You would not have met anyone who had a bad word to say about Phil Campbell. But you will have known hundreds of people who met the legendary Motörhead guitarist, who all say the same thing. Humble, warm, welcoming, always time to have a word or two about his time in one of the greatest rock ‘n’ roll bands of all time.
For me, like many of my Motörhead-loving friends, the added bonus is that he was Welsh. One of us. Flying Y Ddraig Goch across the globe, with that Welsh Wanker guitar strap making us smile and laugh. We will always be proud of this son of Pontypridd.
As you get older, things from your past tend to fade. I can just about remember seeing Phil Campbell with Motörhead both at the 1986 Monsters of Rock festival and again in September 1986 on the Orgasmatron tour in Cardiff, mainly because, like many, I stuck my head in the speaker to experience just how loud the band were playing.
However, the legendary performance on The Young Ones remains etched in the memory. A staple show of our youth, seeing one of ‘our’ bands on a UK TV show was just amazing. Phil Campbell and Würzel, alongside Lemmy and Pete Gill, bashing out Ace Of Spades as Rick, Neil, Vyvyan and Mike raced for the train. The perfect soundtrack. Magical stuff.
You do not need the history lesson about Philip Anthony Campbell, but his story is the stuff of legend. The man who met Lemmy when he was 12 to get the then Hawkwind member’s autograph ends up joining Motörhead in 1984 alongside Michael “Würzel” Burston and remains in post until the band’s demise in 2015.
Sixteen albums, starting with Orgasmatron and ending with Bad Magic, and a discography that arguably contains as many gems as the albums produced by the classic line-up of Fast Eddie, Lemmy, and Filthy Animal.
And a ten-year post-Motörhead career with his three sons. It is truly the stuff of movie scripts.
Having toured the world with Lemmy for so long, one could be forgiven for expecting Phil to have hung up his guitars and enjoyed life outside of the rock ‘n’ roll fast lane.
But that was not the man, and the creative desire to work with his three sons, Todd, Tyla and Dane, mushroomed into one of the most enjoyable live bands on the circuit.
Seeing Phil opening for the likes of Saxon, Black Star Riders, Airbourne, and even Hawkwind, bands who would have been supporting Motörhead, with a broad smile on his face as he threw out a range of Motörhead classics alongside their own material, was brilliant, and I have lost count of how many times I have seen them in the past decade.
His decision to tour in recent years, delivering full Motörhead sets, opened the band’s music to a new generation of fans. Sometimes we forget that some will not have seen Motörhead with Lemmy.
Those of us who did should remember that privilege.
Underneath all the music and the chaos of being on the road, Phil Campbell was a proud family man. His son, Dane, sold our house last year, and we regularly chatted about Phil’s joy of being a grandfather to Dane’s son.
I have seen other friends recalling taking their grandchildren to soft play, only to sit there with the Motörhead legend as the kids played.
It was this down-to-earth approach to life that made Phil Campbell such a warm character. My interview with him in 2023 for MetalTalk was an absolute joy, where we chatted about everything from the weather to my review of Kings Of The Asylum, and I last spoke to him before the band’s second Welsh show in Narbeth in October 2025, where he was just as genial as ever before.
His popularity was evident every time the band played. There was a clamour to take a photo or sign a piece of merchandise whenever he was around, but also a respect that was both deserved and necessary.
When Chris Holmes played at The Patriot in 2023, Phil sat on a stool at the back, sipping from a can of Coke whilst watching the show, uninterrupted by all, before joining Holmes onstage for a raucous version of Highway To Hell. More fans wanted to meet Phil after that show than the former WASP guitarist.
At the Bastard Sons album launch in August 2023, held at Fuel Rock Club in Cardiff, Phil was happy to mingle with the fans who had gathered. He was as engaged as ever, mingling comfortably and chatting with those he had known for many years.
But he was as engaging with those new fans as he was with the older crew. A man of the people, most definitely with no airs or graces, but with every star quality you would want.
If you were a member of the Bastard Sons Patreon, you would have also seen his humour in the tour videos that the band posted as they travelled thousands of gruelling miles across Europe. Humour in the face of relentless early hour flights, lost equipment and luggage, and cheese and onion pasties. It all helped us feel a bond with the band and showed why so many legends of the entertainment industry have taken to social media to express their condolences.
Playing his solo album Old Lions Still Roar a few hours after his death was announced, I was struck by how emotional the record made me feel. I have not played it for a few years and had forgotten how good it is.
Lyrically, there are songs that are deeply personal, whilst Phil has always been a phenomenal guitarist, and his playing is superb. The line-up of guests who appear on it says it all.
From international superstars Dee Snider, Alice Cooper, Rob Halford and Whitfield Crane to the local talent of Leon Stanford, Benji Webbe and Nev McDonald, as well as more unlikely people like Chris Fehn and Mark King.
It is an underrated record, one that should be spun in his honour.
We will all have our favourite songs featuring Phil. I will give you four of mine. Left For Dead with Nev McDonald on Old Lions Still Roar. Till The End, co-written with Lemmy and Mikkey Dee for the final Motörhead album, Bad Magic. Deaf Forever, the first track on Orgasmatron, the first time we heard Phil with Motörhead. Strike The Match from the most recent PCATBS’ album, Kings Of The Asylum.
Four magical songs, all showcasing the man’s bluesy quality and special talent.
I feel honoured to have seen Phil Campbell so many times over the years. Motörhead from 1986 through to the last time at Hyde Park supporting Black Sabbath. I have seen The Bastard Sons plenty of times in the last few years, across Wales, at Bloodstock, Steelhouse and even at a recycling depot in Truro. There was never a bad show.
Writing this has brought out some memories that made me smile. I feel joy about the music that Phil Campbell brought us. It is a privilege to call Dane, Tyla and Todd friends, and I know how much they and the rest of the family will be hurting now.
The Motörhead family will be there for them when they need it. For now, all we can do is say thank you to Phil and turn up that favourite album to 11.
Rest in peace, Wizzo, you will be sorely missed.
