Radiohead, Paul McCartney to play at Grammy Awards

Radiohead: Do they have Grammy fever?
Radiohead: Do they have Grammy fever?

Are Radiohead feeling lucky? Maybe so, as it was announced today that the band will play the Grammy Awards on Sunday, 8 February. It will mark their first live US TV performance since 2000.

Despite being nominated in the past in the Best Alternative Album category for OK Computer and Kid A, Radiohead have never played the Grammys. However, this year their record In Rainbows is nominated for five trophies, including the big prize, Best Album, so perhaps they're sensing the wind is at their backs.

In addition to Best Album Of The Year, Radiohead received four other nods: Best Alternative Album, Best Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals, Best Rock Song and Best Short Form Music Video for the song House Of Cards. Not too shabby.

Macca and Dave Grohl - too cool!

In other Grammy performance news, it was also revealed that Paul McCartney, nominated in two lesser categories, will play the show, and he'll be joined onstage by Foo Fighters main man Dave Grohl as "special guest drummer." (This should be a blast!)

Star-studded? Yep

Radiohead and McCartney are but a few of the the growing list of steller performers. It was also announced today that Justin Timberlake, T.I., Kanye West and Jay-Z will also rock the stage.They join Coldplay, Kenny Chesney, Jennifer Hudson, The Jonas Brothers, Lil Wayne, Katy Perry and Carrie Underwood as nominated artists who will play the big event.

One question, though: Should Radiohead walk away with Best Album, will they give the award away to a lucky fan in an online contest? Hey, you never know.

Joe Bosso

Joe is a freelance journalist who has, over the past few decades, interviewed hundreds of guitarists for Guitar WorldGuitar PlayerMusicRadar and Classic Rock. He is also a former editor of Guitar World, contributing writer for Guitar Aficionado and VP of A&R for Island Records. He’s an enthusiastic guitarist, but he’s nowhere near the likes of the people he interviews. Surprisingly, his skills are more suited to the drums. If you need a drummer for your Beatles tribute band, look him up.