Masayoshi Sukita to receive Abbey Road lifetime photo honor
The Japanese photographer behind David Bowie’s Heroes cover will be celebrated at the Abbey Road Music Photography Awards in London on Sept. 24.
By Bianca Rossi · Entertainment Editor
2 min read
Masayoshi Sukita, the Japanese photographer who shot David Bowie’s 1977 Heroes album cover, will receive this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award at the Abbey Road Music Photography Awards, Abbey Road said.
Sukita is best known for a 44-year creative partnership with Bowie, according to Abbey Road. His music photography has also featured Iggy Pop, Marc Bolan, Joe Strummer, Yellow Magic Orchestra and David Sylvian.
The ceremony is set for Sept. 24 in London. Sukita follows David Bailey, who received the awards’ first Lifetime Achievement Award in 2025.
In a statement, Sukita called the recognition “a big honor” and said he was pleased to be part of photography history. He added that he plans to keep working and hopes people continue to enjoy his images.
Abbey Road’s director of marketing and creative, Mark Robertson, described Sukita as “one of the true visionaries of music photography,” saying his pictures helped shape how major artists are seen. Robertson said Abbey Road was honoring Sukita for a lifetime spent raising music photography into an art form.
From Kyushu to Bowie
Sukita was born in Kyushu, Japan, in 1938. Abbey Road said he moved to Tokyo in 1965, where he worked in fashion photography and on television commercials.
He became a freelance photographer in 1970. During trips to New York between 1970 and 1971, Sukita photographed Jimi Hendrix in the months before Hendrix’s death, as well as T-Rex’s Marc Bolan, according to Abbey Road.
Sukita first met Bowie in London in 1972. The meeting began a long collaboration that took the pair around the world and produced some of the most recognizable images tied to Bowie’s career, including the Heroes cover.
A growing awards program
The Abbey Road Music Photography Awards began in 2022. Abbey Road said the awards now sit at the center of the Abbey Road Music Photography Accelerator, a wider program that includes events, exhibitions, workshops and learning resources.
That program recently included the Abbey Road Music Photography Festival, which was held in New York City in May 2026.
This year’s awards drew more than 24,500 entries from 40 countries, according to Abbey Road. The organization said that total marks a 25 percent rise from last year’s submissions.
The 2026 judging panel is led by British photographer, publisher and film director Rankin. Abbey Road said the panel also includes Nile Rodgers, Raye, Damiano David, Platon, Dean Chalkley, Dennis Morris, Kid Harpoon, Lily Fontaine, Jackie Lee Young, Hikaru Utada and Simon Wheatley.
The shortlisting panel is led by Rolling Stone’s Sacha Lecca, with Andreia Lemos, Rich Fury, Khali Ackford, Ebru Yildiz and Ped Millichamp also taking part, according to Abbey Road.
This story draws on original reporting from Rolling Stone.