Foo Fighters' Grohl to buy miners beer

08/31/2006 1:05 PM, AP


Dave Grohl says he plans to make good on a promise to buy beers for two miners who listened to his band, the Foo Fighters, during their ordeal of being buried underground for two weeks. Grohl said he'd catch up with the two when the band tours Australia later this year.

"You know what? I'm not just having one beer with those dudes — we're going for it," Grohl told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio Thursday. "This is going to be a big night."

Brant Webb, 37, and Todd Russell, 34, spent two weeks trapped underground when the mine they were working in at Beaconsfield in Australia's southern Tasmania state collapsed. As rescuers painstakingly dug an escape tunnel, the pair were handed music players among other things to keep their spirits up.

When Grohl heard that Webb had requested Foo Fighters music be downloaded onto the player, the bandleader sent a message of support and later offered to fly the pair to the United States so he could buy them a beer.

That rendezvous never came to pass, but the chances of the three getting together leaped with the announcement that Grohl and his band will tour Australia in October.

Webb and Russell, who became celebrities in Australia after their escape, did not immediately comment, but their manager Sean Anderson said the pair would likely be happy to take Grohl up on his offer.

"I'm sure they will be very keen to meet him," Anderson said. "Brant's the big fan (of Grohl), whereas Todd's more into his country and western stuff."