Duane's World: Phil Campbell Chats Motörhead, Bastard Sons and Lemmy
Motörhead
The name alone speaks volumes.
The band's very existence is engrained in the very fabric of hard rock and heavy metal.
Its not just the band your dad listened to kids. Motörhead is in the DNA of everything that we listen to today. No Motörhead, no Metallica, no heavy music as we know it.
It’s a fact not lost on Phil Campbell, the man who traipsed the globe for over three decades as the guitarist of Motörhead. The same man who now honours his late great bandmate and friend Lemmy Kilmister (aka God) by placing his ashes in statues at festival venues, dive bars and gentlemen’s clubs across the globe. On top of this, the legend has travelled worldwide over the last decade, playing Motörhead classics and a bunch of new original tracks alongside his three sons Todd, Dane and Tyla with their band Phil Campbell and the Bastard Sons.
Now after almost a decade together, they’re finally heading down under to share the music they’ve pumped out in the last ten years, while also celebrating the legacy of the one of the greatest bands that ever existed.
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On the eve of the tour, Wall of Sound’s resident bogan Duane James got chatting to Phil about his previous jaunts here, celebrating the Motörhead legacy, the impact of that legacy and finally coming to Australia for the first time with his boys.
“Yeah, it's been quite a while coming and we are really looking forward to coming down for the first time. The boys are all excited. My one son has visited Oz before for a holiday, but the other two boys, my other two boys [have] never been. We've got a lot of relatives in Perth as well.”
“But we are looking down to play for you rockers. I know what it's like down there. You're all crazy rockers down there"
While this is the Bastard Sons maiden voyage of Australia, it’s definitely not Phils first time here and it stands to reason that he has told the young fellas a few tales of tours long past.
"Well, I remember the first time we arrived we landed at Melbourne and it seemed like about a hundred kids there ready to welcome us and within two weeks we were playing to 12 people in some club on the Gold Coast.
So I remember the night before the 12 people, we played with a thousand people about 10 miles away, so we must have sucked that first night. I remember staying in a place, it was like a farm and a woman would knock on the door with a little hatch and give us mushrooms on toast for our breakfast and you look out and there'd be sheep outside your door and everything.
But we had six weeks down there the first tour I remember, and then not quite so long, the second tour. And then we went down with Mötley Crüe I think the third time; so lots of good times down there and lots more to come I hope."
This tour also marks half a century since the formation of Motörhead, as well as ten years since the passing of Lemmy Kilmister. Phil Campbell and The Bastard Sons have marked the occasion by adding Motörhead classics to their setlist of Bastard Sons originals.
“It’s going to be like a 50/50 mix.” says the iconic guitarist. “The Bastard Son stuff, that's our main thing.
We [are] just doing a bit of Motörhead this year because it's the 50th year since Motörhead was formed.
But there'll be plenty of Motörhead songs. There'll be plenty of Bastard Son songs. I'm not going to come all the way to Australia and not play my own songs, so I don't think anyone will go away disappointed.”
Just seeing Phil, a true legend, hanging out on stage with his three sons, aside from being very cool, it is also going to be something special in itself.
“Yeah, it's fairly unique I think. And it's still a kickass rock and roll band. I mean they're all incredible musicians and I'm really proud to be able to do it. And with Motörhead, I spent so much time away from [them] as well doing massive tours and huge recording schedule, so it's great to give something back now and spend a lot of time with 'em and create some brilliant music as well.”
As Phil talks about sharing his musical legacy with his boys, it brings to mind other second generation musicians that have shared the stage with their parents. Tye and Rob Trujillo, Wolfgang and Eddie Van Halen, as well as Max Cavalera with his sons Zyon and Iggor to name a few. It’s one thing to grow up listening to music, but a whole other thing to grow up in an environment where you’re directly exposed to the musicians that influenced your musical direction.
“Well, they're influenced by my generation's music and their own generations as well. They used to come to see Motörhead on a regular basis. I mean Todd even played with us one night on stage when he was really, really, really young.”
In the lead up to the recent Black Sabbath farewell, Phil stated that he was unable to attend the Back To The Beginning event due to other commitments. But its well documented that Tony Iommi heavily influenced his guitar playing, so I thought it was only right for me to ask him the question I put to all musicians.
If the planet was blowing up and we have to get on a great big spaceship, but you were only allowed to take one Black Sabbath album with you . What album would you take, and why?
“Probably Masters of Reality.”
Why that one?
“Well, it's heavy as hell innit. You've got a little interlude with your little acoustic song number. The usual Iommi thing. For the rest of it, it’s like being hit over the head with a sledgehammer. It's great."
It’s hard to argue with the guitarist of one of the all time greatest bands, a band that holds a special place in my family. Very rarely is one afforded the opportunity to let a man know the enormous impact they’ve had on their life. So on a personal note, I shared with Phil, the tale of the first conversation I had with my older brother Tony, who was adopted out five years before my birth - a man I first met when I was 34 years old. After a solid hour of catching up on an entire life spent apart, I asked Tony “Do you have any other questions?” He asked “Do you listen to Motörhead?”
"That was the litmus test for you. [To] Find out if you were cool."
It’s insane that despite growing up in different parts of Australia, different families, different everything, yet we both loved Motorhead, Black Sabbath and Heavy Metal in general, as well as bikes and tattoos. The lot. It was like it was in the blood.
“It's never going to go away, heavy metal.
People love it deeply and a lot of people love it and it's not going to go away. It's a great style of music.
I don't think The Bastard Sons, I don't think we play heavy metal. I think we just play rock and roll band, like Motörhead. We’re a rock 'n roll band. But I do like metal when it's good.”
Hard rock, metal, rock 'n roll, whatever you call it, it’s going to be incredible and after ten long years, it’ll be a well worth the wait.
“Yeah, we can't wait. Looking forward to having a great time down there.”
So have at it kids. This year in many ways has served as a means to celebrate the true greats of Hard Rock and Heavy Metal. We said goodbye to Black Sabbath and farewelled the great Ozzy Osbourne. We’re staring down a massive November with tours from Metallica, AC/DC and Oasis.
Lets kickstart the remainder of this incredible year by celebrating the legacy of Motörhead with Phil Campbell and the Bastard Sons this September.
Interview by Duane James @duanejamestattoo
PHIL CAMPBELL & THE BASTARD SONS - September 2025 Tour
Tuesday 16th September PERTH, The Rosemount
Wednesday 17th September ADELAIDE, Lion Arts Factory
Friday 19th September BRISBANE, Eatons Hill
Saturday 20th September SYDNEY, Manning Bar
Sunday 21st September MELBOURNE, Northcote Theatre
