Some stories travel far beyond the place where they began, and the Beaconsfield mine collapse is one of them. On a Sydney stage, Dave Grohl paused a concert to remember Todd Russell, one of two miners trapped in Tasmania in 2006 and later rescued, who died this week at 54 after leaving hospital to spend his final days at home. His memory brought back a quiet thread between a rock band and two men far underground, a link that two decades later has become part of the band's own story.
Dave Grohl Honours Beaconsfield Miner Todd Russell with Sydney Concert Tribute
Todd Russell, a 2006 Beaconsfield mine collapse survivor, died aged 54 days after leaving hospital to spend his last days at home.
Water, and an iPod with Foo Fighters music
Mark
Why did this tribute land the way it did?
Mimi
Because the connection was real and specific. The trapped men asked for water and an iPod with Foo Fighters music, and Grohl answered that with a note and a promise of tickets and beers.
Mark
And he kept the promise?
Mimi
By his account, yes. After the Opera House show they went to the bar, and he wrote the song beforehand in his hotel.
Luke
Worth noting that the story of the request and the note comes from Grohl's own telling on stage. The report doesn't independently confirm the details.
Mark
Fair. What is confirmed about Russell himself?
Mimi
He died this week aged 54, after announcing on social media he was leaving hospital to spend his last days at home.
Luke
The cause of death isn't given, and we don't know when the funeral will be or whether the band has said anything more.
Mark
What about the song?
Mimi
The Ballad Of The Beaconsfield Miners is an instrumental on the 2007 album Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace. Grohl played it solo on acoustic guitar.
Luke
And Grohl joked about being drunk when he promised to include it, so I'd treat the detail as a storyteller's flourish rather than a record of events.
Le Pouls
- A Sydney concert pauses mid-set as Dave Grohl turns from music to mourning a man whose name was once known around the world.
- Todd Russell's death, days after he left hospital to be with family, lands twenty years after the Tasmanian mine collapse that trapped him underground.
- Grohl steps alone to an acoustic guitar to play The Ballad Of The Beaconsfield Miners, a song written for the rescued men long ago.
- The tribute renews public attention on the Beaconsfield survivors, and the band's small role in their story now sits in shared memory.
Some stories travel far beyond the place where they began, and the Beaconsfield mine collapse is one of them. On a Sydney stage, Dave Grohl paused a concert to remember Todd Russell, one of two miners trapped in Tasmania in 2006 and later rescued, who died this week at 54 after leaving hospital to spend his final days at home. His memory brought back a quiet thread between a rock band and two men far underground, a link that two decades later has become part of the band's own story.
On stage in Sydney, Dave Grohl stopped the Foo Fighters' show to speak about Todd Russell, the Beaconsfield gold miner who became known around the world in 2006. Russell died this week at 54, days after leaving hospital to spend his last days at home, having announced on social media that he was ending his hospital care. His death comes twenty years after he and his colleague Brant Webb were trapped in the Tasmanian mine and later rescued.
Grohl told the crowd how the band first learned of the story. While the men were still underground, someone from the band's record company called to ask if he knew about the collapse. The trapped miners had asked for water and for an iPod loaded with Foo Fighters music. Grohl asked for a note to be sent, promising tickets to a show and beers to share once they got out.
After the rescue, the band played the Sydney Opera House, and Grohl knew Webb would be there. Before the show he wrote an instrumental, The Ballad Of The Beaconsfield Miners. Afterward, the promised beers were shared at the bar, and in the celebration he vowed to include the song on the band's next record. It appeared on the 2007 album Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace.
Last night, Grohl played the song solo on acoustic guitar as his tribute to Russell, returning the story to the light two decades on.
On stage in Sydney last night, Dave Grohl stopped the Foo Fighters' show to talk about a man who had died earlier this week. Todd Russell, the Beaconsfield gold miner who became known around the world in 2006, was 54.
Russell died days after leaving hospital to be with his family. Last week he had announced on social media that he was ending hospital care to spend his final days at home. His death comes 20 years after the Beaconsfield mine collapse in Tasmania, in which he and his colleague Brant Webb were trapped underground and later rescued.
Grohl told the crowd how the band first came to know the story. While Russell and Webb were still stuck in the mine, someone from the band's record company phoned him and asked whether he knew about the collapse in Tasmania. He said he did not. He was then told that the trapped men had asked for water and for an iPod loaded with Foo Fighters music.
Grohl said he asked the record company to send the men a note. As he recalled it, the message said the band hoped they were hanging in there, and that when they got out there would be tickets to a Foo Fighters show and beers to share.
The miners were rescued in 2006, and Grohl said that not long afterward the band was playing at the Sydney Opera House. He knew Webb was coming to the show. Before the performance, in his hotel, he wrote an instrumental piece, The Ballad Of The Beaconsfield Miners.
Afterward, he told the audience, everyone went to the bar and drank the beers he had promised. He said he got so drunk that he vowed to put the song on the band's next record. He added that he was glad he had. It appeared on the 2007 album Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace.
Last night, Grohl played the song solo on acoustic guitar as his tribute to Russell.
The moment returns attention to the Beaconsfield survivors' story two decades on, and to a small link between a rock band and two men underground that the band has now made part of its own history.
Citations marquantes
Grohl said the trapped men had asked for water and an iPod with Foo Fighters music, and that he asked the label to send them a note promising tickets and beers.— Dave Grohl, Sydney concert
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