McCartney, Starr to perform at Grammys

Former Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr will perform at the Grammys later this month, as the legendary group is given a lifetime achievement award, organisers say.

It was not immediately known what the duo will play at the ceremony, music's biggest honours, on January 26 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

But their performance will provide a colourful warm-up for the special Beatles tribute show organised by the Recording Academy on the night after the Grammys.

The event - to be televised on February 9, exactly 50 years after the group's iconic Ed Sullivan show appearance - will feature a parade of top talent performing the Fab Four's hits.

At the Grammys, McCartney is up for two awards as a solo artist: best rock song for Cut Me Some Slack and for best music film for Live Kisses.

While McCartney has sung before on the Grammys stage, it will be a first for Starr, according to the Academy.

Among the nominated artists scheduled to perform are rappers Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, Australian country star Keith Urban, pop star Taylor Swift and French electropop duo Daft Punk.