Campbell was born in Pontypridd on 7 May 1961, and started playing guitar when he was 10 years old, inspired and influenced by guitarists such as Jimi Hendrix, Black Sabbath's Tony Iommi, Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page, Jan Akkerman, Michael Schenker and Todd Rundgren. At the age of 12, Campbell met Lemmy after a Hawkwind gig and asked him for an autograph. By the age of 13, Campbell was playing semi-professionally with a cabaret band called Contrast. He later played with a pub-rock band called Roktopus (not to be confused with Rocktopus) at gigs in and around South Wales. He bought his first Les Paul in 1978 at a New Year's Day guitar sale at a shop on Ealing Broadway, London. The guitar was later stolen but returned.
In 1979, Campbell formed the heavy metal band, Persian Risk, playing on their 7" singles, "Calling For You" (1981) and "Ridin' High" (1983). Compilation albums have been issued which feature some of his work with Persian Risk.
On 8 February 1984, following the departure of Brian Robertson, Motörhead held auditions for a new guitarist, narrowing the candidates down to two guitarists: Michael "Würzel" Burston and Philip Campbell. Though Lemmy had first planned on hiring only one guitarist, he hired both Würzel and Campbell upon hearing them play together.
On 28 December 2015, band founder and sole constant member Lemmy died. The following day, drummer Mikkey Dee announced that Motörhead had disbanded, stating: "We will not be doing any more tours or anything. And there will not be any more records. But the fire survives, and Lemmy lives on in the hearts of everyone."
In November 2016, his new project Phil Campbell and the Bastard Sons released their first recording, a self-titled EP. The band has subsequently performed in supporting slots with Guns N' Roses, Hawkwind, Saxon, and Airbourne.
In August 2017, Phil Campbell and the Bastard Sons announced that they were to start recording their debut album. On 26 October 2017, Phil Campbell and the Bastard Sons announced the title of the debut album as The Age of Absurdity, which was released on 26 January 2018 on Nuclear Blast Records. The album was produced by Romesh Dodangoda.
Campbell’s first solo album Old Lions Still Roar was released on 25 October 2019 and features guest vocals from Alice Cooper, Rob Halford, Dee Snider and Benji Webbe. The second, We're the Bastards, was released in 2020 again featuring Neil Starr on vocals.
The third, a live album called Live in the North, featuring Joel Peters on vocals, was recorded in Sunderland in 2021 and released in March 2023.
The fourth, Kings of the Asylum, was released on the 1 September 2023, supported by three videos in the buildup featuring the tracks "Schizophrenia", "Hammer and Dance" and "Strike the Match", recorded at a special invite-only event in Cardiff.
In April 2020, Campbell opened up about how hard it was to see Lemmy struggle towards the end of his life saying that Lemmy “wasn’t quite himself” and that he had been “ageing a little bit more” on Motörhead’s final tour. He also admitted that the end of Motörhead was not easy to adjust to at first.
Campbell resided in Pontypridd with his wife, Gaynor, and their three children.
Campbell resided in Pontypridd with his wife, Gaynor, and their three children.
He died on 13 March 2026, at the age of 64.