Phil Campbell, who played guitar in the British metal band Motörhead for over 30 years, has died. His band Phil Campbell and the Bastard Sons confirmed the news on social media on March 14, sharing that Campbell ”passed away peacefully…following a long and courageous battle in intensive care after a complex major operation.” He was 64.
“Phil was a devoted husband, a wonderful father, and a proud and loving grandfather, known affectionately as ‘Bampi,’” the statement read. “He was deeply loved by all who knew him and will be missed immensely. His legacy, music and the memories he created with so many will live on forever.”
Born in Wales in 1961, Campbell picked up the guitar for the first time at ten years old, influenced by the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Todd Rundgren, and Jimmy Page. He met Motörhead’s frontman Lemmy Kilmister two years later, when Kilmister was playing a show with the space-rock outfit Hawkwind at Cardiff Capitol Theatre. Campbell, a devoted fan, waited in the foyer after their set hoping to run into the group, and ended up meeting his future bandmate in the process.
“Lem was the only band member that came out, and he signed my program with his old style autograph, going all the way down the page on his picture,” Campbell told Revolver in 2018. “If somebody said to me that day that I’d be in a big band with this guy and win Grammys and go around the world, I’d have thought they were crazy. But it just proves that anything can happen.”
It would be over a decade before Campbell and Kilmister crossed paths again—in the interem, Campbell played in an array of bands including the cabaret group Contrast, the pub-rock outfit, Roktopus, and the heavy metal band Persian Risk, which he founded in 1979. In 1984, he auditioned to join Motörhead after then-guitarist Brian Robertson left the band. The competition came down to Campbell and Michael “Würzel” Burston, but after hearing both guitarists play together, Kilmister decided to hire them both.
Campbell would stay with Motörhead for the next three decades, playing on 16 of their records including Orgasmatron (1986), March or Die (1992), Motörizer (2008), and Aftershock (2013). His tenure ended in 2015, when the group disbanded after Kilmister’s death. A statement on Campbell’s death shared to Motörhead’s social media pages said he had “Motörhead in his veins,” adding: ”You could not be around him without a chuckle or twenty, because quite simply, Phil loved life and lived it with great joy.”
Campbell released one solo album during his life, 2019’s Old Lions Still Roar. It featured Alice Cooper, Judas Priest’s Rob Halford, Dee Snider, and Benji Webbe. In 2016, Campbell formed Phil Campbell and the Bastard Sons with his children Todd, Dane, and Tyla Campbell. Family friend Neil Starr served as the group’s vocalist until 2021, when he was replaced by Joel Peters. The band released their most recent album, Kings of the Asylum, in 2023; they had planned to tour across Australia and Europe this summer, but cancelled the run in February due to Campbell’s health.
Other tributes to Campbell have come from Snider, Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi, Guns N’ Roses’ Duff McKagan, and Mötorhead drummer Mikkey Dee. “He was the funniest guy I have ever known and the best rock guitar player I have ever played with. His vibe and feel for rock music were outstanding,” Dee said. “We wrote 12 studio albums together, and he never stopped surprising me with his extreme talent. Most of all, I will miss hanging out with the nicest guy you could ever meet.”
