Garrett, a former boyband star mentored by Simon Cowell who has entertained crowds worldwide.
The songwriter and guitarist was one of five Liverpool teenagers who at the age of 16, formed the rock pop band “10 Reasons to Live” who released eight albums, toured with Bryan Adams.
As a songwriter Paul went on to write multiple soundtracks for the likes of Disney, Power Rangers Dino Thunder and Liverpool FC.
He said: “All I ever wanted to be was a musician. Me and the band used to stand at the end of the road and use the phone box to ring Simon Cowell every day.
“Then one day he picked up, his secretary must have got fed up and he asked us to send a demo. He called us down to London and literally said he would make us famous.”
He added: “As a child I’d always watched my dad fixing cars and in 1988 my parents risked everything by remortgaging the house and started the business. It was an uncertain time for our family, but they worked all the hours and made a success of it.
“Back then I used to do the odd day here and there when I wasn’t away touring but as I got older and had a family I slowly started helping out more and more.”
And it was the garage’s evolution towards computerised diagnostics that sparked an interest in Paul and saw him qualify as a master diagnostic technician – offering services other garages weren’t able to.
He took over the business in 2010 and has since increased turnover by 400% by staying ahead of the curve and upskilling his team of six in electric vehicle maintenance and repairs.
But music is never far away – just a few metres in fact in a hidden studio at the back of the garage where he records with his current band ‘The Last Arcade’, an ‘80s inspired pop band that features BBMak singer Ste McNally and Paul’s longtime co-producer Steve Erickson.
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Paul said: “I still love songwriting and performing and writing for lots of artists but I’m getting older now so there’s less touring and more of a focus on the garage and my wife and two children.
“I’m proud of everything my mum and dad achieved, it’s unbelievable to see how far it’s come and how our industry has changed in just a few years.
“There’s a real shortage of skilled mechanics and even less skilled electric vehicle technicians so it’s great to win this award in recognition of my team and apprentices’ hard work and support the region’s net zero ambitions.”