Abbey Road announces Masayoshi Sukita as the Lifetime Achievement Award winner at this year’s Abbey Road Music Photography Awards – delivered by DHL
Awards ceremony will take place on Thursday 24 September
David Bowie by Masayoshi Sukita – © Sukita © 1977 / 1997 Risky Folio Inc, Courtesy of The David Bowie Archive™
Abbey Road has today announced that legendary Japanese photographer Masayoshi Sukita will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award at this year’s Abbey Road Music Photography Awards, delivered by DHL.
Best known for his long-term 44-year collaboration with David Bowie, Sukita took the iconic cover shoot for Bowie’s Heroes album, released in 1977. He is also known for era-defining images of Iggy Pop, Marc Bolan, Joe Strummer, Yellow Magic Orchestra and David Sylvian.
Sukita follows David Bailey CBE, who received the inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award in 2025.
Speaking about receiving the award, Sukita says:
“It is a big honour for me to receive the Lifetime Achievement award at the Abbey Road Music Photography Awards. 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.”
Abbey Road’s Director of Marketing & Creative, Mark Robertson, adds:
“Masayoshi Sukita is one of the true visionaries of music photography. 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. 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.”
About Masayoshi Sukita
Masayoshi Sukita was born in a small coal-mining town in the northern region of Kyushu, Japan, in 1938. His father was killed on the front line in China during World War II. Though he died when Sukita was just seven, Sukita has vivid memories of his father taking photographs.
When he was a child, Sukita’s uncle would take him on trips to the cinema, something that would influence him throughout his life.
He credits film and music for teaching him expression in his photography. After graduating high school and completing a further two years at photography school, Sukita assisted an established photographer and entered the photographic division of an advertising agency in Osaka.
In 1965, he moved to Tokyo, taking fashion photographs and filming TV commercials. He became a freelance photographer in 1970, the same year he married his wife Hiroko.
Between 1970 and 1971, he visited New York frequently, drawn by its subculture, especially the mix of art, film and music that surrounded Andy Warhol. In New York, he took photos of Jimi Hendrix in the months before his death.
The music and culture of London also attracted Sukita in the early Seventies, where he would meet and photograph T. Rex’s Marc Bolan.
In 1972, Sukita met David Bowie in London for the first time. Before having even heard his music, Sukita saw a striking poster promoting a David Bowie concert and felt he had to go, purely on the strength of the poster.
Sukita admired Bowie’s innovative performance style and related to his cinematic influences. He secured a meeting to present his portfolio to Bowie’s former manager. The reaction was overwhelmingly positive, and a portrait session with Bowie was arranged.
This photo shoot, in the summer of 1972, began a 44-year collaboration between the two artists. Sukita was there to welcome Bowie upon his arrival in Japan in 1973 and accompanied him on numerous subsequent visits.
Over the years, between press conferences and photo shoots, Sukita and Bowie explored cities, relaxed with friends and attended Iggy Pop’s birthday party.
In 1977, Sukita took the iconic cover shoot for Bowie’s Heroes album — Sukita’s most famous photograph of David Bowie.
Sukita also famously photographed punks in London and many musicians, including David Sylvian, Yellow Magic Orchestra and T. Rex, while continuing to work in advertising and fashion photography.
Sukita’s images of David Bowie were prominently featured in the record-breaking David Bowie Is exhibition run by the V&A Museum, London. He has also held solo exhibitions in Japan, England, France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Australia and the USA.
The 2026 judging panel
The judging panel for this year’s MPAs is led by Head Judge and co-founder, British photographer, publisher and film director Rankin — known for his work with Madonna, Björk and Miley Cyrus.
He is joined by:
- Music icon and special guest judge Nile Rodgers
- Seven-time BRIT Awards winner RAYE
- Italian singer-songwriter and Måneskin frontman Damiano David
- Portrait and documentary photographer Platon
- Music, fashion and culture photographer Dean Chalkley
- Photographer Dennis Morris
- Abbey Road’s Producer in Residence Kid Harpoon
- English Teacher frontwoman Lily Fontaine
- Previous MPAs finalist Phoebe Fox
- US photographer Jackie Lee Young
- Japanese-American singer-songwriter Hikaru Utada
- Guest judge Simon Wheatley
The 2026 shortlisting panel
The shortlisting panel of photographic and creative experts is led by MPA Chief Shortlister and Global Ambassador Sacha Lecca of Rolling Stone US.
He is joined by:
- Previous MPAs winner Andreia Lemos
- New York-based music and portrait photographer Rich Fury
- Bristol-based photographer Khali Ackford
- Brooklyn-based photographer Ebru Yildiz
- The Standard’s Head of Design Ped Millichamp
About the Abbey Road Music Photography Awards
Launched in 2022, the Abbey Road Music Photography Awards has been embraced by the photography community and has grown into a year-round, multi-layered platform for growth and opportunity.
The awards now form the leading element of the Abbey Road Music Photography Accelerator, which encompasses events, exhibitions, workshops, learning resources and more.
This includes the recent Abbey Road Music Photography Festival, which took place in New York City in May 2026 and featured practical workshops, intimate conversations with some of the biggest names in music and photography, portfolio reviews and mentoring.
This year, the Abbey Road Music Photography Awards received more than 24,500 submissions from 40 countries, representing a 25% increase on last year’s entries.