Photographer Masayoshi Sukita to receive Abbey Road Music Lifetime Achievement Award
Abbey Road has announced that Japanese photographer Masayoshi Sukita will be honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award at this year’s Abbey Road Music Photography Awards.
Sukita is the second-ever recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award, following David Bailey CBE, who received it last year. Sukita is best known for his long-running forty-four-year collaboration with David Bowie and for capturing the photo that served as the cover of Bowie's 1977 album Heroes. Many of his photographs are featured in the “DAVID BOWIE IS” exhibition at the V&A Museum, London, in addition to solo exhibitions that have been held in Japan, England, France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Australia and the USA.
Sukita has also photographed other prominent artists across his career, including Iggy Pop, Marc Bolan, Joe Strummer, Yellow Magic Orchestra, and David Sylvian. “It is a big honour for me to receive the Lifetime Achievement award at the Abbey Road Music Photography Awards," he says. "I am very pleased to be a part of the history of photography. I will keep working on photography, and hope people will continue to enjoy my work.”
“Masayoshi Sukita is one of the true visionaries of music photography," says Mark Robertson, Abbey Road’s Director of Marketing & Creative. "His images have not only documented some of the most influential artists of our time, they have helped define how we see them. Sukita created photographs that have become part of cultural history, with work that is timeless, intimate and instantly recognisable, demonstrating the power of photography to shape the identity of artists and entire eras."
"His influence and legacy continue to inspire across music, fashion and visual culture," he continues. "We are honoured to celebrate Masayoshi Sukita with the Lifetime Achievement award at this year’s Abbey Road Music Photography Awards, recognising a lifetime spent elevating music photography into an art form.”
The judging panel for the 2026 Abbey Road Music Photography Awards includes Head Judge and co-founder, British photographer, publisher, and film director Rankin (Madonna, Bjork, Miley Cyrus), guitarist and special guest judge Nile Rodgers, singer-songwriter RAYE, Måneskin vocalist Damiano David, photographers Platon, Dean Chalkley, Dennis Morris, and Jackie Lee Young, Abbey Road’s Producer In Residence Kid Harpoon, English Teacher singer Lily Fontaine, previous MPAs finalist Phoebe Fox, Japanese-American singer-songwriter Hikaru Utada, and guest judge Simon Wheatley. This year, Abbey Road received over 24,500 submissions from forty different countries.
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